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1999 - online version
EYE OF THE NEEDLE |
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By Fr. James Heinsch ofm
Jesus then said to his disciples, "I assure
Have you ever thought of trying to get through the "eye of the needle"? Me neither! I have a bad enough time just trying to "thread" a needle. Either there is not enough light, or the thread is frayed, or my eyes just cannot seem to focus too well. I have many excuses including that ... the eye of the needle is too small.
Of course, Jesus was not talking about me, but of a camel, getting through the eye of a needle. I always wondered about that phrase in the Gospels ... until I happened to hear of a place quite near to the Holy Sepulcher ... a place called: The Russian Excavations, or St. Alexander's Chapel in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky. The name Russian Excavations comes from the archeological excavations carried out in 1883 by Archimandrite Antonin Kapoustin, Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. He was a talented, but amateur archeologist. The area excavated was within the headquarters built by the Orthodox Palestine Society. In the late 1880's there were so many Russian pilgrims walking all the way to the Holy Land, that the Czar received permission to buy this area and create a hostel for the Russian "Orthodox" Pilgrims. A place where they could rest, be understood and cared for by their own people. It used the name "Palestine" because that was the official name of this country at the time. And it was to be a "Society" so that it would be autonomous from the official Russian Orthodox Church. (At present, the president of this society, here and abroad, is His Eminence Bishop Anthony Grabbe.) Under layers of stone and dirt, left there after the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1009 by Caliph Hakim in a maniac fit of anger, they listed as discovered the following: 1. Remnants of the Judgement Gate, built in the 1st century BC by King Herod the Great. 2. Remnants of an arch and two columns, built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the beginning of the 2nd century AD. 3. Remnants of the Basilica built by the Byzantine queen St. Helena at the beginning of the 4th century. 4. Remnants of a convent of the Chanoines (a holy order of monks who were servants at the Holy Sepulcher in the time of the Crusades). It is important to remember that these excavations happened in the late 1800's. "Dating techniques" in archeology were only introduced in the 1930's. And it was only in the 1960's that Palestinian archeology used modern day techniques of digging and classification. The 20th century has brought us wonderfully new discoveries, sometimes with entirely different interpretations, due to the art of archeological dating. Perhaps if new permissions were granted, the Russian Excavations would also yield excitingly new discoveries of this famous site from ... the time Jesus walked through here to his death on Calvary. The Eye of the Needle? When the Roman Iron Gates were locked at night, late travelers were allowed to come and leave only through a narrow opening near the Gate. This opening was large enough for a human being, but too small for pack animals to go through. Thus, a single guard could protect this entrance. It was known as the "Eye of the Needle."
Present day archeological opinions differ regarding the Russian Excavations. The conclusions vary, and without any new excavations being done, come up with the following views: 1. Much of the present area seems to be from the Middle Roman times (Hadrian) of the 2nd century. Hadrian used the giant Herodian stones for the walls near his Forum with the two temples of Venus and Cupid built over Golgotha and the Cave of the Resurrection. 2. After destroying Jerusalem, Hadrian built on top of the ruins. It is possible that Hadrian used the original foundations of the Herodian walls and the Judgement Gate area, but he would have built his Aelia Capitolina (135 AD) some meters above the Cardo Maximus (main road) of Jesus' times. What about the present-day flagstones, and the Threshold of the Judgement Gate (preserved under glass)? Modern day archeologists are not certain whether they go back to the time of Jesus or are from the 2nd century. 3. However, it seems to be agreed that this is the gate area where they led Jesus out to Golgotha to die. Thus, Jesus' Final Reading of Judgement, or Sentence of Death, would have been here in this area. The Eye of the Needle, though maybe of Hadrian origin , is an fine example of the Roman way of guarding the Gates at night. 4. Certainly, there remains much of the foundations of the Byzantine Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher for you to see. Vera Triandafilidou and her daughter Anna care for this Russian Mission, the Judgement Gate and Eye of the needle. Theirs is a service of love, and it is easy to recognize when you meet them. Ring the bell at their great door, Monday through Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM; 3 PM - 5 PM, or phone 6-274-952. For a small entrance donation, you can experience the embracing prayerful-quiet of this important site. Touch the massive Herodian wall stones. Walk on the flag-stones of the Judgement Gate and Cardo Maximus. See the wide stairs fashioned to match the top step of the Entrance to the Atrium of the great Byzantine Basilica built in the 4th century under the guidance of St. Helena and her son Constantine the Great. But ... just for the experience ... ask permission to walk through the Eye of the Needle. One warning though: Please leave your camels outside! © copyright 1999 |
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