Journey
to
the
Holy
Land
Archbishop
Nikon
(Rklitsky)
On
March 11/23, 1964, on the feast of St. Sophronius, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, with the blessing of our Primate, Metropolitan Anastassy,
and accompanied by the well-wishes of my friends, I departed for the
Holy Land and arrived there on March 18/31, on the feast of St.
Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem. St. Cyril lived in the age just
following the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great in the 4th
century, while St. Sophronius lived during the age of the Muslim
invasion in the 7th century; they both had monumental significance
in the life of the Holy City, and their memory served to greatly
inspire me in my travels.
My flight took me through Geneva and Rome. Eight hours after my
departure from New York, I was in Geneva, now home to the Diocesan
Administration of the Western European Diocese, headed by Bishop
Antony of Geneva and Western Europe. Geneva is also home to our
marvelous five-domed church, which in two years will celebrate its
centennial and whose splendor adorns this city of international
meetings and gatherings. Interred in this church is Bishop Leonty of
Geneva, who reposed eight years ago at the height of his talents and
efforts. We prayed at his tomb with love and then spent the whole
day meeting and speaking with our hospitable host, His Grace, Bishop
Antony, and his kind assistants.
The flight from Geneva to Rome takes but an hour and twenty minutes.
We arrived there on March 13/26, after three in the afternoon. The
current rector of our Church of St. Nicholas in Rome is the young
Archimandrite Amvrossy (Pogodin), a highly-educated theologian
transferred here two months prior from London, author of the book
"St. Mark of Ephesus," for which Paris’ St. Sergius Theological
Institute bestowed upon him a Master’s Degree in Theology. Among the
parishioners of our church are such august personages as Prince
Roman Petrovich and Duke S.G. Leuchtenbergsky-Prince Romanovsky, as
well as many other representatives of Russian noble houses, the
remarkable Church benefactress M.N. Abbinati, widow of the Italian
businessman, and others. This parish, under the leadership of its
longtime rector, the venerable Archimandrite Symeon and its warden,
I.N. Den, stands out due to its friendly atmosphere. The
parishioners fell in love with their new rector, rightly
appreciating his talents and surrounding him with care and
attention. I had the honor of presenting the right honorable
Archimandrite Symeon a Gramota from the Synod of Bishops for his
almost 50 years of pastoral service in Rome.
A grace-filled life in the Church gives one the opportunity to speak
with many people, and after just several hours of getting to know
one another, you feel as though you are among true friends.
Rome, called the "Eternal City" and considered the cradle of world
culture, today is home to a multitude of historical artifacts, which
can be classified into three categories. The first and most
important of these are the precious, ancient Christian relics – the
relics of God’s holy saints who lie in Rome. Among these are the
relics of the Holy Apostles Peter, Paul, Simon, and Jude, St. John
Chrysostom, St. Gregory the Dialogist, St. Alexis the Man of God,
St. Boniface, and pieces of the relics of many other holy
God-pleasers. All of these holy relics are housed in Catholic
churches in closed encasements in the earth, and an Orthodox
worshipper can but silently venerate these relics, so dear to the
heart of an Orthodox person, from afar.
The second major attraction of Rome is its Catholic churches, of
which there are some thousand in Rome alone. At the head of these
is, of course, St. Peter’s Basilica, founded by Emperor Constantine
the Great, and the greatest church in the world. Similarly grand is
the Basilica of St. Paul, likewise founded by Emperor Constantine,
and many other churches, among which must be mentioned the Basilica
dei Santi Bonifacio e Alessio (St. Alexis the Man of God) where,
also under closed encasement, his relics are housed. Many of these
churches house various holy relics and sites tied to the Orthodox
and Catholic Traditions. During my short stay in Rome, I was able to
venerate these holy sites, as befits an Orthodox hierarch.
The third category of Rome’s historical and, in some cases,
religious sites include the ancient structures and their ruins,
including the catacombs, the Coliseum, and other archaeological digs
from the age of the pagan Roman emperors and even prior. Among the
most important of these sites for us is the Mamertine Prison (or
Tullianum), where the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and many
Christian martyrs of the earliest persecutions were held. Here one
must also mention the Church of St. Paul at the Three Fountains,
built on the spot where St. Paul was beheaded.
In order to become even basically acquainted with the religious and
historical sites of Rome, one cannot spend just two or three days in
the city, but whole months and years. Our path, however, led to the
Holy Land.
