Best Day So Far

The agenda for day 2 of the Palestine of Jesus course: we were sent out in “family” groups of 4 to tour one prescribed quarter of the Old City. I had anticipated (and admit had sort of dreaded) all 27 of us would head out as a large group, following Andrew (our leader) who would be holding one of those umbrellas in the air so we’d know where to follow.

We chose our own groups, so typically mine ended up being the “youth” group. Mind you, “youth” implies we’re all over 30. This is my group at Holy Sepulcher/Resurrection (L-R: Scott, Andrew, Michelle).

Our mission for the day was to describe the quarter, its boundaries, its neighbours, find a high place from which to look out from and a low place to explore. We were to look for a religious shrine other than the faith of the quarter we were in and any excavations viewable. Most important, we were to engage: meet the people, talk to them and ask them about life in the quarter. Our aim was to discern joys and sorrows of the quarter. Lastly, we were to find a symbol that represented our experience in the quarter.

So, my group was sent to the Christian quarter. Scott and Andrew struck a conversation with a shop keeper right off the bat. He was Muslim and said his family has owned the shop for three generations—joking, his father would kill him if he sold it. We learned most of the shops in the Christian quarter are owned by Muslims. Most of the Christians have left Jerusalem, either to avoid the political conflict or simply because they can gain a different life in Europe or North America. We saw this as a sorrow. However, in the same breath, he talked about how well the Christians and Muslims get along (at least, until unrest breaks out). This we saw as a joy.

We spent some time in the Church of the Resurrection/Holy Sepulchre, but did not explore extensively. We stuck mainly to the tomb, although I did take a look around the small Armenian chapel. Behind the Church, inside the Christian quarter, is the Muslim Mosque of Omar, a sign of mutual respect and inter-faith support. Joy.

Rather than spend 16 shekels each to climb to the top of Church of the Redeemer, the Lutheran church (which I’ve already done), we decided our high point in the quarter would be above the Ethiopian chapels where the monastic quarters are. We stood looking at the rooftops noticing the network of pathways through the quarter.

A brief walk around found us in Queen Helen Coptic Orthodox Church. The chapel is small and attended by a very friendly and chatty priest named Michael (but pronounced differently). He seemed excited to learn we were clergy and a seminarian. We chatted briefly. Underneath the chapel is a cistern. Before you enter there’s a sign that says you should sing when you get down to the bottom. So we descended. And it was deep and damp and dark and had stellar acoustics! We sang two taize songs. A fabulous moment and a total joy.

When we came out of the cistern Andrew, Scott and I decided to have a drink, while Michelle went to check out a fabric shop. Second sorrow of the day: not asking the price of the freshly-squeezed OJ before drinking it! We were robbed blind. My fault—as the person who’s been here for a month, I know better!

This is the coptic priest at the cistern. He smiled and laughed up until the picture, when he became very pius!

This was quickly and pretty much completely, overshadowed by the joy of Bilale Abu Khalid. While we drank our very expensive OJ, Michelle struck up a conversation with Bilale, the fabric store owner. When we joined her, he repeated all he’d told her: about his store, the different fabrics, the different type of garments he makes for people from all three faiths. He showed us his Christian liturgical robes—Michelle bought a white chasuble and stole—and a velvet coat with gold embroidery. Bilale is one of five stores (in the world, I believe) who sells the quality of silk he has. A magazine article about Bilale’s store noted the custom orders he has filled for dignitaries and celebrities, including Michael Jackson and Elton John. He served us tea, coffee and lemonade (the best lemonade I’ve ever had!)—a true sign of Palestinian hospitality! As we left Bilale’s store for lunch, promising to return (and actually meaning it), we asked him for a place he recommends us to eat. He walked us over to a friend’s restaurant—the same one I ate at my first day in Jerusalem—spoke to the owner and told us lunch was on him. We protested, obviously, and we attempted to pay for our lunch after we ate—but it was on him. Bilale was above and beyond hospitable and was absolutely the entire group’s favourite part of the day. Our complete joy.

We wandered through the shops filled with pottery, cheesy t-shirts and religious souvenires and found ourselves at Jaffa Gate. Having spent about four hours in the Christian quarter, we decided to explore our neighbours, the Armenians. Although we found St. James Cathedral, it was “closed for the week”. However, after Scott struck up a conversation with the guide about his wife being Armenian, we happened to still be lingering as the clergy and seminarians processed for evening service. We were motioned to follow and did.

The thing about the Old City…just when you think you’ve entered a door to a specific building, it leads to another corridor and a whole other network of homes, convents or schools. This is what we followed to reach the Holy Arch Angels Chapel (Armenian) where we stayed for the lengthy service (a feast day, so the service was longer). 

I admit I thought of Kevin Flynn during the service--watching seminarians who were openly asking each other and looking around for instructions on what to do next--thinking Kevin's head would have exploded! 

Fantastic service none-the-less.