A Journey of Faith and Family: November 15, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

November 15, 2009 – O Worship the Lord

The night before last, when Andrew was lecturing on the Church of the Resurrection (or Holy Seplechure), he mentioned that it is possible to spend the night inside. He said that when the Church closes, the literally lock you in, and at various times during the night there are various liturgies that take place, especially on Saturday nights. Six of us decided we wanted to try it (Susan not being one of us). Yesterday, when we visited the Church, Andrew confirmed with the Franciscans that it was o.k. for us to come back that night. He showed us where the toilets were, and said that we had to check in with the Franciscans at 6:45pm.

I packed my backpack with a jacket, water and a Bible. Our little pilgrim band set out for the night. When we arrived, we checked in with the Franciscans, who asked us to wait nearby. A few minutes before 7:00pm security people went through the building, making sure everyone but us (and 6 or 7 others who were staying as well) was out of the building. Sure enough, at 7:00pm we heard the huge metal doors clang shut, and a padlock was put in place.

At first, it felt like a huge cavernous building as the silence set in. There were plenty of lights left on, and candles burning, but it still felt a little like a cell. With the all the rock and thick stone walls, and with no light from the outside, if felt like we were underground.

People spread out to do our own thing. It took a while to settle in with the quietness. Basically, we could go anywhere we wanted. I decided to spend some of the time reading the Gospel of Luke. After awhile, I went upstairs to the Rock of Calvary Chapel and read for a time. Later I went and spent some time in the Holy Seplechure. It was nice not to have people waiting for you to move on, and I had some quiet prayer time. I moved on to read some more down in the Chapel of St. Helena. I came up and found an unnamed chapel, with no cross, no icons, no decoration. It seemed much more symbolic of the empty tomb than the Holy Seplechure with all the decoration, candles, etc.

We had been told that they would open the doors at 11:00\pm for a Greek Orthodox service. About 10:45 clergy and some others appeared and put carpets out in front of the Seplechure, lights came on in the Basilica, communion ware was carried into the Seplechure.

At 11:00 I heard the doors clang open and the sound of rushing footsteps and muted voices. Within 15 minutes it felt like the place was crammed with people. They were lighting candles and trying to get into line to go into the Seplechure, which is apparently open for visits until midnight, when the service officially begins. Already, about 15 Greek Orthodox clergy have vested and gathered behind the Altar screen, and chanting has begun, eerily filling the space with sound.

Here endeth the quiet for the rest of the night!

By midnight there had have been between one and two thousand people vying for spots with views of either the Seplechure or the Sanctuary in the Basilica. Many women came with fold-out seats, which should have fore-warned me. I managed to find a spot to stand, pressed by the crowd, near the door where I could see both ways. At midnight they stopped people from going into the Seplechure. I notice the smell of incense and heard the jangle of a thurible. The service had officially started. There were no service books, people moved about as we heard different voices chanting parts of the liturgy from behind the Altar screen. Occasionally a . thurifer would pass through, leading someone carrying a book or Altar vessels one direction of the other.

The service ended up going on for 3 hours and 15 minutes. As soon as it was over, the Greek Orthodox folks were ushered out. I was finally sitting down, with my legs crossed, when some came by and point at them. I knew we were not supposed to sit with crossed legs in an Orthodox Church, but I was so tired and my back hurt that I had forgotten.

Instead of locking the doors again, 4 more clergy arrived along with a small group of worshippers. A different carpet was laid out, more Altar vessels carried into the Seplechure, and chanting in a new language began, with a very talented thurifer leading the procession of Armenian clergy in to begin their service. This time the congregation was very small (less than 10 people), but that did not seem to matter. The entire service was chanted, and an hour and 15 minutes later, they were finished.

A Roman Catholic priest appeared, and a Franciscan brother brought another carpet to roll out in front of the Seplechure (carpets cannot be shared?). In the dark behind the Seplechure, three people are chanting some service, grabbing the time when they could. The Roman Catholic service was about to start. Since it was almost 5:00 am, and we had been doing Church since 11:00pm, we decided to head back to the college in the dark. Unlike yesterday when we did the Stations of the Cross, the city was not yet stirring. It was very different walking down the narrow streets, which now seemed wide since no shops were open with displays jutting into the street.

At 9:30am Susan and I went to the Cathedral for the second of their three Sunday Eucharists. This one is in Arabic, for their local Palestinian congregation. The Bishop, who is Palestinian, was the celebrant. This was my third Eucharist of the day, none of which was in English.

Peace,

Bob

P.S. I did not take many pictures last night, since I was really in the Church for reasons other than a photo-op.