.
Happy Jerusalem Day!
Here is the view from the roof of the Cenacle on Mt. Zion.
This is the Upper Room where only yesterday Pope Francis celebrated Mass and then headed for the airport and back to Rome.
On the ground floor, exactly under the domed Room of the Last Supper, is the traditional tomb of King David where Jews worship.
At some stage the place also became a mosque, to complicate matters further.
Its minaret is on the left of the photo, towering over a nun in blue.
The big church is the Dormition Abbey; its bell tower is seen in the center.
Click on the labels below this post for more about these important Jerusalem holy sites.
.
(The towers are for ABC Wednesday.)
.
Showing posts with label Cenacle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cenacle. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Prayer for Christian Unity at the Cenacle
.
Thursday my nun friends invited me to come along to Day 5 of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity .
Every day a different church hosts the community and leads the ecumenical prayer service.
But Day 5 was in the Upper Room, the Cenacle, which belongs to all Christians, so to speak, because here was the Last Supper and here the first Christian community gathered and experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
The only ones to have chairs were the clergymen from the various denominations.
(May be helpful to enlarge the photo.)
On the right is Father Gregory Collins OSB, who led the service and preached, in ENGLISH!
He is an Irish Benedictine monk of Glenstal Abbey and last year he became the Abbot of the Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion (see my coverage of that Mass here).
The ancient columns and capitals and the six rib-vaulted bays are beautiful to behold.
For Christians I can imagine the Upper Room has much spiritual energy.
And one floor below is the Tomb of David where Jews pray, so Christianity's roots are literally underneath.
At one point the hall was also made into a mosque as you can see in the first photo above with the Muslim prayer niche, the hanging mosque lamp, and the Arabic writing on the window.
Here is one of the two small doors into the Cenaculum.
UPDATE: A short video of the Unity Week's prayer services is now here.
.
So for ABC Wednesday, C is for Christians communing in the Cenacle.
.
And the architectural elements are linking to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.
.
Thursday my nun friends invited me to come along to Day 5 of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity .
Every day a different church hosts the community and leads the ecumenical prayer service.
But Day 5 was in the Upper Room, the Cenacle, which belongs to all Christians, so to speak, because here was the Last Supper and here the first Christian community gathered and experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
The only ones to have chairs were the clergymen from the various denominations.
(May be helpful to enlarge the photo.)
On the right is Father Gregory Collins OSB, who led the service and preached, in ENGLISH!
He is an Irish Benedictine monk of Glenstal Abbey and last year he became the Abbot of the Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion (see my coverage of that Mass here).
The ancient columns and capitals and the six rib-vaulted bays are beautiful to behold.
For Christians I can imagine the Upper Room has much spiritual energy.
And one floor below is the Tomb of David where Jews pray, so Christianity's roots are literally underneath.
At one point the hall was also made into a mosque as you can see in the first photo above with the Muslim prayer niche, the hanging mosque lamp, and the Arabic writing on the window.
Here is one of the two small doors into the Cenaculum.
UPDATE: A short video of the Unity Week's prayer services is now here.
.
So for ABC Wednesday, C is for Christians communing in the Cenacle.
.
And the architectural elements are linking to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)