Jerusalem Wanderings

I’m back after a week off from writing. My mom and I traveled throughout Israel and Palestine, which was a beautiful and eye-opening experience. This was my third trip to the region in 7 years!

I could write at length about the trip, but I’ll reflect on one special moment from our day spent wandering the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City. My mom and I ended up on the roof of the The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (as pictured here!). The church dates back to the 4th century as both the site of Cavalry (or Goglatha) where Jesus was crucified, and the empty tomb from which he resurrected. You can smell the incense before you see the church, and there are ornate lanterns, mosaics, and candles covering nearly every inch. The church can be daunting to a Calvinist-minded Protestant!

Stewardship for the church is shared by 6 churches–The Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Christians and Ethiopians–who hold long-standing disagreements about who controls what parts of the church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Copts have a particular disagreement about who has the right to the roof of the church, called Deir es-Sultan.

My mom and I wandered up a small staircase to the right of the main door to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and emerged onto the roof of the sacred building. We saw monks of various stripes studying scripture and going about their days. We peeked through the roof into one of the chapels and admired the “graffiti” carved into the stone from prior pilgrims. Although the centuries-long debates may seem silly at first glance, I was moved by the stories of these monks pitching tents on the roof of the church just to be close to the holy sites. These monks seemed to be seeking a physical and spiritual connection to Christ with the desperation of people searching for water in a desert. Faith propels us to find a way.

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I have many strong opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian dynamic (perhaps most importantly that “conflict” is an inappropriate term for many reasons). I’m hesitant to outline my beliefs on a public forum because of how it would harm my ability to re-enter the country in the future. I will only say that the dynamic is unstable and heartbreaking in many ways. Christians, in particular, should be very concerned. If you’re looking for resources on this dynamic I commend the following two books to you as a starting point:

Orientalism by Edward Said

Faith in the Face of Empire by Mitri Raheb (especially if you’re wondering where Christ might fit into this picture)

If you’re curious to hear more about my trip or my thoughts on this topic, please reach out!

Text copyright © 2023 Grace Woodward. All rights reserved.