Entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the first thing to greet you is a wide modern mosaic that shows the dreadful events of the first Good Friday.
In between the mosaic and the light of the door is the anointing stone, the stone of unction.Some perceive the marble slab to be the 13th station of the cross, the station before the very last one.
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(This can be a contribution to Monday Murals at Oakland Daily Photo.)
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Hello beautiful Dina, what an amazing post of the Holy land.How the second image is so powerful to show the completeness of adoration and the complete subjugation to religious powers to life in general and to grief but there is strength here in the recognition.
ReplyDeletemay the light of easter bless you and thankyou once again for this message from the holy land!!!during the easter tide.
Good pictures Dina.
ReplyDeleteThe subject is sad, but that is a beautiful mosaic! And, for me, a most unusual station.
ReplyDeleteMirae, merci.
ReplyDeleteAdullamite, thank you.
Hilda, thank you, your comment made me check the sources. One guidebook does say "There are those who perceive this point [stone of unction] as the Thirteenth Station, rather than the statue of Mary ...."
So I guess most would say that Station XIII is upstairs on Golgotha. A small bust of "Our Lady of Sorrows" marks the spot.
But I have no pictures of her because the small chapel is always surrounded by tourist or pilgrim groups.
Hilda, I now changed the text of my post accordingly.
ReplyDeleteI remember this, but I have never seen it without a crowd around...
ReplyDeleteVP, I was there very early one morning, before the crowds. Can you believe, there was not even anyone in line yet to enter the tomb.
ReplyDeleteI guess that a reminder of the more undesirable aspects of being human didn't serve the church authorities well so they had to skip it. They tended to do that a lot (or is that an understatement?).
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't my intention, but I'm glad my comment helped you a bit.
The bottom shot is very impressive.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused; the 13th Station is Christ being taken down from the cross and the 14th Station in the USA is Jesus being laid in the tomb. So, is the slab in the tomb?
ReplyDeleteAs you can probably tell, I've never had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land so all I know is from books and Bible Study and now the internet.
Scrappy Grams, shalom . It's the same.
ReplyDeleteThe 13th station is the taking down from the cross and placing the body of the Stone of Unction/Anointing (for preparation for burial). Today's post shows this stone, which is just a few steps away from the tomb.
See more about the Anointing Stone at
http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/04/shadow-over-golgotha.html
See the tomb (also covered by a marble slab) at
http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/07/jerusalems-version-of-empty.html
That's such a detailed mosaic mural!
ReplyDeleteIt is a colorful and a very special place to visit. I'm not so concerned about exactly where these stations are.. but I think the grave is by Golgatha.
ReplyDeleteGlad you linked, Dina! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! Amen to Francisca's comment.
ReplyDeleteEven though modern, the mural uses a lot of the stylistic conventions of of both medieval and renaissance art and seems to fit the antiquity of this holy site. I found your second photo quite moving. She could be one of those mural figures mourning at the foot of the cross. We are witness to an intensity of faith and devotion that has endured more than 2000 years. Thank you, Dina, for participating again in Monday Mural.
ReplyDeleteA perfect post for the season!
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