The falling asleep of Mary

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Everything ready for today's Feast of the Dormition of Mary at the Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem.
Happy Feast to Catholics and others who celebrate today.
(Orthodox Dormition on the Old Calendar comes on August 28.)
Please see more about the Dormition (aka Assumption) in my earlier post and also here.
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And to us Jews, Shabbat shalom.
Something for everybody today.  :)
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Update:  Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin just wrote a moving Reflection about Mary.
A few paragraphs, called "A Mystifying Beauty," -- worth your while.
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Church of All the Saints of the Holy Land and Russia

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This beautiful church in Ein Kerem is called the Church of All the Saints of the Holy Land and Russia.
(You can click two separate times to enlarge any of the pictures.)

And today, on the Byzantine liturgical calendar, it is Sunday of All Saints.

The Divine Liturgy for the Feast of All Saints of the Holy Land took place this morning at the church of the same name within the Gorny Convent.

 Russians built the convent in 1871 but the big church was "on hold" for over a century.
Just a few years ago it was finally finished, complete with golden domes.
It looks out over my beloved Jerusalem Hills.

Read more about this Sunday at the Greek Orthodox website, including this nice summary:

In this celebration, then, we the pious reverently honour and call blessed all the Righteous, the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Shepherds, Teachers, and Holy Monastics, both men and women alike, known and unknown, who have been added to the choirs of the Saints and shall be added, from the time of Adam until the end of the world, who have been perfected in piety and have glorified God by their holy lives. All these, as well as the orders of the Angels, and especially our most holy Lady and Queen, the Ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, do we honour today, setting their life before us as an example of virtue, and entreating them to intercede in our behalf with God, Whose grace and boundless mercy be with us all. Amen.

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More pictures of the Russian Orthodox nuns and the several churches at the Gorny Convent in my earlier posts.
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And speaking of Russian Orthodox nuns, good Sister Dr. Vassa has started sharing whatever insights come to her during her morning reflections on how to make improvements in her and our spiritual life and life in general.  Very helpful, even for me, a non-Christian!
Just go to https://www.facebook.com/ and type in Vassa Larin.
Her posts are public and you do not need to have a Facebook account to see them.

UPDATE June 9: The Moscow Patriarchate just published their photos from the feast day at the church in Gorny Convent, with the arrival of an icon from Mt. Athos. 
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(Linking to OurWorld Tuesday and to the bloggers' meme for churches around the world, inSPIRED Sunday.)
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Orthodox Pentecost today and a video

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The Orthodox and Eastern Churches are celebrating Pentecost this weekend.
(Catholic and Protestant Pentecost was last Sunday.)
Here in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the Greek Orthodox clergy's red vestments bring to mind the red tongues of fire of the first Pentecost in Jerusalem.

The prostration goes with the liturgy of the day which has three sets of kneeling prayers for Pentecost.

The first is a prayer of great repentance; the second prayer is a call to the Holy Spirit to help the faithful follow the right path during their life; and the third prayer is to remember those who have gone before.

Some selected lines from the liturgy:
DEACON: For those who incline their hearts as well as the knee before the Lord, let us pray to the Lord.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy.

DEACON: That He will accept our act of kneeling as incense before Him, let us pray to the Lord.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy. . . .

DEACON: Again, on bended knees, let us pray to the Lord.
CANTOR: Lord, have mercy. Kyrie eleison.

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My photos are from 2009 but not much changes from year to year.

Wishes for a joyous feast day to all the Orthodox Christians!

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Sister  Dr. Vassa Larin, an American sister of the Russian Orthodox Church, has eleven minutes of good insights about Pentecost/Descent of the Holy Spirit in this new video (Episode 50!):

(You can also follow her meditations and world travels on her Facebook page, Vassa Larin.)

UPDATE: Here is the entire text of Great Vespers on the Sunday Evening of Pentecost with the Kneeling Prayers, in English, from the helpful website http://www.antiochian.org/online-liturgical-guide .
UPDATE June 6: Today the Jerusalem Patriarchate put online the videos and photos of the Orthodox celebration of Pentecost.

(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday.)

