Jerusalem (After 1291)

(1) Political History

The Latin dominion over Jerusalem really came, to an end on 2
October, 1187, when the city opened its gates to Saladin (Yusuf
ibn Ayyub, Salah-ed-din, Emir of Egypt, 1169-93); although
fragments of the Latin kingdom in Palestine lasted into another
century. Frederick II acquired a short possession of Jerusalem
itself by treaty later, and the title "King of Jerusalem" added an
empty splendour to the styles of various European sovereigns
almost to our own time. Nevertheless after 1187 the episode of
Christian and Latin rule over the Holy City is closed. From that
time it falls back again into its former state of a city under
Moslem government, in which Christian pilgrims are at best only
tolerated.

As soon as Saladin's army entered the city they set and to destroy
all traces of the Christian rule. They tore the great gilt cross
from the Dome of the Rock, broke up the bells, plundered churches
and convents, restored all the buildings that had been mosques
(notably the Dome of the Rock and the El-Aqsa mosque), turned
other churches into stables or granaries, founded Moslem schools,
hospitals, and all the pious institutions that go by the general
name of waqf. While Europe was thunderstruck at the loss of the
Holy City, and was preparing a new crusade to recapture it,
letters were sent to all parts of the Moslem world announcing the
glad tidings that El-Quds was now purified and restored to the
true believers. But -- true to the promise made by Omar (see
above) -- Saladin left the Holy Sepulchre, as well as a few other
churches, to the Christians (the Orthodox). For the use of these
they had to pay a heavy tribute. The church of the Knights of St.
John was turned into a hospital (at the place still called
Muristan, where the German Protestant church now stands). Saladin
further strengthened the walls of the city when the Third Crusade
(with King Richard of England) approached and threatened it
(1191). In 1219 the Sultan Malik-el-Mu'azzam (d. 1227, viceroy at
Damascus for El-Mansur) ordered these walls to be destroyed, lest
they should become a protection for the Franks. In 1229 another
short interlude began. Emperor Frederick II (1212-5O) came on his
(the Fifth) Crusade. He obtained by treaty with the Sultan of
Egypt, El-Kamil (1219-38), possession of Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
Nazareth, and the pilgrim roads from Jaffa and 'Akka for ten years
and a half. The city was not to be fortified, and the Haram esh-
sherif (the Temple area) was to remain in exclusive possession of
the Moslems. In 1239 the Emir of Kerak, En-nasir Daud, conquered
Jerusalem again and destroyed the Tower of David. But in 1243 he
made over the city to the Latins without any stipulations. This
led to the final loss of the city. For Essalih Ayyub, Caliph of
Egypt (1238-49), then called on the savage Khwarizmian tribes from
Mesopotamia to recapture it. They poured over Syria plundering and
murdering, and in September, 1244, stormed Jerusalem. In the
massacre that followed 7000 Christians perished; Jerusalem was
restored once more, and finally, to the Empire of the Caliph. From
this time the remaining Latin possessions in Palestine were lost
one by one in quick succession. The last town, 'Akka (Saint-Jean
d'Acre), fell in 1291.

