Jerusalem
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Course recommended

‘Risen with Christ’: Holy Week in the Holy City
with Canon Hugh Wybrew

The ‘Risen with Christ’ course at St George’s College, Jerusalem, introduces participants to the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Israel/ Palestine, and to their Holy Week and Easter liturgies. Course members attend services in Coptic, Armenian, and Syrian Orthodox churches, as well as Greek, Russian and Romanian Orthodox services in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – known to local Christians as the Church of the Resurrection – and other churches in Jerusalem.

The Ethiopian Easter Ceremonies

The climax of Holy Week is the ceremony of the holy fire at 1.00 pm on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Resurrection. Israeli security restricts entry severely and there is unfortunately no guarantee that course members will be able to witness the ceremony directly. The course includes lectures on the Eastern Christian communities in Jerusalem, the development of their Holy Week and Easter liturgies, and relations between Christians of East and West. The visiting lecturer in 2010 will be Canon Hugh Wybrew, formerly Vicar of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford and who was Dean of The Cathedral in Jerusalem, for several years in the ’80s.

St George’s College is part of St George’s Anglican Cathedral Close, a few minutes’ walk from the Old City. It has very good accommodation, with en-suite facilities, and the Palestinian chef provides excellent local cuisine in the college dining room. Those interested should be aware that the course involves a good deal of walking and standing. Next year Eastern and Western Easters coincide, and course members will be able to attend the cathedral Eucharist on Easter Day and some of the other services.

In 2010 the course begins on 29th March, and finishes on 7th April. The cost is US $2,200 excluding air fares. Details can be found on the College website at www.sgcjerusalem.org or obtained from the Registrar, whose email address is: registrar@stgeorges.org.il. The postal address for air mail letters is: St George’s College Jerusalem, PO Box 1248, Jerusalem 91000, via Israel. ‘Risen with Christ’ is a unique opportunity to experience the life and worship of the Eastern Christian communities in the city and land where Christian faith was born.

Course reviewed

The Palestine of Jesus

My wife and I with 25 ‘pilgrims’ from Australia, England, The United States, Canada and Nigeria took part in the popular course run by St. George’s College Jerusalem, “The Palestine of Jesus’. It was a most humbling, affirming and wonderful experience for all of us – to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, to hear our hosts Fr. Stephen Need and his wife Jill explain the geography, times and places Jesus lived and taught in, and to worship at these Holy sites. However while our faith and ministry was affirmed, it was also disturbing and sad to see firsthand the suffering and degradation many Palestinians are subjected to, to see the Wall – a wall that separates many Palestinians from living a normal life, to experience the security that’s in place throughout the country. Just a few days after we arrived home we read and saw on our TV screens the bombing of Gaza. As someone said, “Why can’t we build bridges of reconciliation rather than a wall of separation?” But we are people of hope and must remember that “Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again!”

The highlights included walking the Via Dolorosa and taking part in a very moving Stations of the Cross, worshipping at the Mount of Beatitudes and on Mt. Tabor and walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, near where Jesus fed the 5,000 – surrounded by Australian Gum trees! Here we shared the Lord’s Supper together on a simple basalt altar by the Sea of Galilee, very moving with the water in the background surrounded by olive and eucalyptus trees.

But there were many other faith affirming experiences – reflecting at the Garden of Gethsemane and at the many Churches throughout Israel/Palestine that were places of significance in Jesus’ life. We also worshipped at St. George’s Cathedral and met the mother of Fr. George Kirreh – now ministering in Jerusalem diocese. He had been part of our Parish community at The Church of the Good Shepherd Plympton in South Australia prior to his ordination earlier this year in Jerusalem.

Reading the Bible, hearing the familiar Gospel stories and events now have a far deeper meaning for us after our pilgrimage.

Rosemary and Peter Miller. Plympton South Australia.

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Information on the Diocese of Jerusalem