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Kawas ceremonial guards at the Ascension

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On their calendar, today was the great Feast of the Ascension for Orthodox and Eastern Christians.
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 Jerusalem's Chapel of the Ascension was first built around 390.
It was destroyed and rebuilt by various conquerors many times.
A mosque and minaret were added next to the chapel in 1620 and the entire site remains in Muslim possession.
The main octagonal edicule surrounds the Ascension rock, said to bear the footprint of Jesus as he ascended, forty days after the resurrection.
It is on the Mount of Olives, in the Arab neighborhood A-Tur.
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You can see photos of the 2012 celebration there in my posts about  Ascension along with links to information about the holiday and the place.
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Today I want to show you only the Kawasim that were at that Ascension celebration.

Since Ottoman Turk times, these Arab ceremonial guards lead the way and clear the way for processions of Jerusalem's Christian clergy, with a rhythmic tapping of their staffs. 
The Kawas is kind of like the Swiss Guard in the Vatican. 
Some of them are Muslims and some are Christians. 
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You can see more nice Kawasim in my posts  about a Papal Mass and in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
They are a wonderful part of Jerusalem.
UPDATE April 2021: The story of Shibly Abu Sada, a kawas for 24 years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_xJDdyKmQU


UPDATE May 27: The [Orthodox] Jerusalem Patriarchate today published online their photos and videos of their Ascension Day on the Mt. of Olives, May 21.  
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Sr. Dr. Vassa has a new and very interesting brief video about making the transition from Ascension to Pentecost.  It is about what/why is Church.

(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday.)
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UPDATE April 28, 2005:  See a short reel about the history of the kawas in Jerusalem: 
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BhQUsrv59/
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Pools of Bethesda, St. Anne's, and a video

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Enter Jerusalem's Old City through the Lions Gate, aka St. Stephen's Gate, and soon on your right you will find the place of the White Fathers.

The door of St. Anne's  is open.  Welcome.

If the beautiful old basilica  is empty, test its great acoustics with a song.

Outside are the famous pools of Bethesda.
(Click once and then once again to get the photos full size.) 

For some Christians this weekend is the Sunday of the Paralytic, about the story in John 5:1-9 of the healing at the pool of Bethesda. 
But Sr.Dr. Vassa Larin has helpful, welcome advice for us all, based on this story of healing, e.g. our past, no matter how difficult, can be beneficial, "So, let‘s not wallow in the bed of our past, but take it up and walk, to the greater glory of God."

Enjoy Sr. Vassa's video:

 (Linking this post to inSPIREd Sunday meme.)
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Myrrh, women, tombs, and a video

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For Orthodox Christians, today is the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers, remembering the women disciples who came to the tomb and found it empty. 
In the picture are two 1st century tombs in the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Nicodemus, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
When I visit, I always have a feeling these burial places in the modest Syriac Orthodox chapel may be the real place, instead of the famous one inside the edicule in the rotunda.

Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin, of  Coffee with Sr. Vassa fame, offers a good episode about Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers (and why the women were right and the Apostles were wrong):

 (Linking this post to InSPIREd Sunday meme.)
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Orthodox Sunday of the Cross

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Orthodox Christians are today celebrating the fourth Sunday of Lent, the Sunday of the Cross, centered of course in Jerusalem, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Dr. Sr. Vassa  has a good short video which she describes as "a Lenten reflection on the Cross and other mysterious concepts."
It's a good one!
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Ashes and snow

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Jerusalem is entering into Lent today, Ash Wednesday,  with the imposition of ashes.
And tomorrow the Holy City will be getting snow, again!
Ashes and snow. 
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If you are looking for some Lenten inspiration, education, and even humor,  have some Coffee with Sister Vassa. 
Just click the "Reflections on Lent" playlist on her YouTube channel.
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Feast of Theophany today, at the River Jordan

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Now is the Feast of Theophany for Coptic, Syrian, and Ethiopian Christians and for those Orthodox who follow the Old Calendar.
To quote from our Ministry of Tourism's nice Holy Land Calendar of Christian Feasts & Events

For the Eastern churches, this feast denotes Christ's baptism in the Jordan River.
Theologically, it is Jesus' first revelation as the Son of God and the revelation of the Holy Trinity.
Morning of Jan. 18 - A procession of Orthodox clergy and pilgrims goes down to the river bank [at Kasr il Yahud, east of Jericho]. ... By submerging a cross in the river, the Patriarch purifies and consecrates the water, which is then sprinkled on the crowds of faithful.

The Ethiopians celebrate the baptism at the river that afternoon.
The Syrian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church have the river the next morning, Jan. 19.

