A tongue of fire?

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In the dim recesses of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a priest and his reflection.

Enlarge the photo and you will even see the light reflected in his eyeglasses as well.

What almost looks like a flame above his head reminds us that this Sunday is Pentecost for some Christians.

The Book of Acts says that the Apostles were gathered together in one place [Jerusalem's Upper Room] when suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing wind, filling the entire house where they were sitting.
Then tongues of fire appeared and one sat upon each one of Apostles!
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as directed by the Spirit.
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Happy Pentecost to all the Christians celebrating it today!
There is a surprising and beautiful blessing for you here, by the modern poet Jan Richardson. 
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(Linking to the meme 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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Eucharistic Symphony DVD launch -- a liturgical patrimony

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On my way to the Tower of David free museum day last Thursday I first went in to see the new Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Book Shop near Jaffa Gate and say Mabruk (mazal tov) to the manager.
He invited me to come back in five hours  and attend the launch of a very special DVD.

A Greek Orthodox priest just happened to be standing under the book store sign that I wanted to photograph. 

The poster shows the DVD and give some details about the music and the project.
You can click and read the enlarged version.

A few minutes after 5:00 pm the VIPs from the Eastern churches began arriving.

 My ticket said

We are most honored to invite you
to the presentation and projection of excerpts of the DVD of the
September 22, 2012 Gethsemane Concert (World Premiere) of the
Eucharistic Symphony
for baritone and soprano soloists, mixed choir with four voices, flute and string orchestra and twelve Church representative singers
by Armando Pierucci, ofm.

The man with his hand on the arch  from the sound system crew had to climb that ladder several times, trying to convince the laptop with a blue screen to actually project the DVD.

The gathered  Greek, Armenian,  Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Melkite,  Franciscan, and Latin clergymen sat patiently and politely waited.
Maybe they were praying for a computer miracle . . .

His Beatitude Theophilos III seems to be such a good man.
The official title of the Patriarch of Jerusalem is
His Most Godly Beatitude, the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Syria, Arabia, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion, Theophilus III.

Here he stood with Swiss Veronique Nebel, prime mover for this "cultural project born in Jerusalem, inspired by liturgical pieces from twelve different Christian musical traditions, a call for increased mutual awareness between the churches and for the respect of religious freedom."

Following the premiere in Jerusalem the concert was given in Geneva at the United Nations, in the cathedral of Milan, and in Matera. 

You will enjoy hearing and seeing the premiere that was in the Garden of Gethsemane.

A short video recap of the performances in Geneva and Italy. 

Meet the composer/organist in this video.

An article from the Custodia is  here .

The composer, Armando Pierucci, a Franciscan Father, said "Music helps us rediscover our roots when Christians praised God with one voice."

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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)

The Washing of the Feet, Holy Thursday

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My friend who lives a few blocks from the Old City is attending all the ceremonies of the Orthodox Christians this week, their Holy Week, and she graciously shares her photos with you and me.

On Holy Thursday morning  the crowd gathered around the dais in the parvis (entrance courtyard) of the Holy Sepulchre.
Last year I showed you the workmen preparing all this temporary construction and wiring. 

 All of my friend's photos can be much enlarged with a click or two.

The Greek Orthodox clergy took their places.
People were watching from atop the Greek monastery across the street from the Holy Sepulchre.

A temporary raised pulpit (with ladder) for the readings.

The only man without a hat is Patriarch Theophilis III.
He removed some of the splendid liturgical vestments to perform the Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet. 
The Patriarch washed the feet of twelve of his clergymen, following the example of Jesus who washed his twelve apostles' feet at the Last Supper.

See close-ups at this website. 

The morning ceremony was ended but later, Thursday evening and night, all the Orthodox churches had more processions, Gospel Readings, etc.
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Tomorrow is Easter Sunday!
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The writing on the door

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Everyone knows the verse of Psalms that tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but today this new graffiti in the Old City rings true as well.

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Happy Ascension Day

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It was a day of much incense on the Mount of Olives this morning!
Greek Orthodox, Russian, Armenian, Coptic, and Syrian clergymen were all swinging incense in the smallish walled area surrounding the Chapel of the Ascension.
For this one day of Ascension Day the Muslim owners of the chapel let these historical Christian communities erect altars and tents in order to conduct their separate Divine Liturgies concurrently, side by side.

It was all very colorful and when I've made order in my hundreds of photos I'll be showing you the clergy in their best vestments.

The present chapel is about 800 years old, although the first Byzantine rotunda was there already in the 4th century.

As you see in the "wall" painting on the wall of one of the tents, the apostles were sky-watching on this very spot almost 2,000 years ago as the right foot of Jesus took his last step of earth.

The New Testament book of Acts (1:9-11) says

He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

And inside the Chapel of the Ascension the faithful kneel and kiss the stone that (tradition says) bears the footprint of his right foot.
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)
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Old City people

Something new in the Old City: a free tour! Sandeman does free tours in seven European cities and now in Jerusalem too. After a guided walk of over 3.5 hours you tip the guide as much or as little as you want. They start at the Jaffa Gate Tourism Office every day at 11:00.

The walled Old City is less than one square kilometer but everything is in it!
We walked through all four quarters: Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Armenian.
You might enjoy seeing some of the people we saw on Tuesday.
Greek Orthodox priests near the Jaffa Gate.

Meir was our Israeli guide. He spoke good English and knew his stuff.

This group of girl soldiers must have been visiting the sites as part of their training. Education about the country is given to all young soldiers.

Yes, they have to carry their gun everywhere.

Indian tourists, with women in the lovely sari.

Jewish kindergarten kids were running after their teachers in the Jewish Quarter.

All kinds of folks at the Western Wall Plaza. The ramp leads up to the Mughrabi Gate into the Temple Mount.

The narrow bazaar streets were packed with tourists. Sandeman guides wear red so you don't lose them in the press of the crowd.

Must be hard to take this lady in a wheelchair up and down the steps of the crowded streets.

A game of sheshbesh on the street.

School must have just let out.

Arab girls in their school uniform.

Ladies doing lunch in the Muslim Quarter.

Mothers out shopping.

Sometimes I wonder how the residents of the densely packed Old City feel about sharing their narrow streets with all these tourists all during the year. I wonder how it is to live there in the old stone houses, in all that intense religious history, to be at the very center of the world.

How would you feel about writing your address as, say, #10 Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem?

Vestments

Vestments. Just some of the different priestly vestments worn by Christian clergy.

Votive candles

Votive candles lit for a loved one.





Vigil lights. Filling them with oil for vespers.