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December 6, 2010
A Visit to the Earthly Homeland of Our Lord: Reflections of a
Pilgrim
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of
my mouth;
if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Psalm 137:5-6
With the blessing of His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern
America and New York, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in
Washington, DC sponsored a pilgrimage to the Holy Land November
12-26, 2010. Cathedral rector Archpriest Victor Potapov was joined
by Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell), cleric of Holy Cross Monastery,
and Priest Gabriel Weller, cleric of All Saints of North America
Church in Middlebrook, VA, and 55 pilgrims hailing both from the
United States and Russia.
A reflection from one member of the Pilgrimage Group:
Unforgettable
are our recent days spent in the Holy City, the Judean Desert,
Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, and Sinai. Arriving in Jerusalem late
on a Saturday afternoon, fleet of foot we ran to the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher for the veneration of Golgotha, the Stone of Unction,
and the midnight Liturgy at the Tomb of Christ, where our pilgrims
made their first and most memorable Communion of the Body and Blood
of Christ.
Near our quarters on the Mount of Olives, we venerated the footprint
of Christ and became acquainted with the crown jewels of the Russian
Church in the Holy Land: the Convent of the Holy Ascension and the
Convent of St. Mary Magdalene. And how could we, pilgrims from a
faraway land, have known that we would feel so at home within the
gates of these monasteries, with their vibrant and growing
communities led by energetic and welcoming abbesses? By God’s
providence, it happened that His Grace, Bishop George of Mayfield,
arrived in the Holy Land with pilgrims from Cleveland’s St. Sergius
Cathedral and came to serve at the monasteries at the invitation of
Abbesses Moisseia of Eleon and Elizabeth of Gethsemane. The clergy
of our pilgrimage served with His Grace at the Sunday Vigil in
Gethsemane and two days later at the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of
the Icon of the Mother of God "Quick to Hear" at the Convent of the
Ascension. For both occasions, the churches were full of monastics
and pilgrims and adorned with the beautiful singing of the convent
choirs. A special and unforgettable treat was the reception after
the Liturgy and procession hosted by Abbess Moisseia in her personal
quarters, decorated with a multitude of old icons and photos, a
perfect complement to her recounting of the history of the
monastery, full of triumphs and sorrows.
We were honored to be received at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate by
His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem and All Palestine,
who graciously welcomed our pilgrimage group with eloquent words
about the great responsibility borne by the Brotherhood of the Holy
Sepulcher in the guardianship of the holy places.
With
the help of our guides, nuns of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission
in Jerusalem Sisters Elizabeth and Marina, we made our way to holy
sites near and far. In Jerusalem, we ran to the Tomb of the Mother
of God, the Via Dolorosa, Mt. Zion, the Russian Excavations, and
Little Galilee, where Christ appeared to His disciples after the
Resurrection; and in Bethlehem, to the Basilica of the Nativity of
Christ where we served Liturgy in the Grotto. Rarely was there time
to rest as we made a sojourn to the North to ascend Mt. Tabor, sail
on the Sea of Galilee, immerse ourselves in the Jordan, serve
Liturgy at the Monastery of the Twelve Apostles in Capernaum, and
venerate the places connected with the Annunciation of the Mother of
God in Nazareth. And besides all this, with God’s help we found the
strength to visit the desert monasteries of St. Sabbas, St. George
Chozevite, St. Theodosius, St. Gerasimos, and our own dear Russian
inheritance – the ancient Lavra of St. Chariton, which is maintained
and daily embellished by the resident Monk Chariton. There in a
rugged paradise we served Liturgy in the first church (a
third-century cave church located in a cliff above a spring-fed
stream) established in the Judean desert, and enjoyed the
"hospitality of Abraham" from Fr. Chariton and his many
fruit-bearing trees. A new temple on the cliffs is being
established, complete with exquisite iconography and stonework.
Finally, toward the end of our pilgrimage, we took a long journey
into Egypt and arrived at the Monastery of St. Catherine at the foot
of Mt. Sinai. After attending Vespers and viewing the world-renowned
collection of ancient icons, liturgical vessels, and metalwork in
the monastery’s museum, a short rest prepared the majority of
pilgrims for a climb to the top of the mountain that the prophet
Moses ascended to receive the tablets of the Law of God. We joined
together for a sunrise moleben and descended to the monastery, where
Fr. Victor celebrated his namesday by receiving Holy Communion at
the monastery’s ancient altar.
Everywhere we went, we encountered a multitude of pilgrims, many
from Russia. The holy places are thus often very crowded and Russian
is spoken almost everywhere. Thanks to God, our pilgrimage went
incredibly smoothly and our entourage was always filled with smiling
faces from the day of our arrival to our final visit to the Holy
Sepulcher and departure. There we each left a piece of our heart
forever, hoping one day to return to the earthly homeland of our
Lord to once again venerate the Life-giving Tomb of Christ and other
holy sites in Jerusalem and its environs.
Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell)
Media Office of the Eastern American
Diocese
