The Way of the Cross

The Qur'an denies the death of Jesus on the cross. However, the visit to Jerusalem is perhaps the best proof of the reality of this central event in human history. Ezekiel's prophecy that the Golden Gate of Jerusalem would be locked forever after the Messiah entered it, thanks to the Ottomans, was fulfilled. So let's go to the Old City of Jerusalem through the Lions' Gate located a little to the right. They got their name because of the bas-reliefs with images of lions decorating them. Here is the entrance to the Muslim quarter, so a squad of Israeli soldiers with machine guns at the ready is always on duty at the entrance.

Here, in the hustle and bustle of the oriental market, the inviting shouts of merchants, rather reminiscent of robbers from the fairy tale about Ali Baba, the famous Via Dolorosa (Sorrowful Way) begins. Along this cobblestone street, the Son of God walked through scourging, spitting and ridicule to the place of His execution – to Golgotha. On His wounded shoulders, the Savior, condemned to death by the priests, carried the cross, which is nothing but our sins. The Way of the Cross is associated with the biblical events that preceded the birth of the Savior. Immediately behind the gate we see the building of the monastery of St. Anne - the mother of the Virgin Mary, founded in the time of the Crusaders on the birthplace of the Virgin. Underground rooms have been preserved from more ancient times. In one of them, you can see a stone slab embedded in the wall, decorated with icons. According to legend, Anna gave birth to Mary (Mariam) at this place.

Throughout the Via Dolorosa, according to biblical tradition, various events directly related to the name of Jesus took place. At each such event, the terrible procession is interrupted. 14 such stops (stations) were canonized. Each of them is marked by churches, chapels, memorial plaques. Going up the street, we come out to the El Omaria school. Here is the first stop on the Lord's Sorrowful Path. Actually, this is where the Via Dolorosa begins. From the first stop of Christ, every Friday at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Franciscan monks arrange a procession. And two thousand years ago, the Roman praetorium was located here. In its northeastern corner was the Antonia Tower, where, according to biblical tradition, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate condemned Christ.

After that, Jesus Christ was put into custody until dawn. Some began to spit in His face. The people who held Him mocked Him and beat Him. Others, covering His face, struck His cheeks and mockingly asked: "Prophesy unto us, O Christ. Who struck You?" Thus the prophecies made hundreds of years earlier "at-Taurat" (Old Testament, Bible) came true: "How many were amazed when they looked at you, so much was His countenance disfigured more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men! So many nations will be amazed by Him; kings will shut their mouths before Him..." (Isaiah 52:14). And further: "I have given my back to those who smite, and My cheeks to those who smite; He did not hide My face from reproach and spitting" (Isaiah 50:6). The Lord endured all these insults without complaint in silence.

The chief priests and leaders of the Jews, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, could not carry out their sentence without the approval of the head of the country – the Roman governor, the procurator. Judea was then under the dominion of Rome. At that time, the procurator was Pontius Pilate – a real historical personage, and not a "fiction of Christians", as Muslims believe, who deny the trial of Jesus by this Roman figure.

Pilate was the procurator (Roman administrator) of Judea. The procurator was appointed from the Roman equestrian class and had to be subordinate to the legate of Syria (senator). Little is known about Pilate's predecessors. The first of them, Coponius, became famous for repairing the temple, which had been damaged during a revolt at the end of the reign of the incompetent Judean king Archelaus. He won sympathy among the Jews, and one of the city gates was named after him. Pilate was not so popular. In the Gospels, he is presented as a neutral figure, not so much a villain as a victim of circumstances. In the trial of Jesus, he tries to be objective, perhaps even sympathetic to him, but, due to weakness of character and political considerations, yields to the chief priests and allows the execution to be carried out.

Philo of Alexandria and Josephus paint a somewhat different picture. For them, Pilate is an administrator, poorly versed in the situation, intolerant, fond of the use of force, hating the Jews. By his actions, which offend their religious feelings, he constantly provokes them to speak. Archaeological excavations carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century in Jerusalem showed that the copper coins issued in Judea during the reign of Pilate reflect his disdain for local traditions. His predecessors tried not to place on coins images that could offend the religious feelings of the Jews. Most often various plants, ears of corn, a bunch of grapes, and a palm tree were depicted. On the coins issued under Pilate in 29 AD, the first openly pagan symbol appeared - a ladle for making libations, and in 30 AD - the staff of the Roman augur, a diviner by the entrails of sacrificial animals. It is quite logical that having fallen into the hands of such a hater of Jews, Jesus could hardly count on leniency, which was confirmed by the subsequent events recorded in the Bible. Pilate's reign ended in a scandal. In Samaria, his soldiers dispersed a religious procession on its way to Mount Gerizim, the cult center of the Samaritans. The Samaritans filed a complaint with Vitellius, the legate of Syria. Pilate was forced to go to Rome to be judged by the emperor. He arrived there in March 37, when Tiberius had already died. Apparently, his career ended there. Eusebius writes (II.7) that during the reign of Gaius (37-41) Pilate committed suicide.

