The Syriac Orthodox Church

This little Church dedicated to St. Mark is built atop one of the supposed sites of the Last Supper. In this case the “Upper Room” is down a flight of stairs under the chapel. The Syriac Orthodox Church had its founding under Peter in Antioch and has the oldest surviving liturgy of any Christian Church. Indeed, it was at Antioch that believers were first called “Christian.” See Luke 11:25 (I think—I don’t have my bible here). The liturgy is in Syriac Aramaic, which is significant because Aramaic was the common language of the entire eastern Mediterranean during the early Roman Empire, and thus would have been the language that the Lord spoke in Palestine. In the Church we were sadly too late for prayers, but we met Justine, the caretaker, who was a stout little woman of about sixty, who took us inside the chapel, unlocking the doors from a large ring of keys at her belt, and drawing back the red and gold emblazoned curtain to let us see the altar. She bade us sit on a bench while she gave us, in enthusiastic and slurring English, a history of her beloved Church. I made the faux paux of crossing my legs in the Church as we sat, which brought a stern reprimand—I now know one never crosses ones legs in an Orthodox Church, nor ever show the bottom of your shoes to a Muslim. Live and learn. Justine, among other things, told us of many miracles which have occurred in the Church in history before the altar of the Virgin Mary, off to the side, including, according to her account, an event of speaking in tongues a year ago and at about the same time an appearance of the Savior to a woman from France in the underground “Upper Room.” The event of the appearance is secondhand, as the Frenchwoman told her through translation. Her description of the event of speaking in tongues is more interesting, as she was one of the participants. She said that she speaks Syriac, Hebrew and English. One day a Russian man came into the church, who spoke only Russian. She said that she conversed with the man for over an hour “In English.” The man left, and then returned 3 months later. As they spoke upon his return she could not understand him, nor he her. He became angry and signaled for her to stop speaking and then retreated to the side altar to Mary. She said she prayed to understand why he was angry and why he would not speak to her in Engish. As she prayed a friend from Jerusalem entered who spoke both Russian and Hebrew. She had the newcomer ask the Russian man why he was angry. He told Justine, through the translator, that he couldn’t understand why she didn’t speak Russian to him as she had before. It was a very interesting account. Today, at the conclusion of our visit with Justine, before we inspected the underground “Upper Room,” (which was unremarkable, indeed had modern plastered walls) Justine sang for us the Lord’s Prayer in Syriac in the chapel, which was remarkable.

Russian Church of St. Mary Magdalene

As you approach the bottom of the Kidron Valley you will see the stunning golden domes of the Russian Church of St. Mary Magdelene. Founded in the 1880’s by Tsar Alexander III, this church is set among many trees and is very peaceful. As we left the precinct of the Church we heard from many points the Muslim call to noon prayer.

The Russian Church of the Ascension

Near the summit of the Mount of Olives is the Russian Church of the Ascension, which is a convent of the Russian Orthodox Church. We had a great deal of difficulty finding this site in the confusing maze of narrow streets in the very poor Muslim neighborhood. We could see the lofty bell tower of the convent, but were unable to find a way in. Eventually, after a diligent search and Max asking for directions we found a high gate down a narrow alley. I rang the bell and a man opened up and peered out. In Russian I asked him if we could visit the convent. He said, “No, it is closed.” He then paused and said, “What day is it?” “Tuesday,” I said. “And what time is it?” “10:00,” I said. He then looked puzzled and opened the door with alacrity, “Okay,” he said, “Come in.”

Inside we found a virtual paradise, with a grove of maturing olive trees, many flower gardens, rock walls, and a very peaceful little haven for the nuns. We visited the main Church of the Ascension, as well as the little refectory chapel which preserves the supposed stones where it is claimed the Savior ascended to heaven. I asked if we could climb the bell tower, but was told no.

While in a little grove trees near a majestic overlook of the City of Jerusalem, Max and I took the opportunity of offering a simple religious rite connected with our Church, with Brooke witnessing. Because of the great serenity of this place, my visit to the Church of the Ascension must stand as one of the highpoints of my visit to the Holy Land.

