Jerusalem Explored Part 19

To the north of the arch of the 'Ecce h.o.m.o' is the Convent of the Daughters of Sion, which I have already mentioned[527]. It is a new building, the interior of which might have been very well arranged, but the plans of the architect were continually altered by the changeableness of a person who had that power. We, however, must not deny to him the merit of having introduced into Palestine this excellent order, whose members came thither with the object of converting the Jews, but at present are occupied in educating orphans.

The Greek Catholic Convent is near the Jaffa Gate, and is inhabited by two or three 'Papas,' whose Bishop usually resides at S. Jean d'Acre.

Internally it is in no respect worth notice. The church is a very large modern room; and on its south wall is a singular picture representing the Last Judgement, Paradise and h.e.l.l; angels are contending fiercely with devils, and the condemned struggling with the righteous on the banks of a river, whereon Charon is rowing his boat. The seven mortal sins are also unmistakeably represented. The painting is not fitted for the walls of a church.

The Armenian Catholics have at present only a single monk in Jerusalem, a good and energetic man. As the representative of his co-religionists he purchased in 1856 a plot of land containing the third station of the Via Dolorosa, and bounded on the south by the fourth station. This he would not have been able to acquire, had he not been aided by the alms of his party and the support of M. de Barrere, the French consul, who, as usual, earnestly pressed his cause with the local authorities. The property was utterly neglected by the Mohammedans so long as it was in their possession, and considered to be the ruin of an ancient bath; the eastern part was used as the Pasha's stable. A church, convent, and hospice for pilgrims, will soon rise upon the spot; and I trust that in removing the ruins they will discover some traces of the second line of walls, which I believe to have pa.s.sed over this ground.

The central Convent of the orthodox Greeks is that of S. Constantine, which is situated on the west of the Church of the Resurrection.

Attached to it, on the north side, is the Patriarch's house, which has no architectural merit, but is well arranged and comfortable, with a good garden. The convent itself, though very large, is no better than a labyrinth of cottages of different sizes and heights, which have been bought from time to time and joined together as best they could. It is therefore full of court-yards, large and small, lanes, pa.s.sages, and flights of steps; and has also a small but well-kept garden, near the sacristy. Inside is an excellent dispensary, and all the offices and workshops, which this Royal Convent requires, not only for its own purposes, but also for the use of all its dependencies, especially those in Jerusalem. The chapel is dedicated to S. Constantine; it abuts against the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, and is of great antiquity. It is adorned as well with pavements of valuable marbles, as with original pictures, curious specimens of Byzantine art; and possesses a great number of sacred silver vessels and magnificent vestments. There is also a very ill-arranged and dusty library, rich in Greek, Arabic, and Georgian ma.n.u.scripts, and in ancient Byzantine books; but they are rarely examined, consequently the rats and worms are more attentive to them than the monks. They cannot be seen without the permission of the Patriarch or his deputy; nor can the treasury, which is full of ancient works of Byzantine art, given by Russia and every other country in which the members of the Greek church are found, and the cry of Jerusalem is heard. I have never seen it, nor am I aware of any other traveller who has. In the lower parts of the buildings, on the east, the native rock appears, which is a continuation upwards of that seen inside the Church of the Resurrection, at the tombs of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

The parts of the convent near the Holy Sepulchre, and to the east and south, enable us to understand the words of William of Tyre[528]

concerning the Hospitalers, "That during the disputes between the Canons and the Knights, the latter shot arrows out of their own convent into that of their adversaries." In fact, the Canons then inhabited the south-east part of the present Greek convent, as well as the church, and the part behind to the north of it. There are fifty monks in the convent, and six Bishops, besides Archimandrites, Priests, and laics; about eighty in all. They are distinguished by the t.i.tle of Monks of the Sepulchre. Besides these is a large number of boys who attend upon the Papas and the church, and wear the monastic dress; and many servants taken from the people of the city.

In addition to the convent of S. Constantine, the Greeks possess many other convents in Jerusalem. These are, S. Demetrius, S. George of the Hospital, S. Michael the Archangel[529], S. John the Fore-runner, S.