The title "King of Jerusalem" went from Guy of Lusignan (King of
Jerusalem and Cyprus, 1186-92) to Henry of Champagne (1192-7), to
whom it was already only a title of pretence since the Moslems
ruled in the city. Amaury (Amalric) of Lusignan (brother of Guy),
King of Cyprus (1194-1205), was elected king by the crusading army
at Tyre, and married Isabel, daughter of Amaury I of Jerusalem
(1162-73). He then added the title of Jerusalem to that of Cyprus
(Amaury II). From his time the Lusignan kings of Cyprus used the
title of Jerusalem and quartered its arms (argent, a cross potent
between four crosslets or) with their paternal coat (barry of ten
azure and argent, a lion rampant or, crowned gules. See the arms
of "die conine von cipers" in Gelre's Wapenboeck, 1334-72). The
Lusignan "Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus" came to an end in 1474,
when Catherine Cornaro, widow of the last king (James III)
abdicated in favour of the Republic of Venice. Whatever rights
they may be supposed to have had to the title of Jerusalem passed
to the House of Savoy. Meanwhile, at the death of Amaury II
(1205), John of Brienne who married Mary, daughter of the same
Isabel and Conrad of Montferrat, began a rival line of titular
Kings of Jerusalem. His daughter Isabel (Iolanthe), married
Emperor Frederick II, who then assumed the title, and (as we have
seen) for a short time actually reigned in Jerusalem. He crowned
himself in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on l7 March, 1229.
After him the title was borne by his descendants to Conradin (d.
1268). Then Hugh III, prince of Antioch (1267-80) and regent of
the scattered Latin possessions in Palestine for the absent kings
of this line, began another series of titular Kings of Jerusalem.
He was crowned at Tyre in 1269. His claim was maintained by his
son Henry at 'Akka. But Mary of Antioch,also descended from
Isabel, set up a claim to this visionary crown, and then sold it
to her grand-nephew, Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily (l285-l309),
who had already obtained another claim by marrying Margaret,
grand-daughter of John of Brienne. While the Moslems were gaining
ground and driving back the thin remnant of the Latin kingdom
every year, the Sicilians and the party of Hugh of Antioch were
fighting for the empty title. Eventually the kings of Sicily added
it to their style, and "Jerusalem and the two Sicilies" existed as
a "royal title down to the Italian revolution (1860). Lastly, the
House of Habsburg also added this shadowy royalty to its long list
of titles. Iolanthe-daughter of Rene the Good (d. 1480), titular
King of Jerusalem and Naples-married Duke Frederick of Lorraine;
from her the title came to the Dukes of Lorraine, and so, through
Maria Theresa's marriage with Francis of Lorraine (1736), to the
House of Austria. The arms of Jerusalem formed one of the fifty-
eight quarterings of the Imperial Arms of Austria; and "Koenig von
Jerusalem" was one of the emperor's long string of titles, till
Ferdinand I (1835-48) had the good sense to reduce both
quarterings and titles to those that had a real meaning. The story
of this title of Jerusalem forms a curious bypath in history, and
is a typical example of the pretence that medieval heralds loved.
Meanwhile, the Moslem ruled again over the Holy City. The
crusading idea lingered on in the West for centuries. Pope Pius II
(1458-64) still hoped to renew the work of Urban II; but nothing
ever came of these attempts. Jerusalem was lost to Christendom in
1187; it is lost still.

Till the sixteenth century Syria belonged to the caliphs in Egypt;
but it was constantly overrun for short periods by their various
enemies. In the thirteenth century the Mongols, who had destroyed
the line of caliphs at Baghdad, poured over Syria plundering and
destroying under their chief Hulagu (capture of Aleppo, 1260).
Kutuz (1259-60) sent his famous general, Beibars el-bundukdari ,
by whom the Mongols were driven out. Beibars then had Kutuz
murdered and reigned as caliph in his stead (1260-77). He
succeeded in driving the Crusaders nearly back to their last
stronghold, 'Akka, crushed the "Assassins" (Hashishiye)-fanatical
Isma'ilis who had been the terror of Syria for nearly two
centuries-and conquered a great part of Asia Minor. The name of
Beibars (Es sultan el-malik ez-zahir, rukn-ed-dunga wa-din, "The
sultan, the manifest king, prop of the world and the faith") may
be seen on many monuments in Jerusalem. Kala'un (1279-90) deposed
Beibars' son, made himself caliph, further harassed the Crusaders,
and built splendid monuments all over Syria. In 1400 the Mongols
under Timur again devastated the land.

Meanwhile the Osmanli Turks were becoming the dominant race in
Islam. In 1516 under Sultan Selim I (1512-20), after they had
crushed the Persians (1514), they turned southward towards Syria.
On 14 August, 1516, Selim routed the Egyptian army and killed the
Caliph Kansuh el-Ghuri. On 22 January, 1517, Selim entered Cairo
in triumph. Mutawekkil, the last Egyptian caliph, died a captive
of the Turks in 1538, bequeathing his title to the conquering
House of Osman. It is on the strength of this (quite illegal)
legacy that the Turkish sultan still calls himself Caliph of
Islam. From this time the Turk has been master of Jerusalem. In
1799 Napoleon I invaded Syria and reached Nazareth. In 1831 the
Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha defeated the Turks near Homs
(Emessa), and kept possession of Syria and Jerusalem till England
and Austria conquered them back for the Turks in 1840. During the
nineteenth century Syria has had her share of various Turkish
reforms. Jerusalem and the holy places especially, as being the
most interesting parts of the empire to Christians and the scene
of continual Christian pilgrimages, were the places where the
Turkish government was most anxious to show that its reforms were
really meant. The great number of Christian institutions of
various sects and the large Christian population of Jerusalem have
almost taken from it the appearance of an Eastern town. The latest
development is the enormous increase of Jews who, in spite of
repeated attempts on the part of the government to keep them out,
form large colonies in and around the city. They and the European
Christians are now the predominant element. There are no cities of
the Turkish Empire where (in 1913) Moslems were so little in
evidence as in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth.