 I visited Kasr il Yahud on a regular day in May 2012 and chanced to see a Canadian pastor baptizing  his whole youth group.

Should you need a life preserver. . .

The gift shop on the Israeli side of the river has souvenir T shirts for you.
Click on the photo to read the Bible verses.
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To see more of the baptism site, see my posts on Kasr il Yahud.
There are some posts about John the Baptist too.
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Sr. Vassa has a 9-minute video about St. John and how "he didn't get in the way."
You will enjoy it, for sure!
Happy Theophany to Sr. Vassa and all who are celebrating now.
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Coffee with Sr. Vassa and the Magi

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Today was Epiphany.
Among other things, it celebrates the arrival of the three Wise Men to the cave in Bethlehem.
And tonight and tomorrow is Christmas day for those Orthodox Christians who use the Old Calendar, as well as for Coptic, Syrian, and Ethiopian Christians.

So tonight I thought it would be fun and enlightening to watch this short video in which those Magi are introduced in a whole new light by a young nun who is herself full of light.
Born in New York state, Sr. Vassa is a nun of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
Dr. Sr. Vassa teaches at the University of Vienna, this after many years in a monastery in France and two years in Jerusalem(!).

She is making a series of 10-minute Coffee with Sr. Vassa episodes and 2-minute Coffee Breaks, to be found on YouTube. 
Each is full of good teaching and a life lesson, presented in Sr. Vassa's inimitable style of humor and wisdom, with some music too. 
There is something in each reflection for everyone, even me, a nice Jewish girl.  :)

You can join the zillions and follow Coffee with Sr. Vassa on Facebook or subscribe on YouTube.
Visit the Coffee with Sister Vassa Official Website, it has everything you need to know about this special nun.
 
Yalla, have fun!  Let me know what you think. 

And merry Christmas to Sr. Vassa!
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(Z is for zillions, linking to ABC Wednesday meme.)
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My most unique Christmas ever!

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"Today the virgin gives birth to the transcendent one,
  and the earth offers a cave to the unapproachable one"


    --from the Byzantine Kontakion on the Nativity

Tell me, what were the chances of me being led to a hidden ancient grotto in the desert davka on Christmas day?!

I woke up feeling sad that this would be my first Christmas far away from Jerusalem and from the smells and bells of  her old churches, far from any Christian friends, far from my nun-friends' Christmas roast chicken and panettone.
Because now I live in the Negev desert, in the middle of nowhere, alone.
(Yes, even we Jews enjoy the drama and mystery surrounding Dec. 25, once a year.)

Over morning coffee, a new video episode from the inimitable Sr. Dr. Vassa popped up on Facebook.
She spoke of loneliness being more acute on Christmas and how we can turn things around by focusing on certain things that can liberate us from the rut of self-pity.
(Try this brilliant young  Orthodox nun's on-going video series, you'll love it.)

So I left the cold apartment and walked into the warm sun.
Two short blocks brought me to the end of Meitar, to the edge of the desert.
I vacillated -- nu, which direction to take, -- east, west, or north?
Finally I said "OK God, it's your call.  Lead on."
He did;  we turned  to the East.

In the photo above, if you click on it a few times, you'll be able to see a strange bit of whiteness inside the fold of that hill.

I traversed afar over zillions of sharp dark flint stones scattered on the earth and suddenly, above that whiteness, I came upon a cave!
To enter?  Of course Dina, throw caution to the winds!

That's it! I was inside, looking out.
Nothing or no one attacked me, this is, except for a great feeling of awe and excitement! 

There was no ox or ass, but other animals had been there.
Like a porcupine!

Small animal tracks dotted the thick layer of loess.

I hated to disturb the layer of dust of the ages by trodding on it.
No one had been in this cave for a very long time.

I made just a few footprints.

A ball of chalk on the floor!
You could crumble it with your hands.

The stuff clings to you, were you to kneel.
Well, I was just doing a tiny bit of archaeology down there, honest.

After surveying the floor, the niches, the walls and ceiling of the very ancient place,  I knew the time had come to finally sit down on a rock and be quiet and attentive.
To reflect on the pathos of the nativity.
To imagine how Miriam-Mary felt,  having to give birth in just such a cave. 
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 As Orthodox Christians sing in today's Kontakion,
"Today the virgin gives birth to the transcendent one,
  and the earth offers a cave to the unapproachable one . . ."
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