Holy places on Holy Land
Light from above
The small portion of the planet's surface known to Christians as the Holy Land has a great many places where the heavens seem to be especially connected to the earth. The June 2007 visit to Palestine/Israel by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Samuel Kobia and a small ecumenical delegation started at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre [photo] in Jerusalem. © Juan Michel/WCC
Judaism
The Old City of Jerusalem has holy places not only for one but three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All of them find within its walls - an area of barely one square kilometre - several of their holiest places. For Judaism, Jerusalem - "Heritage of Peace" - is the holiest city and plays a central spiritual role in Jewish life and self-understanding , The land is at the core of God's covenant with the Jewish people and commandments relating to the land undergird much of the Torah.
Islam
For Islam, Jerusalem - in Arabic, "Al-Quds", which means "The Holy" - is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have visited heaven from Jerusalem during what Muslims call the "night journey". The Dome of the Rock [photo, on right] marks the site. It is built over a what Jews believe to be the remnant of the Temple.
Christianity
Christians come as pilgrims from all over the world to walk paths their Lord walked some 2,000 years ago. The places where the greatest events in Jesus' life occurred are in the custody of different Christian confessions. The sites are shared according to centuries-old agreements, and not without sporadic tensions. In the photo: WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia and Mrs. Ruth Kobia at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. © Christo Asfour/WCC
A shrinking community
Although the Holy Land is where their faith was born, Christians are a shrinking community in it. Their current number is estimated at about 50,000 for the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, and 100,000 for Israel proper. According to a recent survey, the primary reasons why Christians emigrate are linked to the political and economic situation.
Peace in Jerusalem?
Today, many believe that Jerusalem will necessarily have to be at the heart of any lasting resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For the WCC, any comprehensive peace settlement must establish Jerusalem as an open, inclusive and shared city in terms of sovereignty and citizenship. The rights of its communities - Muslim, Jewish and Christian, Palestinian and Israeli - should be guaranteed, including access to holy places and freedom of worship.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jerusalem's Old City has hundreds of holy sites. At site after site, a respectful visitor from another faith enters a kind of inter-faith experience. To see Jerusalem's pageant of believers reading and praying is to rekindle the hope of an "open, inclusive and shared" city befitting its citizens and its three religions. Al-Aqsa Mosque [photo] is built on a site that Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary and Jews the Temple Mount.
The Western Wall
The WCC delegation visited the Western Wall, also known as Wailing Wall, regarded by religious Jews as the most holy place for their faith. The wall is a remnant of the base of the vast esplanade which was part of Herod's massive renovation of the Second Temple in 19 BC. In the photo, WCC general secretary Kobia. © Christo Asfour/WCC
Holocaust memorial
Keeping alive the memory of the millions that perished in the Holocaust, the Yad Vashem museum and memorial was also on the WCC delegation's agenda. In the photo, delegation members in the Hall of Names -- Christina Biere of the Evangelical Church of Germany (left), the WCC's Samuel Kobia (center) and Olav Fykse Tveit of the Church of Norway (right).
Christian holy places
Between encounters with Christian leaders and communities, the WCC delegation visited some of the places where key events in Jesus' life took place, like Taghba, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. According to a tradition documented by this 4th century Byzantine mosaic [photo], it was there that five loaves and two fishes fed five thousand people.
All photos © Peter Williams/WCC except when indicated otherwise
High resolution versions of these pictures are available upon request.