The Russian Orthodox Alexander Hospice

Max and I visited the Russian Orthodox Alexander Hospice this morning. It contains both the hospice structure, with many fine formal rooms furnished by Tsar Nicholas II at the turn of the last century, as well as an amazing chapel, underground crypt, and an area where Roman arches have been excavated. This Church is also a shrine to one of the stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Built around what is believed by many to be the site of Christ’s Crucifixion, burial and Resurrection, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the most revered site in all Christendom. (Last week I related my conversation with my teaching assistant in Ukraine, who told me that the altars of the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Churches are relit with great ceremony each Christmas and Easter with a flame brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). The present structure is an eclectic remnant of generations of structures built or maintained by many faiths over the past two thousand years, dating back to the first basilica constructed on the site by the Roman Emperor Constantine in about A.D. 335. Max and Brooke pointed out to me shrines built or maintained by the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Syrian, Ethiopian and Coptic Churches, among many others.

The main impression one brings away from this amazing place is one of unrestrained devotion. To see countless pilgrims surging through the structure, many in tears, is a memorable thing. Above all the people queuing up to enter the time-darkened shrine supposedly containing the Lord’s tomb is a sight to behold.

The Old City

On the morning of my arrival in Jerusalem Max and Brooke took me in tow and we spent several hours in the Old City, exploring the Christian, Jewish and Armenian Quarters, visiting the Church of the Redeemer, the Russian Orthodox Alexander Hospice (which also is a shrine to the 8^th Station of the Cross) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We also saw the Western Wall in the distance from the rooftops and especially from the great bell tower of the Church of the Reedemer. (More about all of those sites in subsequent posts).

The Old City is filled with a fascinating mix of peoples, wares, religious objects, sights and smells. This is, after all the place where the boundaries of race, religion and politics merge most dramatically. Walking down the narrow, dark streets—some covered, some in the open air—you may see in one sequence Hasidic Jews with books in their hands, Arab merchants, Catholic nuns, tourists from many nations, Orthodox priests and Israeli soldiers with automatic weapons in their hands.

Cathedral of St. Sophia

Today I visited the Собор Святої Софії, or Cathedral of St. Sophia. It's foundations date to at least 1011--almost exactly 1,000 years ago! Named in honor of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and patterned after the older St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, it is on the list of World Heritage Sites and is probably the finest surviving example of Kievan Rus architecture. The name, of course, refers not to a specific Saint named "Sophia" but to "Wisdom"--not wisdom in the general sense, but the Holy Wisdom, a distinct attribute if not a distinct personage of Diety.

The original cathedral structure has 5 naves and 13 cupolas--there are now 19 cupolas including the additions built from the 16th century forwards. But the central, 11th century core is intact with all of its murals and mosaics, including the central, golden mosaic of the womanly figure of "Holy Wisdom" in the main dome.

Visitors are permitted to climb one of the circular corner staircases to the upper galleries, where almost every square foot of wall and ceiling space is filled with fantastic murals and mosaics. Among the unique panels I studied were murals of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, of most of the Old Testament Prophets, of many stories from the New Testament, and historical murals showing Volodymyr's marriage to his Christian wife, Anna, in Constantinople, of their journey to Kyiv, of the baptism of the Rus in the Dnipro, and of their laying the foundation for St. Sophia's. I was particularly struck by a mural of Adam and Eve making a burnt offering on a small altar and then conversing with an angel, by another mural of "the Ancient of Days" appearing before a throng of people, and above all, a huge mural in the central northern tower depicting God the Father seated on a throne, with vivid lightning and clouds, surrounded by twenty-four kings who are laying their crowns on the ground before Him. This last mural is monumental in size, easily thirty feet wide and more than twenty feet high. There are also several towers in the upper levels filled with art treasures taken from the old St. Michael's Cathedral before it was destroyed in the 1930's.