(2) The Holy Sepulchre

The Crusaders found the group of buildings as they had been left
by Constantine IX's restoration (1048; see above). From 1140 to
1149 they made a complete restoration of the whole under their
architect Master Jordan. The effect of this was a great French-
Romanesque cathedral. At the east of the round building over the
Anastasis a transept, and beyond it a choir and an apse were
built; an aisle surrounded the choir and apse. At the junction
with the round building they put a triumphal arch. All the various
chapels opened into the central church. From the apse steps led
down to the chapel of St. Helena. The entrance was at the south.
In this way the Holy Sepulchre became one great building. From the
choir one could see into the Anastasis and into all the chapels.
This Crusaders' Church is the one that still stands: the beautiful
Romanesque doors, at the south especially, still give it a Western
appearance. Slight restorations were made in 1244, 1310, 1400 and
1719. In 1808 the round building was burnt down. The Orthodox
persuaded the Turkish government to allow them alone to restore
it. Their architect closed up the triumphal arch, thus again
destroying the unity of the whole, and replaced the old columns of
the rotunda by clumsy pillars. He also enclosed the tomb in the
present marble covering. The choir of the Crusaders' Church became
the present Orthodox Katholikon. The arches between it and its
aisles were walled up; the aisles became dark passages. The cupola
they built over the rotunda threatened to fall in 1869. France and
Russia together had it restored by the iron dome that still
exists. It was the dispute between Catholics and Orthodox as to
the keys of the Holy Sepulchre that immediately caused the Crimean
War (1853). All the parts of the church now needed repairs which
were not executed, because no religion would allow the other to
undertake them for fear of disturbing their various rights. The
inside of the cupola over the Anastasis especially was rotting
daily. But the reparation of the roof was the most dangerous of
all, since by Turkish law the right to repair implied possession
and the possession of a roof meant possession of all it covers. In
the present building, walled up and divided into a complex mass of
dark passages and chapels laden with tawdry ornament, it is still
possible to trace the plan of the great Crusaders' Church. For the
rights of the various religions see below.

(3) The Orthodox Patriarchate

Through all the political changes, under Saracens, Egyptians, and
Turks, the old line of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem (who followed
the Church of Constantinople into schism in the eleventh century)
goes on. But there is little to tell of their history. The line
was often broken, and there have been many disputed successions.
For the list of these patriarchs since Sophronius see Le Quien,
"Oriens Christianus", III, 498-516. When the Crusaders took
Jerusalem (1099), the Orthodox patriarch (Simon II) fled to
Cyprus. As long as the former held the city, it was impossible for
the schismatical rival of their Latin patriarchs to live in it. In
1142 the Orthodox continued their line by electing Arsenius II: he
resided at Constantinople. After the Moslems had recaptured the
city, the Orthodox patriarchs came back and lived in or near it.
The only event of any importance in the later history of the
Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the Synod of Jerusalem
(often wrongly called the Synod of Bethlehem) in 1672. This synod
represents the climax of the Orthodox reaction against the
heresies of Cyril Lucaris (d. 1638). Cyril was Patriarch of
Constantinople (Cyril I) at five separate intervals (1620-3, 1623-
30, 1630-4, 1634-5, 1637-8); he had imbibed Protestant ideas from
his friends in Germany and England. As patriarch he organized-or
tried to organize-a reforming party, and he wrote in 1629 a famous
"Confession" (Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith), which
was full of pure Calvinism. Eventually Lucaris was accused of
treason against the sultan, and strangled by the janizaries in
1638. He left a certain number of Protestantizing disciples, but
the enormous majority of the Orthodox abhorred his new doctrines.
In the years following his death four synods were held -- at
Constantinople (1639), Yassy in Moldavia (1643), Jerusalem (1672),
and Constantinople again (1672) in which the Orthodox faith was
asserted against Protestantism in the most uncompromising terms.
Of these synods that of Jerusalem was by far the most important.
It is indeed one of the most important, as it is the last, of the
official pronouncements of the Orthodox Church, and may be
compared to our Council of Trent. Dositheus, Patriarch of
Jerusalem (1669-1707), who summoned the synod, was certainly the
most distinguished bishop of that line during this Iater period.
He was one of the most important and learned of all modern
Orthodox theologians. As patriarch he desuade the Turkish
Government to expel Latins and Armenians from the holy places, and
reorganized the monasteries of his patriarchate on a stricter
basis. As a theologian he wrote works against Catholics, and
collected evidences from former writers about the various
questions that were being discussed in his time-the eternal
questions of the papacy and the procession of the Holy Ghost, the
Hesychast controversy, etc., and then, most of all, the new
questions raised by Lucaris and his friends. His chief works are
Tomos katallages (1692), Tomos agapes (1699), Tomos charas (1705).
In the first of these he publishes the acts of a pretended Synod
of Constantinople against the Latins in 1540. No such synod was
held; the acts are a palpable forgery. Dositheus also wrote a
"History of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem", published after his
death (Bukarest, 1715). This work contains more than is promised
by its title. It almost amounts to a general history of the Church
from the Orthodox side with vehement polemics against other
Churches.

