Photo : Group in Jerusalem
By
Albert E. Hazbun, KC*HS[i]
The Northwestern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem completed a pilgrimage to the Holy Land under the leadership of Archbishop William Levada, of San Francisco and Grand Prior of this Lieutenancy. The group of 24 members left for the Holy Land on March 1st and returned on March 12. The goal of this pilgrimage was for members to fulfill a personal, solemn commitment to an active role to support a viable, vigorous Christian presence in the Holy Land.
This article intends to provide a quick overview of activities during this pilgrimage. Although it will not neglect the religious and spiritual aspects, it will cover in more details the effort to understand the issues that face the Christian Community in the Holy Land and to provide support and assistance to these “living stones” to help maintain a Christian presence in the Holy Land.
| After clearing formalities at Ben Gurion Airport, the group went directly to the Notre Dame Guest House in Jerusalem and stayed there for the next 6 days. This group was fortunate to have tourist guide Iyad Qumri who led the group through a very thorough explanation along the footsteps of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, combined with visits to these locations and always with reference to statements by the Apostles in the Bible. A good understanding of the geography of Jerusalem was obtained through visits to the various lookout points surrounding the city. This was followed by a visit to the Church St. Anne, the pool of Bethesda, The Chapel of Flagellation, Lithostrotos, and the Arch of the “Ecce Homo”. This continued with paying homage to Jesus’s “The Way of The Cross” with stops and prayers at all stations. A solemn entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre took that evening, with the Franciscan Order welcoming the visitors. This was followed with mass at the church. That evening the Knights and Ladies received their Pilgrim’s Shell from the Patriarch of Jerusalem in recognition of the continuation of a centuries old tradition. |
Photo : Group in Jerusalem
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Other trips included a visit to the Church of Pater Noster, Ascension and then walked the “Palm Sunday Road” to Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over Jerusalem. Proceeded to the Garden of Gethsemane to visit the Church of All Nations, then to Bethany to visit the House of Mary, Martha, Lazarus and the Tomb of Lazarus. This was followed by a trip to Jericho, where other than seeing the sites, the group shopped for Hebron glass and Palestinian pottery.
Next day a trip to Mount Zion to visit the Upper Room, the site of the Last Supper was followed by a visit to the Dormition Abbey and St. Peter in Gallicantu, where Peter denied Jesus three times. This was followed by a visit to the Wailing Wall. Trips were also taken to see a scale model of Old Jerusalem at two different sites.
| To further understanding of the Palestinian Christians, the pilgrims met with members of the Latin Patriarch community at the Patriarchate and interacted with children from the schools who sang for the visitors. The pilgrims also listened to different speakers at dinnertime. These included representatives of the Latin Patriarch, the Pontifical Mission and the Franciscan Order. Other speakers included a Rabbi, Cannon Nadim Ateek representing Sabeel and Wadie Abunassar, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University and Director of the International Center for Consultations. The group also visited the “Separation Wall” in Abu Dis. Stopped at one crossing point and talked with young students, passing residents and shopkeepers. All expressed their frustrations and explained the terrible impacts the wall had on their lives. |
Group with students and parents at the Latin Patriarchate church in Jerusalem |
The group spent a day in Bethlehem, a visit to the Church of Nativity, St. Catherine’s Church and the Milk Grotto. Along the way the group saw Israel’s wall at Rachel’s tomb as well as at other locations adjacent to Shepherd’s Field. They also experienced going through Israeli checkpoints.
The students at Bethlehem University prepared an excellent lunch for the pilgrims and conducted a tour of the university facilities, and explained some of the remaining damage caused by the Israeli Occupation Forces during attacks on Bethlehem. Students receiving scholarships from the Bethlehem Association were introduced and participated in the tour. University President Brother Vincent Malham and other university staff supported a presentation on Bethlehem University. This was followed by a detailed discussion and exchange of ideas with faculty members and selected students regarding the existing political situation and the impacts of the repeated Israeli occupation. The following is a summary of what was said by the students and staff:
| "The Israelis do not want us to be educated, lead a normal life, feel like human beings, or even live in this place. They do their best to make life difficult with check points, closures, degrade our parents in front of us, prevent us from going to our places of worship and hospitals, and maintain a situation where our parents are out of work. We are against suicide bombers and believe that violence and the killing of innocent people on both sides has gotten us nowhere. But we believe in resistance, peaceful resistance. We believe that we resist by getting up in the morning ready for a new day. Going to school under very difficult conditions is resistance, going through checkpoints is resistance, maintaining as normal a life as we can is resistance and completing our education is a victory. We intend to stay here and we will not allow them to win and force us to leave this place, our ancestral home." |
Photo: With students at Bethlehem University |
At the end of the discussion Archbishop Levada and the Order’s Lieutenant John McGuckin presented financial donations to the University. The group took the time to shop for Bethlehem artifacts made of olive wood and mother of pearl.