George of the Hebrews (in whose church is an ancient Byzantine mosaic pavement), S. Charalampes, S. Abraham, S. Nicholas (where an ancient Georgian church is worth a visit, as well as the printing-office, which publishes good reprints of books in excellent type), the succursal of Gethsemane, and a new convent by the Damascus Gate. Each of these is under the government of a Prior, who performs service in their respective chapels, and, at the season of pilgrimages, entertains strangers sent to him from the great convents; by whom, as I will explain presently, his revenues are chiefly supplied.

The nunneries are, Megala Panagia (Great S. Mary's), S. Theodore, S.

Basil (near the position I a.s.sign to the tower Psephinus; the Dead Sea is visible from its terrace-roofs); S. Catharine, Micra Panagia (Little S. Mary's), and S. Euthymius[530]. The females who come on pilgrimage to the Holy City are entertained in these. The Prioresses and the sisters are taken from the lower orders, and many of them act as servants in the convents of the Priors and Papas.

The princ.i.p.al Armenian convent, to which the Patriarchate is attached, is on Mount Sion. Its great extent, its situation, its many advantages, its excellent masonry, and, above all, its admirable internal arrangements, render it unquestionably the best establishment in the city. It may be compared to a fortress, without ditches indeed, yet strong enough to defend itself against an attack of the populace or of the peasants in case of a riot. Its terrace-roofs command an extensive panorama, and would supply an ample s.p.a.ce for exercise to the monks, even without the large courts and gardens enclosed within its walls. The latter are the best in the city, and contain some majestic cypress-trees, and some cedars, which the vivid fancy of the Easterns attributes to the age of David. This belief is shared by the pilgrims, and slips of them never fail to fetch a high price. The west front of the convent is European work, of the same date as the church. The Armenians a.s.sert that it was erected by Spain for a hospital or hospice; but nothing certain is known on this point. The Patriarch's apartment is most comfortable and well appointed. The library is well kept. Many of the books are of no great value; but there are some important ma.n.u.scripts and rare liturgies. The printing-press is well managed: they print in Armenian, Arabic, and sometimes Turkish characters, and publish reprints of ancient liturgies and tales, but no books of any size. The full complement of monks, including the laics, together with the Patriarch and two Bishops, is from forty to fifty. This number is necessary in order to supply the services of the Church of the Resurrection, the Sepulchre of the Virgin, and the Convent of Caiaphas outside the Sion Gate.

The interior of the Syrian convent is not remarkable. It is a plain ordinary Arab building, but outside it on the north is a great pointed arch entirely built up, called by the Orientals the Gate of S. Mark's House, at which S. Peter knocked. As the arch and its foundations are of the date of the Crusades, I of course do not believe the legend. The Syrian Bishop has two or three monks, who a.s.sist him in performing the church services and in receiving pilgrims.

Some houses near the church belong to the English mission, and are inhabited by the missionaries and other persons attached to it. They are neat, but do not call for special mention.

The Prussian mission possesses a house near the Judgement Gate, occupied by the Pastor who has the spiritual charge of the mission, and another, near the English church, inhabited by deaconesses, who are engaged in the instruction of girls (as I shall presently explain), and in rendering charitable aid to the sick.

The Coptic convent is on the north of and near to the Pool of Hezekiah; it is a plain Arab house. Its inmates are far from clean, and the visitor generally carries away unpleasant reminiscences of their dwelling; they also possess another house near the north-east corner of the Church of the Resurrection, of which I have already spoken[531]; as well as of the miserable dens that shelter the Abyssinians.

The convent of the Kusbeck Dervishes stands against the south end of the arch of the Ecce h.o.m.o. With the exception of their chief, they are engaged in work in Jerusalem, and spend the money thus earned in pilgrimages to the Mohammedan sanctuaries. They are sober, prayerful, peaceable men, free from the vice of fanaticism. When I was superintending the buildings of the Daughters of Sion I had good opportunity of learning their character. Even at the time of the ma.s.sacres of Lebanon I never saw them shewing signs of joy. Their chief is an intelligent and very moderate man.

