The Boat Chapel on the Sea of Galilee

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Continuing our posts on the Duc In Altum spiritual center at Magdala, here is the scene that greeted our large Jewish group when we entered the atrium.
Beyond the baptismal font and behind the glass doors--the unique Boat Chapel.

Mass was in progress so we did not go in.

But still, I could see the priest with his hands over the chalice.
We could see the outline of the boat-shaped altar, as if floating on the blue waters of the Sea of Galilee right behind it.

The 12 apostles on the sides.
And icons of Mary and of Jesus as Pantocrator in the front.

The square box to the right of the boat's cross (or mast and sail) is the tabernacle (where the Blessed Sacrament is kept).
Pope Francis blessed it during his visit to Israel in late May 2014.
Duc In Altum was dedicated in 2014.
On the left of the photo is Mexican priest Father Juan Solana, the driving force behind the whole conception and construction of the Magdala Center, which began in 2006 when he found and purchased these 20 acres of shoreline property for 16 million dollars.

The glossy brochure shows the Boat Chapel from the outside looking in.
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If you are still with me, here is a bonus, some really interesting points from the brochure:

• "Materials, colors and designs ... were carefully selected to create the sensation of a journey by boat."
• "The ... altar was crafted from a Lebanese cedar tree."
• "It is modeled after the 1st century goat discovered down the road from Magdala at Nof Ginosar ..."  [what Israelis call "the Jesus boat," I might add]. 
• "A relic of Mary Magdalene [brought from France] is imbedded in the top of the altar."
• "Notice the [apostles'] halos are lightly painted to reflect the ongoing journey they are on as they accompany Jesus. During his public life, their faith in Jesus as the Son of God often faltered and was, as well, strengthened through trials."
• The image of Judas Iscariot, holding the money bag, appears to be a contradiction among the icons. No halo is painted around his head.  Nonetheless, he is included among the first 12 apostles who were called to follow Jesus .... We can look upon him as a reminder of the frailty of human nature as well as the call to repentance .... It stands also as a reminder of God's unfailing plan amidst the frailty of human freedom." 

So, dear readers, I think we can feel how some very dedicated Roman Catholics have invested much time, thought, prayer, and money in their vision of building, and also writing about, Duc In Altum.

(More in the coming posts.)
UPDATE April 12: Good pictures of the Boat Chapel during Mass for Mary Magdalene's feast day:
https://www.lpj.org/saint-mary-magdalene-magdala/

(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday and Our World Tuesday.)
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Magdala, Duc In Altum

One humble church bell against a mighty sky, and just beyond the eucalyptus trees lies the Sea of Galilee.

Israel is full of old and ancient churches.
It is not often you see a brand new one.
Last week I got to see for the first time the beautiful Duc In Altum!

This special Catholic spiritual center is surrounded by antiquities, over 2,000 years old, including a synagogue where Jesus most likely taught.
Here the famous Magdala stone was discovered!

There is so much to show and tell, I will continue in the coming posts.

In the brochure you can see how the Boat Chapel looks at night, from the sea side, and how the Duc In Altum spiritual center looks on a sunny day.

Lots more is under construction for the lucky pilgrims who will come to Magdala in the coming years.
In the next posts you will see the archaeological park and the interior of the church and chapels and learn the amazing story of how all this began.

Meanwhile, today Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo is celebrating ten years of blogging.
I'm hoping for at least another decade of showing you the beauty of Israel!
Thanks for your visits, questions and comments.
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(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday and Our World Tuesday.  And for ABC Wednesday, G is for Galilee.)
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A church watch-cat

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Guardian of the threshold?
A cat sits atop the gate next to a church in old Jaffa.

Immanuel Church was built in 1904 in Jaffa's American/German Colony. 
Its history is so interesting, and unique. 

The Protestant church holds services on Saturday in Hebrew and English.
On Sundays only in English. 

Linking this post to Camera-Critters and inSPIREd Sunday memes.
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UPDATE: Just learned that today is Cat Day (well, in America at least).  Happy Cat Day! 
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In the tomb

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This, my friends, is THE picture for today, the day Christians call Holy Saturday.
The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday when Jesus lay in a dark tomb, hidden away, here in my country, in Jerusalem.
Although not a Christian I can't help but wonder what the feeling of Christians is on this heavy day. 

I entered this silent, dim, empty 18th century church in rural Austria alone.
How stunned I was to suddenly discover a life-sized dead "body" lying below the altar.
Such a life-like statue! 

It was almost too life-like.

And look here -- how often do you see a pieta with Mary holding his hand?

A Way of the Cross ends on top of Mount Calvary, with three crosses as the final station.

