The Garden Tomb - or Gordon’s Calvary
His condemnation by Pilate to His burial, and many Anglican and Roman Catholic churches have paintings or carvings of these adorning their walls. Although the Stations reflect prayerful tradition rather than historical certainty, they can be moving and helpful, especially when visited in Jerusalem itself. Excavations have revealed a large stretch of Roman pavement near the possible site of Pilate’s palace, and many groups now start to relive the Stations of the Cross from this point, mindful that Pilate brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, known as Gabbatha in Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke) and also known by the Greek name of Lithostrotos. From this point, the traditional route of the Stations winds through the Arab heart of the Old City until it reaches the place where Jesus was nailed to the cross, crucified, died and was buried. Two thousand years ago, this was outside the city wall, but the place has since become incorporated into what is now the Old City, and the last five of the Stations are all in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Pilgrims can now visit the new wing of the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem’s Old City. This museum, on the Via Dolorosa, has a vast collection of archaeological findings that date back to the origins of Christianity and New Testament Times. The multimedia section is available in Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Arabic and Hebrew.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, the Governor of Palestine, General Gordon of Khartoum, became convinced that he had come upon Golgotha from the window of his study, having looked out at a piece of rock that was shaped like a skull: The rock and the surrounding land, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City, were purchased by the Church of England, and excavations that took place revealed the presence of a 1st-century tomb, The site, now maintained by the Garden Tomb Trust, is kept in beautiful condition and offers free guided tours. The Garden Tomb, which many Protestant denominations accept as Golgotha, is a quiet and special place to visit, and whether or not you accept it as the true site, it is an excellent spot for one to imagine how Jesus’ burial site may have seemed. Bethlehem Just south of Jerusalem lies the city of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus and also of King David (now in the territory of the Palestinian Authority (P.A.)). As early as 248 AD, Origen, the Christian theologian, wrote of his visit here: “In Bethlehem you are shown the cave where He was born, and, within the cave, the manger where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. These things that
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