The convent of the Dancing Dervishes is on the summit of Bezetha (as I call it), next to the ancient Church of S. Peter, which I have already mentioned. Inside and outside, especially in the lower part, we see remains of the Crusaders' work. At the present time there are only two inmates, who are more disposed to good than evil. Its minaret commands a view of Jerusalem, and of the whole length of the Tyropoeon valley, from which the topography of the ancient city is far more readily understood than from any description or plan.

The Howling or Lancer Dervishes, as I call them, do not live in a community, but very frequently a.s.semble in a house opposite to the Hospital of S. Helena, which may be considered as their convent. Many of the princ.i.p.al Effendis of the city belong to this order. The badge of membership is a necklace of wooden beads round the neck, and a long staff with an iron lance-head in the hand. They were founded by an old Mohammedan santon, an inhabitant of the neighbourhood of S. Jean d'Acre, who came to Jerusalem in 1856 to preach a course of sermons.

When these dervishes hold their meetings, or are coming from them, they sing at the top of their voices in the streets, from which practice I have given them their name. Their distinctive marks might lead us to mistrust them, but in difficult circ.u.mstances they have proved themselves worthy of confidence; so perhaps I did wrong when I was hard-hearted enough to break the lance-handle of a country dervish, who met me on the Jaffa road, and demanded a _bakshish_ rather in the tone of a soldier than of a monk. I made him amends by repairing his lance, and gave it back to him, comforting him with the a.s.surance that it would be as good as ever for the next traveller he met.

The Jews have no establishments where the Doctors and Rabbins live in common, so that I pa.s.s over in silence their dwellings, which are dest.i.tute of everything except neatness.

I believe that I have now gone through all the buildings in the interior of Jerusalem without exception, and have only to speak of the waters; but these I shall leave for another chapter, and consider them after I have described the neighbourhood.

FOOTNOTES:

[460] Plate II.

[461] Page 64.

[462] Jewish War, V. 5, -- 8.

[463] Ibid. V. 5, -- 8.

[464] Ibid. V. 4, -- 2.

[465] Plate XI.

[466] S. Cyril. Catech. Lect. XIII. (Libr. of Fathers, Vol. II. p. 163).

[467] Holy City, Vol. II. p. 375.

[468] De Vogue, Les eglises de la Terre Sainte, p. 299, quoting from Gesta Francorum expugn. Hierus. Bongars. p. 573.

[469] Quoted by De Vogue, p. 299.

[470] Elucidatio Terrae Sanctae, Lib. IV. Pereg. 6, c. 2, Vol. II. p. 181, col. 2, ed. 1639.

[471] Ibid.

[472] Elucidatio Terrae Sanctae, Lib. IV. Pereg. 6, c. 5, Vol. II. p. 196, col. 2, ed. 1639.

[473] Hist. de l'etat present de Jerus. Ch. XIII.

[474] Note I; Plates XII., XIII.

[475] S. John xix. 5.

[476] Ch. III. page 60.

[477] Histoire de l'etat present de Jesus. Ch. XIII.

[478] S. Luke xxiii. 7-11.

[479] Jewish War, I. 3, -- 3.

[480] M. de Vogue (Les eglises de la Terre Sainte, p. 304) states that it is mentioned in the Citez de Jherusalem.

[481] S. Matt. xxvii. 32; S. Mark xv. 21; S. Luke xxiii. 26.

[482] S. Matt. ix. 20.

[483] Nehem. xii. 39.

[484] S. Luke xxiii. 28.

[485] Nicephorus, H. E. Lib. VIII. c. 30.

[486] De Fide Orth. Lib. IV. 14. Quoted by Quaresm. E. T. S. Lib. IV.

Pereg. 3, c. 12., Tom. II. p. 103, col. 2, ed. 1639.

[487] C. 11 (cf. c. 6), also quoted by Quaresm. Ibid.