On the ground level of the Cathedral the original 11th century arches, murals and floor mosaics are still plainly visible. St. Sophia's is reportedly the most complete example of 11th century church architecture in the world.

I spent about two or three hours inside the Cathedral itself, drinking in the spirit of the place, and marveling at the beautiful preservation of the building and its treasures after 1,000 years of use.

During the Soviet era, the building was confiscated but spared destruction as it was named as an architectural and cultural museum. Upon the fall of the Soviet Union, various churches lay claim to it, including the Ukrainian Orthodox, the Russian Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic Churches. Although all groups have been allowed to hold selective services here, no group has been given the right to hold regular services. On my prior visit to Ukraine, Olga Kupriyevich pointed out to me the grave of Patriarch Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv-Patriarchy, who is buried outside the gates of St. Sophia's. Apparently after the Patriarch died in 1995 his followers sought to inter him inside the walls of St. Sophia's, but were denied access. Riot police were called to prevent the burial, and a bloody clash took place. At least two people were killed and dozens injured in the violence that ensued. For these reasons, St. Sophia's remains a kind of universal symbol of Orthodoxy, but is not tied to any specific denomination. Like Jerusalem, the place is holy to several faiths and millions of believers.

On a personal level, after today's lengthy visit, I feel as tied to St. Sophia's as to any other site in Ukraine. Part of its fascination and attraction for me is its deep antiquity, and undoubtedly part is a feeling of family connection, as I am a direct descendant of Yaroslav and his queen, Anna, who laid the foundation for the place. But beyond that, there is something spiritually potent in this special place dedicated to the Holy Wisdom.

The Rebirth of St. Michael's of the Golden Domes

Yesterday I bought a large book of historical photographs (mostly nineteenth century) of Kyiv. Included are several shots of the monastery of St. Michael of the Golden Domes, which is less than 100 paces from my apartment. Reading about these historical photographs as well as reading my new book about the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr, which I wrote about yesterday, the long tragic and ultimately triumphant story of St. Michaels has become clear in my mind.

Pictured above is the front of the main Cathedral from the base of the belltower. Pictured below is the rear of the Cathedral with the smaller refectory chapel of St. John the Theologian on the left. The entire monastery is enclosed within high walls. There is also a magnificent bell tower fronting on the public square. This gives the reader some sense of the layout of the complex.

The monastery was founded in about 1050 A.D. and the original church, on the site of the present Cathedral, was built after 1100. This original church was reportedly the first church in Kyiv to have gilded domes--hence the name "St. Michael of the Golden Domes." The monastery became a magnet for generations of pilgrims, chiefly because the relics of St. Barbara were housed here. In my new book I have a nineteenth century picture of thousands of pilgrims climbing the steep hillsides in long lines beneath the statue of St. Volodymyr and on up to St. Michaels. St. Barbara's relics were brought to Kyiv from Constantinople in 1108 by the wife of Sviatapolk Iziaslavych's wife in a silver reliquary. As I wrote yesterday, during the Soviet era, these relics were removed to St. Volodymyr's Cathedral, where they remain to this day.

(Incidentally, I had an interesting experience yesterday during the hour or so I stood alone in St. Volodymyr's near St. Barbara's relics. They are now preserved in a sarcophagus-like container housed beneath a magnificent golden canopy with marble steps. I saw several people walk up the steps to view the relics, so I thought--why not. I went up the steps for a brief view. As I quietly walked back down the steps I was accosted by a most officious gentleman who asked me (in Russian) if I was a Christian. "Yes," I said. "Then why don't you make the sign of the cross? You must always make the sign of the cross as you approach or walk away from sacred things!" He was not pleased with me. I, of course, did not want to be disrespectful, but did not heed his demands that I make the sign of the cross--I could only think of Daniel and his companions who refused to pray as directed by Nebuchanezzar when they heard the sound of "the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, dulcimer and all kinds of music.")