But Dositheus's chief work was the Synod of Jerusalem. He summoned
it on the occasion of consecrating a church at Bethlehem in 1672
(hence the common name "Synod of Bethlehem"). It met in the same
year at Jerusalem. The acts are signed by Dositheus, his
predecessor the ex-patriarch Nectarius, six metropolitans and
bishops, the Archimandrite of the Holy Sepulchre, Josaphat, and a
great number of other archimandrites, priests, monks, and
theologians. There are sixty-eight signatures in all. The Church
of Russia was represented by a monk, Timothy. The acts are dated
20 March, 1672; they bear the title: "Christ guides. A shield of
the Orthodox Faith, or the Apology composed by the Synod of
Jerusalem under the Patriarch of Jerusalem Dositheus against the
Calvinist heretics, who falsely say that the Eastern Church thinks
heretically about God and Divine things as they do." The first
part begins by quoting the text: "There is a time to speak and a
time to be silent," which text is explained and enlarged upon at
length. It tells the story of the summoning of the synod, and
vehemently denies that the Orthodox Eastern Church ever held the
opinions attributed to Lucaris. To show this the relations between
the Lutherans and Jeremias II of Constantinople are quoted as well
as the acts of former synods (Constantinople and Yassy). An
elaborate attempt is then made to prove that Lucaris did not
really write the famous "Confession". To do this the "Confession"
is compared clause by clause with other statements made by him in
sermons and in other works. This denial, it should be noted, is a
palpable piece of bad faith on the part of the synod. There is no
doubt at all as to the authenticity of Lucaris's "Confession".
That he used other language on other occasions, especially in
preaching, is well-known and very natural. In chapter ii the synod
declares that in any case Lucaris showed the "Confession" to no
one (this is also quite false), and tries to find further reasons
for doubting his authorship. Chapter iii maintains that, even if
he had written it, it would not thereby become a confession of the
Faith of the Orthodox Church, but would remain merely the private
opinion of a heretic: here the Fathers are on safe ground. Chapter
iv defends -- no longer Cyril but -- the Orthodox Church by
quoting her formularies, and contains a list of anathemas against
the heresies of the "Confessions". Chapter v again tries to defend
Cyril by quoting various deeds and sayings of his and transcribes
the whole decree of the synod of Constantinople in 1639, and then
that of Yassy (Giasion) in 1641. Chapter vi gives the decrees of
this synod in the form of a "Confession of Dositheus". It has
eighteen decrees (horoi), then four "questions" (eroteseis) with
long answers. In these all the points denied by Lucaris's
"Confession" (Church and Bible, predestination, cult. of saints,
sacraments, the Real Presence, the liturgy, a real sacrifice,
etc.) are maintained at great length and in the most
uncompromising way. A short epilogue closes the acts. Then follow
the date, signatures, and seals.

Because of its determined anti-Protestantism (Protestants are
described as being patently heretics and airetikon
koryphaiotatoi), Protestant writers have described this synod as a
work of the Jesuits, of the french ambassador at that time,
Olivier de Nointel, and of other Catholics who were undermining
the Eastern Church. It is true that the Synod of Jerusalem
represents a strongly Catholic reaction after Lucaris's troubles
(it accepts and defends the word transubstantiation -- metousiosis
-- for instance). It is all the more remarkable that its decrees
have been accepted unreservedly by the whole Orthodox Church. They
were at once approved by the other patriarchs, the Church of
Russia, etc.; they are always printed in full among the symbolic
books of the Orthodox Church, and form an official creed or
declaration in the strictest sense, which every Orthodox Christian
is bound to accept.