The group crossed the Allenby Bridge and went to Jordan to primarily visit facilities supported by the Equestrian Order. Tourist guide Bashir Tweilat took over. At the bridge the pilgrims received a very nice welcome by representatives of the Jordanian government and were taken to see Bethany, where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ. Proceeded to Our Lady of Peace Center near Amman. This is a facility that gives new hope to individuals with special needs and was constructed with the support of the Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. Then to Deir Al Latin’s High School in Wassieh, Karak. The school staff who had prepared dinner met them. There was a very joyful exchange with staff members, followed by a visit to the school facilities. Next stop was at St. Joseph’s Church in Ader. The Knights and Ladies wore their formal Equestrian Order robes for mass with the local community. This was followed by a reception and further exchange with parish members, particularly relatives of the San Francisco Christian community who had emigrated from the Madaba/Karak area and is parishioners of Father Labib Kobty. The Wassia high school as well as the church at Ader were constructed with funds from the Equestrian Order.
One whole day was spent in Petra for sight seeing. The group then proceeded to Machaerus, site of the Fortress of Herod the Great with its magnificent views of the mountains and the Dead Sea, and then proceeded to Madaba and Mount Nebo. A number of people traveled from Amman for a short visit with their Palestinian friends and relatives traveling with the group. The bus then continued on to Nazareth after crossing the Jordan at the North Crossing and enduring Israel’s security checks. Guide Iyad Qumry rejoined the group.
Visited the Basilica of Annunciation where mass was held with the local community. Proceeded to the Synagogue at Caphernaum, then to the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount, where the sisters had prepared a nice lunch of fried fish, very delicious and symbolic. Passed through Tabgha and Cana to Tiberias. There enjoyed a scenic boat ride and saw magnificent views of the occupied Golan Heights. Next day visited the school and parish at Jaffa of Nazareth, both sponsored by the Equestrian Order. Met the school’s principal Father Louis Hazboun, and listened to the 6th and 3rd graders sing very beautifully. After visiting the school and proceeded to Mount Carmel in Haifa. The sisters provided lunch to the group. Then proceeded on the scenic coastal road to Tel Aviv. At dinner in Nazareth, the group met with French Journalist Valerie Feron and discussed her views about the Palestinian Israeli situation.
Last night of the pilgrimage was a farewell dinner at The Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv with Gideon Levy, journalist with Ha’aretz, who talked to the group and explained the Israeli society lack of knowledge and possibly care for what is happening in the occupied territories.
Early next morning, the pilgrims departed for the US.
Some Comments:
In all their travels in Israel, Palestinian areas and Jordan, the participants felt very safe and were treated very cordially by everyone. The most obnoxious treatment came from the Israeli security when the group was flying out at Ben Gurion Airport, particularly towards those pilgrims of Palestinian origin.
The pilgrims enjoyed a tremendous spiritual enjoyment in tracing some of the steps taken by Jesus Christ, but also saw first hand the difficult life endured by the descendant of the Disciples, the Christian community in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Participants have expressed their desire and intent to continue and increase their support to the Christian community.
The pilgrimage was extremely well planned by the Northwestern Lieutenant, Sir John McGuckin with assistance from Fugazi Travel in San Francisco and George Garabedian’s travel company in Jerusalem. The success was in great measure due to the Palestinian guide Iyad Qumri and bus driver Walid Abed Rabbo.
The knights and ladies who participated in this pilgrimage expressed their intent to recommend such pilgrimages to other members of the Equestrian Order and encourage them to participate, stressing the importance of using Palestinian guides and the inclusion of planned meetings with the Christian Community in the Holy Land and discussions with local educators, the clergy and journalists to allow a better understanding of the conflicts in this troubled land.
[i] Albert E. Hazbun is a member of the Equestrian Order of The Holy Sepulchre and participated in this pilgrimage with his wife Lily. He is also on the board of the Bethlehem Association. He can be reached at Hazbun@sbcglobal.net
