Christian Sects
17 July 2008, tour leader Hana Bendcowsky
Submitted by Cherylanne Glassner
We began the tour by listing the different sects of Christianity present in Jerusalem. We discussed the origins of Christianity and the history of the different sects. We talked about the Roman Catholics, who are referred to as "Latin" in order to differentiate them from the Greek Orthodox, the Armenians, the Copts (Egyptian Christians), and the Ethiopians.
We began the historical tale of Christianity with the Romans. Christianity was first established on Mount Zion when a small group of Jewish reformers created a new religion. The exact time of this is hard to pinpoint, Hana pointed out, but we know that it occurred shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus. For 300 hundred years following this event, the Christians were persecuted by the Romans. In 313, with the Edict of Milan, Constantine, who was the emperor at the time, established freedom of religion, allowing the Christians to pray freely. His mother, Helen, was a religious Christian and greatly influenced his decision to do so. Due to their important contributions to Christian history, both Constantine “The Great” and Helen are regarded as saints.
In 325, Constantine gathered leaders of the Christian community in Turkey for the First Council of Nicaea. The purpose of the council was to make decisions regarding the theology of Christianity. They needed to make two decisions: the nature of Jesus (i.e., divine or human), and when to commemorate the crucifixion. The council announced a dogma which said that Jesus was of the same substance of God the Father, and that the crucifixion would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox (when the sun is directly above the equator). The Council declared that those who accept the dogma are orthodox, and anybody who did not accept the dogma was a heretic.
Another decision was made in 325 CE to create a hierarchy in the Church. Five centers were created, each of which would have its own patriarchate. The hierarchy would consist of a patriarch, archbishops, bishops, priests, and the community. The five centers included Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. Each of these five centers is autocephalic (from the Late Greek autokephalos, from Greek aut- + kephalē head), independent of external and especially patriarchal authority —used especially of Eastern national churches , while still being in communion with the others.
However, each group perceived of themselves as constituting the true orthodox while others were viewed as heretics. Those who were not accepted broke away and created their own church. For example, in 451 CE the Armenians created their own church. It is also interesting to note, however, that the Armenians were really the first ones to accept Christianity, 12 years before Constantine, a fact of which they remain very proud to this day.
In the beginning of the 5th century, Rome was invaded by the Visigoths, which eventually led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The result of this was the separation of the Latin patriarchate from the other four. Each of the other four centers mentions each other in prayers, but with the separation of Rome, and the earlier separation of the Armenians, these two churches were excluded from such prayers.
In the 9th century, Christianity spread through the Ukraine, and then through Russia. The Christian community there became larger than the Roman, and thus they asked for their own Patriarchate. Thus they, too, were granted an auto-cephalic Patriarchate. Today, there are 15 independent Churches that are all connected.
We also spoke about the Protestant influence in Jerusalem. The Protestants have only been here for 150 years. The Christ Church was the first Protestant Church in Jerusalem. It was founded by the Anglicans. In fact, the Anglican bishop was a Jewish convert to Christianity, and he felt that his status as a convert would help in their mission of converting Jews. The Redeemer Church in the Christian Quarter was the first Lutheran Church. The Anglicans have typically been more active in the northern parts of the country (the large majority of these Christians are Arab), and the Lutherans have been more active in Jerusalem.
Hana then went on to explain how the Armenians have fared very well in Jerusalem. When the Crusaders were on their way to Jerusalem, they met the Armenians. The Armenians helped the Crusaders, and the two groups developed a good relationship. In fact, the Crusaders built a church for the Armenians. With that said, the first major Christian landmark we visited today was the Armenian Cathedral and Monastery of St. James. It is open to tourists only during prayer hours, so not only did we get to see the church, but we got to see the service as well. Similar to the Jews, the Armenians are both a nation and a religion. All of their prayers are in Armenian. When we asked about the pointy hats that the priests wear, Hana explained that they are worn to remind the Armenians of where they come from – Mount Ararat (the resting place of Noah’s Ark) – and wearing the hats is a symbol of their nationalist ambition to control the same land that they used to have. The church itself is dedicated to Saint James. Which one? Well, there are two that are supposed to be buried there – Jesus’ brother (or another relative, there is disagreement upon this fact), Saint James the Just (or Less), who was the bishop of the first community in Jerusalem, as well as the head of Saint James the Great, one of Jesus’ apostles.
The next site we visited was the Imperial Hotel. It was built by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The most interesting thing part of the hotel is probably its shape – it is structured like a cross, a long pathway from one end to the other, as well as another pathway cutting through the middle from one side to the other. Actually, at that junction stands a column serving as a lamp post that reads “LEG X,” signifying that it was from the time of the 10th Roman Legion that was the force that repressed the Jewish rebellion in 66-70 CE and destroyed the Second Temple.
Our next stop was outside the Greek Catholic church. The Greek Catholics are a group of Greek Orthodox who decided to join the Catholic Church. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Catholic Church was very strong, and membership came with a lot of support. The Greek Catholics incorporate traditions from both the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic.