An affair that concerned the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
was that of the independence of the great monastery of Mount
Sinai. This monastery, one of the richest and most famous of
Eastern Christendom, was undoubtedly at one time subject to the
jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1782, after a great
struggle, the Abbot of Mount Sinai succeeded in asserting his
independence of any patriarch. As Archbishop of Sinai the abbot
now reigns over the smallest autocephalous Church of their
communion. But he is still ordained in Jerusalem, and the
patriarchs have constantly tried to assert some kind of authority
over their independent daughter-church. The last great quarrel was
in 1866, when the archbishop (Cyril Byzantius) had a dispute with
his monks. Instead of applying to Jerusalem he wrote to
Constantinople for help. Sophronius III of Constantinople (1863-
67) at once took up his cause against the monks. The Patriarch of
Jerusalem then summoned a synod (1867), in which he protested
hotly against the interference of Constantinople. Less for the
sake of Jerusalem's shadowy rights over Sinai than because of the
ever-welcome chance of opposing the arrogant interference of
Constantinople, the other Orthodox Churches all supported
Jerusalem, so that Byzantius was deposed and the Patriarch of
Constantinople had to resign. But that is the last attempt made by
Jerusalem to interfere in the affairs of what is now universally
recognized as the autocephalous Church of Sinai.

During these centuries the patriarchate, never very rich, suffered
from steadily increasing poverty. Dositheus complained bitterly of
this. He says that pilgrimages are rarer, and that the pilgrims
who do come bring little money; he himself is obliged to travel
constantly for the sake of collecting alms to Constantinople,
Russia, Moldavia, etc. A result of the Turkish conquest was that
since 1517 the Patriarchs of Jerusalem have been subject to their
brothers of Constantinople in civil matters, as far as the
government is concerned. The Turks made the oecumenical Patriarch
civil head of all the "Roman nation" (rum millet), that is the
Orthodox Church. The other patriarchs can approach the Porte only
through him. This civil authority must not be confused with
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In Orthodox canon law the Church of
Jerusalem is autocephalous, having no superior authority but that
of Christ and the Seven Councils. Jerusalem, like the other free
branches of their communion, has always indignantly withstood the
many attempts of Constantinople to assert a kind of papal
authority, and has always upheld the axiom that that oecumenical
bishop has no ecclesiastical jurisdiction outside his
patriarchate. Nevertheless, during these centuries till quite
modern times, the independence of Jerusalem was only theoretical.
The patriarchs were all Greeks. Originally, under the Egyptian
rule, they had been Arabs, taken naturally from the native clergy
of Palestine. But in l534 Germanus, a Greek of the Peloponnesus,
succeeded in being elected and from that time to this his
successors have all been Greeks. Germanus further succeeded in
hellenizing all the administration of his patriarchate: the monks
of the Holy Sepulchre, the bishops, archimandrites, and officials
of the patriarchal court are all Greeks. It became a recognized
principle that no native Arab should ever be appointed to any
office in the patriarchate. The result of this is that for over
three centuries the patriarchal curia of Jerusalem has been and
remains a foreign colony in the land, utterly separate from the
native Arab lower clergy and the people. But this state of things
will soon come to an end. Following the triumphant example of
Antioch there is at this moment a great agitation among the
Orthodox Arabs to assert their place in their own patriarchate.
And as they are supported by Russia they will succeed. The
reigning patriarch, Damianus, though of course a Greek, is not
unfriendly to the Arab agitators. On the other hand the monks, the
"Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre", stand out as a bulwark of
Orthodoxy for the present state of things, and treat the Arabs as
schismatical revolutionaries. Everyone has heard of the scandalous
riots that took place in 1908, and culminated in the pretended
deposition of the patriarch. Till quite lately, moreover, most of
these Greek patriarchs did not even take the trouble to reside in
their titular city. Mere servants of the oecumenical bishop,
having no interest in their Arab flock, they were content to
fritter away their lives in Constantinople, useless ornaments of
the Phanar. Since the accession of Cyril II (1845-72), this abuse
has been removed and the patriarchs live near the Monastery of the
Holy Sepulchre.