The old Baroque church is called in German Kalvarienbergkirche.
Next to it was built (in 1984) the Franziskusgemeinschaft, the communal farming community where I volunteered last October-November.
It was a wonderful experience, all of it.
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)

Moscow meets Rome

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Vienna's beautiful St. Nikolas Russian Orthodox Church, in November.
(Click to open the photo, then once again to greatly enlarge it and see the detail.)

Within the next hours, Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis will have a historic meeting -- over coffee at Havana airport.
The first coming together since the great schism in 1054.

UPDATE:  On Twitter:  

Today is a day of grace. The meeting with Patriarch Kirill is a gift from God. Pray for us.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) February 12, 2016

UPDATE 2:  Here is the Joint Declaration that resulted from the meeting.
UPDATE Feb. 13:
My favorite quote from the get-together:
"Together, they discussed concrete proposals for working together, “because unity is made by walking,” the pope said. Even if the goal of full unity is not reached in this lifetime, he said, “at least when the Lord comes, he’ll find us walking.”
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St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney

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 Now during my visit to my family in Australia I finally got into the city, to my favorite place in Sydney -- St. Mary's Cathedral.

Solemn Sung Mass was beautiful with the men's and boys' choir and the organ and all the smells and bells of the Church.

After the service people may gather around and watch the organist play the organ voluntary.
I think yesterday it was Toccata in F by 17th century Dietrich Buxtehude.

There's just something about a Gothic (-style) cathedral!
It's something we lack in Jerusalem. 

More photos of St. Mary's in the coming days (after I have been without Internet for the last five days, oi).
For more about the cathedral (from my previous visits) you can type "St. Mary's" in the little search box on top. 

(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday and Our World Tuesday.)
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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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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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Church doors, John, and a bench

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A blog-friend from Scandinavia came to visit today!
We walked down to the local monastery.
I took this shot through the church doors (while sitting in the church)  to catch a beautiful wooden bench resting on ancient stones.
(You can enlarge this photo a lot to see details.)

That's John the Baptist on the left with his message, in Hebrew.
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(A post for Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)
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Solitary work atop Mt. Tabor

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Restoration was supposed to be yesterday's R word, until I found out it was Rodin's birthday.
Rodin won, but the restoration in the Romanian church on the top of Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee certainly deserves a post too, so here it is.

 There is a man working up there on the scaffold.
You'll have to do the click trick to see him, and then another click on the photo that opens to see the man really well.

I think it was the top (canopy?) of the throne (cathedra) that he was meticulously  painting.
He seemed aware that the saints on the dome above him were watching him work.

The Eastern Orthodox monastery  was built in the mid-19th century with funds from Romania.
The Church of St. Elias was dedicated to the prophet Elijah and was the first religious structure built by Romanian Christians in the Holy Land.

The wall paintings (all around!) were added in 1912. 

The Orthodox place is totally different in feeling and appearance from its more famous neighbor on Mt. Tabor,  Barluzzi's Church of the Transfiguration.

 A Catholic friend took me there in August for the Franciscan Mass on the Feast of the Transfiguration.
I'll show you more pictures from the mountain sometime soon.
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At Mary's tomb--lots of praying going on

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Today, on the calendar of the Armenian Orthodox, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is celebrated.
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We came here, to visit the Church of the Tomb of Mary in Gethsemane a few days ago; and then,
judging by the entrance, the old Crusader church looked deserted.

But once inside, we were surprised by the smell of incense and the sound of chanting and singing, all over the place!
We waited as the Armenians began the liturgy near the side chapels and then followed them down the 47 stairs to the underground part of the church.

The Armenians continued prayers in front of the sepulcher of Mary.
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On the other side of the tomb another liturgy was in progress, but I could not pass through to see who; probably the Syrian Orthodox or the Greek Orthodox, maybe Ethiopians.
The Copts were praying at their own altar, and I can show you those photos in the days to come.
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My visiting American Protestant friends did not know what to make of all this, but I enjoyed it very much.
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UPDATE: I have added information in the Comments in answer to readers' questions.
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(A post for Our World Tuesday.)

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Capernaum--the glass floor

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At Capernaum, the alpha and omega theme of the railing is reflected in the modern church's glass floor.
Also visible through the glass are the ancient foundations of the earlier octagonal church which was built around the house of Peter, the apostle of Jesus.


From the window, beyond the rack of priestly vestments,  you can (if you enlarge the photo) see a boat passing on the quiet Sea of Galilee.

Posted are the rules for visiting priests, in several languages.

(A post for Weekend Reflections meme. And linking also to inSPIRED Sunday.)

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