And in the years of Christ, Pilate was a powerful procurator of Judea and lived not far from the famous Solomon (Suleiman's) temple, in the praetorium. Now on the territory of the former praetorium stands the convent of the Sisters of Zion. In the basement of the monastery there is a "Lithostratos", which is translated from Greek as "paved place". This was the outer courtyard of the praetorium, where Pilate lived. Here Christ was publicly interrogated by the Roman governor. Then Pilate went out to the leaders of the Jews, and said to them, "You have brought this man to me as a corrupter of the people; and behold, I have examined before you, and have not found him guilty of anything of which you accuse him." (Luke 23:14).

According to legend, the soldiers of the Praetorian Guard who were present at this time rudely mocked Him, calling Him a false prophet. Pilate, thinking to arouse the people's compassion for Christ, of whose innocence he was sure, ordered the soldiers to take Him into the courtyard and beat Him severely. The Roman soldiers, having undressed Christ, began to torture Him. Then they put on Him a scarlet robe (a short red garment without sleeves) and, having wove a crown of thorns, put it on His head in mockery, and in His right hand they gave a reed instead of a royal rod. And they mocked him. They knelt down, bowed to Him, and said, "Rejoice, King of the Jews!" They spat on Him, and took up a reed, and smote Him on the head and on His face.

On the floor slabs of Lithostratos, there are still notches to prevent horses from slipping on the pavement, and crudely drawn Roman soldier circles for playing dice. The lower step of the marble porch leading to the monastery gate has been preserved since Roman times. The vaults of the monastery premises include the remains of sculptural decorations and columns from the first centuries AD. The walls of the monastery church are decorated with mosaic paintings of modern work. The theme of these paintings is the biblical legend of the trial of Jesus. In the depths of the church, in a niche above the altar, there is a white marble statue of Christ wearing a crown of thorns and with his hands tied. At the bottom there is an inscription: "Ekce khomo" ("Behold the man"). From the monastery across Via Dolorosa there is an arch with a covered gallery. Tradition says that from here Pilate, to whom he brought the beaten Jesus in a crown of thorns and a bloody scarlet robe, showed Him to the Jews, exclaiming: "Behold a man." With these words, the Roman governor wanted to say: "See how tormented and mocked He is," thinking that the Jews would have pity on Him. In memory of this event, the arch bears the Latin name "Ekce khomo". As is known, Pilate did not find Christ guilty. And as a sign of washing his hands from the blood of the righteous man, he immersed them in a bowl of water. Nevertheless, Christ was condemned to a painful death on the cross, widespread among the Romans. Thus the words of Injil came to pass: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only-begotten Son of God" (John 3:16-18).

Those condemned to crucifixion were supposed to carry their cross. Therefore, the soldiers placed His wooden cross on the shoulders of the Savior and led Him to the place designated for execution. It was a hill that was called Golgotha, or "the place of the skull," that is, the exalted one. Golgotha was located to the west of Jerusalem, not far from the gate, which was called the Judgment Gate. As the nun Claudia from the Jerusalem Gorny Monastery told the author of the book, according to legend, the wood from which the Cross of the Lord was made was especially strong and heavy - for a long time it was soaked in water - it was intended for the construction of the temple, but for some reason it was not used. According to legend, it was soaked in the Sheep's Font (Bethesda), where an Angel descended once a year, and the sufferers "waited for the movement of the water", since the first of them, who entered the water, was healed of any serious illness. This tree is a "three-component" - a hybrid of cedar, cypress and pine. This story begins with Lot. At the direction of Abraham (Ibrahim), Lot planted branches of cedar, cypress and pine left by the archangels in the valley, and watered them, as promised, for 40 years with water from the Jordan. The tree that grew from them was cut down for the Temple - Solomon wanted to make columns from them at the entrance to the Holy of Holies. Then he changed his mind, and the tree was thrown into the pond. Ten centuries later, the tree, which was not suitable for the Temple, was used for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.

From the praetorium of Via Dolorosa, the paved road turns sharply to the left at the building of the Armenian Patriarchate. On the corner is the place where, under the weight of His cross, Christ fell for the first time. This event is marked by a small chapel built with the money of Polish soldiers. Above the entrance to the chapel is a relief by the famous Polish sculptor Tadeusz Zalinski. The relief depicts Christ fainting under the weight of His burden. We walk a little more along the cobblestone pavement of the Via Dolorosa and see the chapel door in the wall. The chapel marks the place where Jesus, according to tradition, met his mother Mary (Miriam).