WALKING JERUSALEM'S VIA DOLOROSA

Like most Christians, I really didn’t need a truly accurate historical connection to justify walking the Via Dolorosa.  The holy city of Old Jerusalem was close enough for me.  All I really needed to walk “the way of suffering” was faith, a humble heart, and a good pair of walking shoes.  

Ah, yes; a little suffering never hurt, either; it makes the experience that much more meaningful.  Who hasn’t learned, with the gift of a long life, how closely sorrow and joy reside; neither lives without the other.  My greatest challenge in life has been to find meaning and hope and solace in the midst of the suffering.   We all have a cross to bear; the way can sometimes feel lonely.

I certainly was not alone walking the Via Dolorosa.  Then again, neither was Jesus. The narrow, bustling, cobblestone streets of Old Jerusalem have been paved with the broken and wounded since antiquity.   There was comfort in being part of a tour group.

Old Jerusalem hums with all the history and possessive passion of three religions vying for a sliver of real estate in this holy place.  That passion reached frenzy inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site venerated as Calvary (Golgotha) where Jesus was crucified.  

At one point the religious fervor dissolved into a shoving and shouting match to rival that of any soccer crowd, until a priest threatened to throw us all out.  The melee only served to highlight the tensions that prevail on site (the church serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and is also home to branches of Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy as well as Roman Catholicism) and beyond.  But I digress.

I promised you the fourteen stations of the cross.  The nature of walking the Via Dolorosa is both private and public, personal and undeniably universal for the faithful.  I can’t speak for all who come, but my experience was moving, humbling, challenging, and at times frightening; which pretty much sums up my walk with my God for the last sixty-some years.    

THE ECCE HOMO ARCH: This arch was part of the eastern gate of the Roman city, Aelia Capitolina, constructed as a typical arch of triumph by Hadrian in 135 AD. Traditionally, this is the place where Pilate presented Jesus to the people with the words, “Ecce Homo,” behold the man! 

STATION I:  The Roman court, where Jesus was judged and condemned to death by the Roman commissioner, Pontius Pilate, was at the Praetorium, the headquarters of the Roman Garrison station in Jerusalem.  In ancient times the site was within the grounds of the Antonia Castle.  Today, the site is inside the Al-Omariya school. (Matt. 27:1-2)  

STATION II is where Jesus took up his cross.  The Chapel of the Flagellation is situated at the site where Jesus was beaten by the Roman soldiers, who then adorned him with a crown of thorns and dressed him in purple garments.  According to tradition the Chapel of Condemnation is situated where Jesus was scourged and bound to the cross. (John 19:1 & John 19:16)

STATION III marks the spot where Jesus fell for the first time due to the weight of the cross He was carrying.  On the site is an Armenian Catholic Church that was restored in 1948 by donations of Polish soldiers.  (Lamentation 1:16)

STATION IV is marked by a relief sculpture above the door of this small Armenian Catholic chapel near the Church of Our Lady of the Spasm.   This site is where Mary watched her son go by with the cross.  (Lamentation 1:12) 

STATION V is marked by a Franciscan chapel known as Simon of Cyrene, named after the man who was forced to assist Jesus to carry the cross.  Next to the chapel entrance is an ancient stone with an indentation, which according to tradition, was formed when Jesus laid his hand on the stone when he walked through the street on his way to Golgotha.  (Luke 23:26).

STATION VI is commemorated by the Church of the Holy Face, served by the “Little Sisters,” a Greek Catholic rite. According to tradition this was the home of Veronica. She approached Jesus, who was bleeding and sweating, and handed him a veil to wipe his face.  An image of Jesus in red was imprinted on the veil returned to Veronica.  This is the location of the Chapel of St. Veronica.  (Numbers 6:25)

STATION VII marks the spot where Jesus fell a second time.  The Justice Gate of the ancient wall, on which the indictments of those condemned to death were published, was located at this site.  It was through this gate Jesus was taken out of the city to the hill of Golgotha.  When he passed the threshold of the gate, the weight of the cross caused him to fall.  A Roman pillar inside the Franciscan chapel marks the place.  (John 19:19-20)

STATION VIII marks the spot where Jesus addressed the women following him and lamenting his fate.  A stone with a Latin cross on the wall of the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Charalampos commemorates this scene.  The inscription in Greek letters, IC XC NIKA means, “Jesus Christ conquers.”  (Luke 23:27-31).

STATION IX marks the site where Jesus fell for a third time, on the hill of Golgotha.  A column built into the door of the Coptic Church of Saint Anthony marks the spot.  (Matt. 26:39) 

STATION X, located just outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is situated at the top of the stairs in the Chapel of the Division of Garments.  This is where Jesus was stripped of his garments. (John 19:23-24)

STATIONS XI – XIV are all inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  STATION XI, in the right corner of the room on the second floor, marks where Jesus was nailed to the cross.  The scene is depicted in the mosaic on the ceiling.  (John 19:17-18) 

STATION XII: This station, upstairs in the church on the left, represents the place where the cross was erected and where Jesus died.  Under the altar is a silver disk with an indentation in the middle, marking the exact location of Jesus’ cross. On both sides of the altar are black plates marking locations of the corsses of the robbers crucified to the left and right of Jesus.  (Mark 15:34 & Mark 15:37) 

STATION XIII:  A stone marks the spot where Jesus' body was taken down.  It is marked by an altar dedicated to Mary, known as Our Lady of Sorrows.  Jesus’ body was laid on the stone of the Anointment, and anointed with a mixture of myrrh and oils. (John 19: 38 & John 19: 25)

STATION XIV: Jesus is laid in the tomb. The tomb lies in the center of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  It is divided in two – the ante-room known as Chapel of the Angel, and the inner room where the tomb itself is located.  Forty-three lamps burn day and night in the burial chamber; the tomb is covered with a marble stab, on top of which are three reliefs illustrating the resurrection of Jesus, three days after his death.  (Matt. 27: 59-60)

The dome above Jesus' tomb.