THE HOLY PLACES OF PALESTINE

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32210, 31 January 1970, Page 4

THE HOLY PLACES OF PALESTINE

The Holy Maces. By Christopher Hollis and Ronald Brownrigg. Wledenfeld and Nicolson. 223 pp. REVIEWED BY J.O.R.

The Holy Places of Palestine are those which are reverenced either by Jews or Christians or Muslims. The coauthors of this work complement one another as Hollis is a historian and Brownrigg has had twenty-five years of constant association with the Holy Land including some years as Sub-Dean of St George’s Cathedral at Jerusalem. The combined experience of both has determined toe plan of this book which is divided into three sections. In the first section, which is introduced by a map showing the sacred places of the Jews, a concise history of Judaism from the time of Abraham is presented. Essential to a reliable historical account of Judaism are place names like Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Tiberias. As much as names have become important in this history so have they become increasingly revered by subsequent generations. Much space naturally is devoted

to the rise of the monarchy and toe building of the three temples. The same pattern is reproduced in the second part of the book. However, resource material for many of the Holy Places is more abundant for the Christians than it is for the Jews, who themselves suffered so much destruction under conquering invaders. Advantage is taken of this wealth of detail. Bethlehem with its Church of the Nativity, Nazareth with the churches of Mary’s Well and the Annunciation, Nain, with the church of the Widow’s Son, and Jerusalem with all its sacred buildings testifying to the movements of Jesus from the place of His trial to His Ascension, all are fully described. Such accounts of former buildings and present structures together with very fine photographic plates do much to make the Holy Places contemporary for the man of faith.

It would be true to say that the latter portion of the life of Jesus is given most attention and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is represented as the sacred place par excellence for Christians. Of particular interest to the reader are the Easter ceremonies which are celebrated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by toe Orthodox Church, the Armenian, the Roman, the Coptic, the Syrian and toe Abysinnian Churches. Here toe reader is urged to consider the long standing rigid traditions which protect toe privileges of each church without jeopardising the freedom of any. In the third section, the Muslim Holy Places are, by comparison, not

given very wide treatment Nevertheless it is Jerusalem with its sacred place of the Dome of toe Rock which is fully described in the context of Muslim thought Tradition states that Muhammad at the Sacred Rock entered into the Courts of Heaven and met with God Himself. It is this mystical experience of Jerusalem which has drawn millions of Muslim devotees to the Dome of the Rock in succeeding generations.

It is natural because of the division in this material to be continually reminded of toe strife and hatred that has existed between the religions down the ages. Many indeed tend to think of toe encounters between these religions as totally enmeshed in a net of hatred. The facts do not always support this claim as for instance in the year 648 Jerusalem fell into Muslim hands and toe living conditions of the Christians became very difficult However toe conquering Khalif Omar spared the sacred buildings dedicated to toe Tomb of Jesus by refusing to enter the building. He spread his mat before toe eastern doors and prayed outside. If the Khalif had entered toe church it would have become a mosque immediately and have been lost to toe Christians. Such was the way in which one Khalif manifested his mercy. This work contains a mine of Infor-. mation about the Holy Places in Palestine but it is also deeply coloured by the authors’ obvious love for the Holy Land, a love which is seen as vitally necessary for the spiritual progress of man.