Our modern air transport can change one’s surroundings in an instant
– Beirut, which lies between Rome and the Holy Land, is a totally
Eastern city, although mixed with a rapidly growing modern sector.
We have a parish in this great city, led by Archimandrite
Athanasius, who met me at the airport along with his assistants and
brought me to his church, where we prayed, and where I was then
hosted in a house adjacent to the church.
The following morning, I set off for the final stop on my path – the
Holy City of Jerusalem. At around nine in the morning, the
four-engine plane, which I was sharing with tourist-pilgrims from
various European nations, arrived at an airport outside of
Jerusalem.
It is the only city in the world to earn the title Holy: "The Holy
City of Jerusalem," and it is the oldest city in the world. If Rome
can be considered the cradle of human civilization, then "The Holy
City of Jerusalem" is undoubtedly the cradle of everything holy on
this earth. According to tradition, Jerusalem was established in
2107 BC, when the mystical Old Testament king and priest of Almighty
God, Melchizidek, greeted the Patriarch Abraham with bread and wine
after the latter’s victorious return from battle with Chedorlaomer
of Elam, and was originally called Salem, or "peace." According to
tradition, King Melchizedek brought the body of our Forefather Adam
here and buried him at Golgotha, on the very spot where the
Life-Giving Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ would be raised. Later,
the Jebusites would capture Salem and build a fortress on Mount
Sion, which they named in honor of their ancestor Jebus, while the
whole city, located on the two hills of Moriah and Akra, was called
Jerusalem, which means the "Abode of Peace."
This grace-filled land was first called the Holy Land by the Prophet
Zechariah. Prophesying the coming of Christ the Savior, the Prophet
says, "And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy
land, and shall choose Jerusalem again" (2:12). From that ancient
time, that name has remained until this very day.
Jerusalem is situated on a wide, rocky plateau, devoid of water,
surrounded by steep ravines, which in turn are broken by tall hills.
The ravine surrounding the city on the east side separates the city
from the Mount of Olives. On one of the hills of Jerusalem, Mount
Moriah, Tradition holds that Abraham brought his son Isaac as a
sacrifice to God. Here Solomon constructed the great Temple, which
was rebuilt by Zerubbabel after its destruction, renovated by Herod,
and destroyed by Titus. Today the measurements of the Temple are
known, and stun people by the very fact of their enormity and
grandeur.
Generally speaking, every piece of land here contains boundless
historical memories and traditions tied to the histories of the Old
and New Testaments. It is worth noting also, that the constant
archeological research and digs being conducted here confirm all the
more strongly the events laid out in the Bible and, in part, in the
Holy Gospel. I believe there has not been a single instance of an
archeological discovery conflicting with the Biblical version or
Greek histories, which constantly receive the support of the latest
archeological societies. For instance, the American Archeological
Institute recently led digs in Gibeon, a town near Jerusalem, which
accurately proved the Biblical narrative on the battle of Joshua,
son of Nun.
Today Jerusalem is sharply segregated into two parts: the smaller in
size, but far greater in holy sites contained within it, Old City,
located within the borders of Jordan and with a population of over
150,000, and the New City, with a population of 250,000, located
within Israeli borders. All of the major holy sites are located
within the Old City.
And it was this holy city that I was found worthy to visit,
accompanied by the head of our Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem,
Archimandrite Dimitry, who greeted me at the airport on Tuesday
morning, March 18/31, 1964, on the feast day of St. Cyril, Patriarch
of Jerusalem.
The holy sites of Jerusalem have been chronicled many times in
various tomes in many tongues, including Russian. However, these
great holy places give such bountiful instruction to every Chrsitian
soul, that even a short description of my impressions at
experiencing them firsthand should be of interest to the reader. I
will be writing primarily of those holy places under the control of
the Jerusalem Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and our Ecclesiastical
Mission. The principal holy site in Jerusalem is the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher, which contains within it the Stone of Anointing,
Golgotha, the Lord’s Tomb, and many other holy sites and objects
connected to the crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Although
primary care of the church falls to the Jerusalem Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate, separate parts of the church fall under the
jurisdiction of the Catholics, the Armenians, the Assyrians, and the
Copts, while the church building itself is under the stewardship of
the Muslims. It will be about these holy sites and objects that I
will write more later.
