Sunday in Jerusalem - Via Dolorosa

The last part of our tour in Old Jerusalem was to walk along the Via Dolorosa, or the "Way of Suffering".   This is believed to be the path taken by Jesus from his conviction to his crucifixion and then burial.  The fourteen Stations of the Cross are found along Via Dolorosa and inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  As with so many important things inside the Old City of Jerusalem, the exactly locations are not known, and the Via Dolorosa in this city built by the Ottomans is not likely to correspond to an exact path walked over two thousand years ago, with nobody taking notes while holding a compass, map, or GPS.

These pictures and the descriptions will not do justice to the Stations of the Cross.  Unfortunately, I found some of the things along the Via Dolorosa to be confusing, and even more so inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Moreover, there were crowds of people making it difficult to get good pictures of many of the important sites.  So please accept my apology for the incomplete and sometimes confusing nature of this description.

The first two Stations, representing the trial and conviction of Jesus by Pontius Pilate and his "Ecce Homo" speech are in locations elsewhere in the Old City.  We began at the Third Station, where Jesus had the first of his three falls.



The fourth Station is where Jesus met his mother Mary.  At the fifth, Simon of Cyrene takes the cross and carries it for a time.

 

At the sixth station, Jesus meets Veronica, who wipes his face.


At the seventh Station, Jesus falls again.


The eighth Station, where Jesus met many women of Jerusalem, and the ninth Station, where Jesus fell the third time, were not on our path.

The final Stations are all inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.


These stations are:
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments
11. Crucifixion
12. Jesus dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is taken down
14. Jesus is buried in the tomb
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a fascinating structure.  The site has seen a number of structures in the past 2000 years.   The current church was built during the time of the Crusaders.  Today, its administration is fascinating:   There are parts of the church administered by numerous Christian groups, including Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Coptics, Armenians, and others.

Here are some of the things we saw in the church:

Entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Start of a large Mosaic:
Jesus is lowered from the cross

Center of the Mosaic:
Jesus is laid out 

End of the Mosaic:
Jesus is taken for Burial

 

Traditionally, this is the rock
upon Jesus' body was laid
by the disciples

The Catholic chapel within the Church