Meanwhile the sees of the patriarchate have almost entirely
disappeared. In Juvenal's time (420-58) fifty-nine bishops in the
three Palestines obeyed the new patriarch. The Moslem conquest,
the Crusades, and the other troubles of the Orthodox Church in
Syria gradually reduced this number, till there are now only a
handful of titular bishops who reside at Jerusalem instead of in
their dioceses, and a few sees whose titles are registered but are
always vacant. In 1913 only one bishop (the Metropolitan of 'Akka)
lived in his diocese (see the list below). The full list of
patriarchs of Jerusalem during this period will be found in Le
Quien, "Oriens Christianus", III; for the later ones see Williams,
"Holy City", I, pp. 487-8. The patriarchs in the nineteenth
century are: Anthimus, 1787-1808; Polycarp, 1808-27; Athanasius V,
1827-45; Cyril II, 1845-72. The last-mentioned refused to sign the
excommunication of the Bulgars in 1872, and was deposed the same
year. Procopius was intruded while Cyril still claimed to be
patriarch. Russia and the native Arabs acknowledged Cyril, the
Phanar and nearly all the rest of the Orthodox world Procopius.
Russia deposed Procopius in 1875, and Cyril died. Russia then
appointed Hierotheus, who, however, to everyone's surprise took
the side of the Phanar in the Bulgarian quarrel. So Russia fell
foul of him, and took the opportunity of confiscating the property
of the Holy Sepulchre in Bessarabia. Hierotheus died in 1882.
There were then three candidates for the vacant see, Nicodemus,
Gerasimus and Photius. Photius (always a determined enemy of
Russia) was elected canonically. But the Russians made the sultan
refuse him the berat, and give it to Nicodemus instead. Gerasimus
became Patriarch of Antioch in 1885. Photius went back to his
monastery at Sinai. Nicodemus reigned from 1883 to 1890. In 1890
the Phanar persuaded the sultan to depose Nicodemus, and give the
berat to Photius. Nicodemus retired to Halki. But the Russians
absolutely refused to allow Photius to become patriarch. So the
third original candidate, Gerasimus, was persuaded to leave
Antioch and come to Jerusalem. He reigned from 1891 to 1897.
Photius became Metropolitan of Nazareth, and in 1899 Patriarch of
Alexandria. Gerasimus died in 1897 and the Russians tried to have
their candidate Euthymius, Archimandrite of the Holy Sepulehre,
appointed. But the candidate of the Phanar, Damianus, Metropolitan
of Philadelphia, was appointed in 1897. For further information
about the Orthodox patriarchate see below.

(4) The Catholic Church in Jerusalem

The organization of the Catholics in Palestine dates from the time
of the Crusades. As soon as Godfrey of Bouillon became King of
Jerusalem in 1099, a Latin patriarchate was set up. Arnulf,
chaplain of the Normans, was made administrator of this
patriarchate by the synod held in Jerusalem at Christmas, 1099.
But he was soon set aside because of his immoral life, and
Dagobert, Archbishop of Pisa, elected patriarch. The line of Latin
patriarchs is: Dagobert of Pisa, 1099-1107 (Ehremar, anti-
patriarch set up by Baldwin I while Dagobert was travelling to
Rome to answer the king's complaints); Ghibellin of Arles, 1107-
11; Arnulf (the original administrator), 1111-8; Guarimund, 1118-
28; Stephen, 1128-30; William, 1130-45; Fulcher, 1146-57; Amalric,
1157-80; Heraclius, 1180-91. -- During the episcopate of Heraclius
the Saracens took Jerusalem (1187), and the Orthodox patriarch
returned. From this time the Latin patriarchs resided at the court
of the Latin kings; when that court was at 'Akka (during the last
period of the kingdom) the patriarchate was united to the
bishopric of that town (Ptolemais in Latin). -- Michael; Bl.
Albert of Parma (d. 1214); Gerald or Girold, 1214-27; Robert,
1227-54; James Pantaleon (afterwards Pope Urban IV), 1254-61;
William, 1261-; Thomas; John, 1270-8; Nicholas, 1278-94.