The most exciting part of our tour was our meeting with Aristobolus, a member of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He explained to us that some of their liturgical tradition comes from the time of the Disciples. This includes such traditions as long services, community and private prayer, dress, and hair/beard. In regards to the dress, the Greek Orthodox monks wear black. This is because they are considered to be martyrs. They are technically still alive, but they have devoted their lives to the church. Also, they do not cut their hair or shave their beard—similar to the Nazirite vows of the biblical Samson. He then also explained that there are about 20 bishops in their patriarchate that are in charge of checking on everything in the areas under the patriarchate (Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia). He also said that there are approximately one hundred priests all over the world. He compared this to embassies (for instance, the U.S. has an embassy in Israel. It is in Israel, but it is subject to U.S. law). Wherever the patriarchate of Jerusalem has a monastery, regardless of what country it is in, it is overseen by Jerusalem.
When we left the patriarchate, we had an opportunity to ask Hana some clarification questions. She first explained that there are two calendars in Jerusalem, the Julian calendar (that calendar that is used by the Orthodox Churches) and the Gregorian calendar (the calendar that is used by the Catholic Church and is most widely used today throughout the world). The other important thing Hana explained was why some of these Christians wear Kippot (yarmulkes). She told us that they do this in order to connect to their Jewish roots.
Next we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Normally, this would have been very exciting, but we had already been there. Still, the focus of the day was different, so we went back and learned even more. Quite obviously, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the holiest place for Christians – this is where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. However, the Protestants have their own place in East Jerusalem, outside the current (i.e., 15th-century) Old City walls, and thus have no rights here. It is often wondered how so many differing sects can successfully share the same place. When the Muslims took over Jerusalem, the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was given to a Muslim family. In the early days of Christianity, the way that the Christians succeeded was by investing in property. So in order to have a foot in the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it was necessary to pay taxes. However, the Ethiopians and the Georgians had no money to pay their taxes, and as a result lost their rights in the Church. In 1852, a status quo was put into place by the ruling Ottoman Turks. The status quo determined who was allowed to come when, where they were allowed to pray, and even when and where each group was allowed to clean. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Greek Orthodox has the most rights, followed by the Armenians. It is possible to see this in the oil lamps over the stone on which Jesus was prepared for burial. The Greek have 4 lamps, the Armenians have 2, and then each the Catholic (represented in Jerusalem by the Franciscans) and the Coptic have 1. In one of the Greek rooms is a rock. Christians view this rock as the center of the world, contrary to the Jews who view the rock on Mount Moriah (Temple Mount), since the end of the seventh century covered by the Dome of the Rock, as the center of the world.
While we were at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we saw the Syrian, Copt and Ethiopian chapels/monasteries, and discussed their presence in Jerusalem. First we talked about the Copts. The Copts are Egyptian Christians who are descendants of ancient Pharaohs and whose language is derived from that of the ancient Egyptians. Inside the Church, in the Chapel of St. Nicodemus, there is an argument between the Armenians and the Syrians as to who the chapel really belongs too. The conflict was resolved by allowing the Armenians to light candles in the chapel, and the Syrians would be allowed to pray in the chapel on Sunday. However, since neither group can keep anything in the room, the Syrians would have to bring objects of prayer to every service.
Next we talked about the Ethiopians. The Ethiopians have a long history in Jerusalem, tracing their lineage back to the liaison between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Hana told us the story which goes like this: the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon. He asked her to spend the night with him, an offer she declined. He then made a deal with her that if she took anything, she would have to spend the night with him. On her last night, he had prepared a spicy meal. Later that night, King Solomon placed a glass of water beside the Queen of Sheba’s bed. She woke in the middle of the night, thirsty. Solomon reminded her of their deal, but she drank the water anyway. They spent the night together, and when the Queen of Sheba returned home, she was "with child." She had a son, Menelik I, and one day, he went to Israel to visit his father, King Solomon. According to Ethiopian tradition, King Solomon sent the Ark of the Covenant back with his son to Ethiopia. Upon the death of his mother, Menelik assumed the throne with the new title of Emperor and King of Kings of Ethiopia. According to legend, he founded the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia. In the 4th century, Ethiopia was converted to Christianity by Egyptian Copts. Since then, a Coptic monk has been the bishop in Ethiopia. On the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the Monastery of the King. While the Ethiopians and the Copts were together, they shared the monastery. But once the Ethiopians separated, the Copts wanted the courtyard and the chapel back for themselves. The Ethiopians argued that they had been there longer, and it was theirs. Today, the status quo that exists in the Church has halted this argument.
The day was incredibly informational. We learned so much about Christianity, especially Christianity in Jerusalem. We learned about the history of the religion, the evolution of it, and each sect’s influence in Jerusalem and throughout the world.
I just want to end with something that Aristobulos said. “The Christians have remained here without political conflict. They always obey the instruction of a political leader. The Christians try to be kind with all people, no matter what their religion or nationality is.” If this low profile has kept them out of the Israeli conflict, it is no wonder why they are able to cooperate with each other (in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and in Jerusalem in general). With the exception of the Latins (i.e., Roman Catholics) and the Armenians, they are all connected and share a deep respect for one another. For regardless of what their traditions are, they all share the same core dogma.