The Golden Domes were pulled down and the Cathedral destroyed by the Soviet's in about 1936, and a new administrative complex for the Ukrainian S.S.R. was built on the ruins. Apparently there were tennis and volleyball courts on the actual site of the Cathedral. The monastic buildings just north of the Cathedral were apparently party offices--my friend Wilfried Voge told me that his wife remembers attending social events there as a child. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Cathedral was rebuilt on the ancient site.

The little chapel dedicated to St. John the Theologian, which was built in 1713, is the original structure and survived the Soviet desecration of the monastery. It was used as a locker room for the Soviet sports complex on the site during the dark years of Soviet rule.

There is, of course, a lesson in all of this--that nothing is irrevocably lost. The new Cathedral is now the centerpiece of a thriving, vibrant and joyful monastery, which has apparently become the training seminary for many of the nations Ukrainian Orthodox priests. Although not an ancient structure, the new Cathedral is most beautiful inside.

St Volodymyr's Cathedral

Today I was an hour or so early for my lecture at Taras Shevchenko University, and so wandered across the street to Патріарший кафедральний собор св. Володимира, or St. Volodymyr's Cathedral. This is the mother cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church--Kyiv Patriarchy (distinguished from the Russian Orthodox Church, as I have discussed elsewhere in this blog). I spent more than an hour inside, studying the neo-Byzantine architecture and the amazing interior mosaics, executed by a team of Venetian masters. This is the church that I visited briefly last week with my teaching assistant, Tetiana Rogozianska. After our lectures today, Tetiana and I returned for another visit, and she provided me with some amazing additional insights and I bought a little history of the cathedral in Ukrainian from the ikon shop, which I am trying to work out little by little.

The cathedral appears most ancient, but it actually was built in 1852 to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the baptism of the Kievan Rus by St. Volodymyr the Great. It is Volodymyr's statue overlooking the Dnipro at the site of the baptisms which has caught my special devotion and attention over the years. (Incidentally, I have recently been exploring my ancestry and find that I am a direct descendant of Volodymyr--but that is another story altogether). The cathedral is laid out as a traditional six piered Храм or temple, much like others I have seen at Pecherska Lavra and elsewhere in Kyiv.

Outside the appearance of the cathedral is most striking. The thing which has most caught my eye and captured my imagination over the years has been the amazing paint- and gold-work on the seven domes--a deep blue base filled with golden stars.

The interior of the cathedral is literally filled with colorful mosaics and gold accents which draw the eye up and up to the amazing light-filled cupolas more than 150 feet above the floor! The vast mosaics were created by a team of Venetian masters, and individual pieces by the artist Viktor Vasnetsov. I noted in the gold lettering high in the domes both Russian and Greek inscriptions. There are many, many panels depicting scriptural themes, including the Decalogue, the feeding of Elijah by the birds, the Creation (including a stunning portrait of the Father--not often seen in Orthodox Churches), and many scenes from the life of Christ and the Apostles from the New Testament.

During the Soviet era the cathedral survived essentially intact, with all of its interior artwork undamaged. The building served as a museum of religion and atheism. The cathedral was one of the only places in the entire U.S.S.R. where one could openly visit a working and largely intact Orthodox Church. In fact, some relics from other less fortunate churches were moved to St. Volodymyr's by the Soviets--thus the cathedral houses the relics of St. Barbara, a 3rd century martyr which were brought here from the desecrated Mykhailivsky Zlatoverkhy Cathedral (St. Michael's of the Golden Domes).

Tetiana told me that every Christmas and Easter a flame is brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to relight the altars and in St. Volodymyr's, and from thence to relight all of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches throughout the country. She said that the transport of this flame is usually televised and publicized widely. So the individual candles of the surge of worshippers who come here--and in other churches--daily are lit and relit from the flame brought from Jerusalem. Since I will be in Jerusalem in a little more than three days, this detail appeals to me greatly.

Included here are several of Vasnetsov's most beautiful panels: a portrait of Russian Bishops, the arched representation of the Temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden, the baptism of the Kievans in the Dnipro in 987 A.D., and the baptism of Prince (and later Saint) Volodymyr by a convocation of Byzantine Orthodox Priests.