Since 'Akka fell in 1291, the Latin line was continued by merely
titular patriarchs, living at Rome and using the basilica of St.
Laurence without the Walls as their patriarchal church, till Pius
IIl restored the real patriarchate at Jerusalem in 1847. The
patriarchs of the crusading time were in most cases not very
edifying persons. Much of the history of the Latin Kingdom is
taken up with their quarrels with the kings, intrigues, and
generally scandalous adventures. An amusing, if hostile account of
these intrigues will be found in Besant and Palmer's "Jerusalem"
(throughout the book). The patriarchate extended to the limits of
the Crusaders' territory; as they conquered new cities, so were
new Latin sees established. There were four provinces: Palaestina
I (metropolis, Caesarea; two suffragan sees, Sebaste and Saba),
Palaestina II (Nazareth with one suffragan, Tiberias), Palaestina
III (metropolis Petra, suffragan Sinai), Phoenicia (metropolis
Tyre; suffragans, St. Jean d'Acre, Sidon, Beirut, Paneas).
Bethlehem and Ascalon (joined), Hebron and Lydda (Diospolis) were
immediately subject to the patriarch. But the number of sees
fluctuated with the fortunes of the crusaders; there are various
lists given by contemporary authors representing different
circumstances. There were many abbeys besides the priory of the
Holy Sepulchre (following the Augustinian rule); for these see Le
Quien, III, 1279 sqq., and the "Gesta Dei per Francos" (Hanover,
1611), 1077.

From the thirteenth century, when this hierarchy disappeared, down
to our own time, the Catholic cause was upheld almost solely by
the Franciscan Order. The friars were first sent to Palestine by
St. Francis himself in 1219. The order has a special province, the
"Custodia Terr Sanct ", which includes Lower Egypt, Cyprus, and
Armenia. The head of this province, and till 1847 the supreme
authority for Catholics in Palestine, is the Franciscan provincial
who bears the title "Custos Terrae Sanctae". He had episcopal
jurisdiction (but not orders), and the Turkish government granted
him many privileges as civil head of the "Latin nation" in
Palestine. This province (commonly called by the Italian form
"Terra Santa", which has passed into Arabic and Turkish) is
recruited from all the other Franciscan provinces. Its official
language is Italian. During the long centuries since the fall of
the Latin kingdom the heroic friars have guarded the interests of
the Catholic Church around the Holy Places. Always exposed to the
jealousy of the Orthodox and other sects, continually persecuted
by the Turks, they have kept their place till today, and with it
our rights in the Holy Land, constantly at the price of their
blood. It was in their hospices (the case nuove, which they have
built all over Palestine) that the Catholic pilgrim found shelter.
They have kept the Latin altars in repair, and have never ceased
offering the Latin Mass on them for six centuries when no one else
cared for them. The "Reverendissimus Custos Terrae Sanctae" now
fills a much less important place in the Catholic Church of
Palestine; but no changes can ever make one forget what we owe to
the friars for defending our cause during those dark years.

In the nineteenth century it was felt that a state of things of
which the result was practically Franciscan monopoly in Palestine
had become an anomaly. The Turkish government had become tolerant,
the number of Catholic pilgrims increased enormously, many other
religious orders had built houses at Jerusalem and other cities,
there were Arab Catholics who wished to become priests and to
serve their own people, but who had not necessarily a vocation for
the Franciscan Order. So the old conditions that reserved
practically all cure of souls to Franciscans and submitted every
one to the jurisdiction of the custos -- natural enough when there
had been no one else to undertake the work -- were no longer
reasonable now. There was no reason why the Catholics of Palestine
should not be governed by an episcopal hierarchy in the normal
way. Moved by these considerations Pius IX decided to change the
titular Latin patriarchate at Rome into a real see again at
Jerusalem. The titular patriarch, Augustus Foscolo (1830-47), was
requested to resign. In his place Joseph Valerga was made
patriarch in 1847, and ordered to take up his residence in the
Holy City (Brief of 23 July 1847). He was consecrated by the pope
himself on 10 October, 1847, and arrived in his patriarchate in
January, 1848. He found 4200 Latin Catholics there; at his death
in 1872 he had doubled the number. The succession of these
restored Latin patriarchs is: Joseph Valerga, 1847-72; Vincent
Bracco, 1873-89; Louis Piavi, 1889-1905. Mgr. Piavi died on 24
January, 1905. After some delay, the present patriarch, Mgr.
Philip Camassei, formerly Latin Bishop of Syra, was promoted in
November, 1906, and entered Jerusalem just before Easter, 1907.

(5) Present Condition of the City

Jerusalem (El Quds) is the capital of a sanjak and the seat of a
mutasarrif directly dependent on the Sublime Porte. In the
administration of the sanjak the mutasarrif is assisted by a
council called majlis ida ra; the city has a municipal government
(majlis baladiye) presided over by a mayor. The total population
is estimated at 66,000. The Turkish census of 1905, which counts
only Ottoman subjects, gives these figures: Jews, 45,000; Moslems,
8,000; Orthodox Christians, 6000; Latins, 2500; Armenians, 950;
Protestants, 800; Melkites, 250; Copts, 150; Abyssinians, 100;
Jacobites, 100; Catholic Syrians, 50. During the nineteenth
century large suburbs to the north and east have grown up, chiefly
for the use of the Jewish colony. These suburbs contain nearly
half the present population.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has jurisdiction over all Latins
of Palestine, extending to Egypt on the south, the Latin Delegacy
of Syria (seat at Beirut) on the north, and including Cyprus. He
is appointed by the Roman Curia (libera collatio S. Pont.), and is
personally exempt from Turkish authority (still nominally under
the protectorate of France). He is represented in the majlis. The
patriarchate has no suffragan sees. The Custos Terr Sanct retains
the use of episcopal insignia and certain rights of admission to
the holy places; otherwise, he must now be counted only as the
Provincial of the Franciscans. Appointments to the "Order of the
Holy Sepulchre" (a military order of knighthood which began with
the crusades and continues as a small dignity given to deserving
Catholics), formerly made by the custos, are now in the hands of
the patriarch. The patriarchal church in theory is the Holy
Sepulchre. But since Catholics have only alternative rights there
with the Orthodox and Armenians, Foscolo built a pro-cathedral
near the Jaffa Gate (to the north): the patriarch's house and a
seminary adjoin this church. But the patriarch celebrates the
functions of Holy Week and others at the Holy Sepulchre according
to the rights conceded to Catholics, which are carefully drawn up
and enforced by the Government. The Franciscan custos lives at the
Convent of St. Saviour to the north of the Muristan. This convent
is the Franciscan head-quarters at Jerusalem. It was originally a
Georgian monastery, and was acquired by the friars in 1551. Next
to it is the large parish church of St. Saviour, finished in 1885
at the expense of the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I; the Casa
Nuova (hospice for pilgrims) is close at hand. Then there are an
orphanage, a school, a library, printing press, etc., all in
charge of the friars, clustered around the convent. The
Franciscans have also the little convent of the Holy Sepulchre
with the "Chapel of the Apparition," that forms the northern part
of the group of buildings at the Anastasis. This has been
Franciscan property since the thirteenth century (P. Barnabe
Meistermann's "Nouveau Guide" contains an excellent plan of the
Anastasis, coloured according to the possessions of the various
religions). Six or seven priests and as many lay-brothers are sent
from the convent of St. Saviour to reside here for periods of
three months in turn. These are the "Fathers of the Holy
Sepulchre" who are always on guard to celebrate the Latin Offices,
receive pilgrims, and maintain our traditional rights. They have a
hard time while they are on duty. There is no way out of the
convent except by the door to the whole complex on the south. This
door is locked by the Turkish guardians at night, so the friars
are locked in. Their food is brought to them from St. Saviour, and
passed through a wicket in the great door every day. Formerly the
residence in the narrow damp convent shut in among the other
buildings, which they do not leave during their time of office,
was very injurious to their health. But in 1869 Emperor Francis
Joseph of Austria, when he made his pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
obtained from the Turkish government some improvement in the
ventilation of the convent and leave to build a terrace and a
belfry behind it. In 1875 the friars rang their bells to summon
Catholics to their services for the first time at this place since
centuries (the Orthodox do not use bells but clappers-symantra;
bells are an abomination to Moslems). The third Franciscan convent
in Jerusalem is by the Chapel of the Scourging in the Tariq Bab
Sitti Miriam, opposite the Antonia castle. This property belonged
to them from the time of the Crusades till 1618. It was then taken
away by the Pasha and turned into a stable. It was given back in
1838, and restored at the expense of King Maximilian of Bavaria.

Other Latin properties in Jerusalem are the College of St. Ann for
Melkite clergy governed (since 1878) by Cardinal Lavigerie's Pres
blancs near the Bab Sitti Miriam (Gate of the Lady Mary), the
Dominican convent and Ecole biblique at St. Stephen outside the
Damascus Gate (1884), the great French Hospice "Notre Dame de
France", directed by the Augustinians of the Assumption outside
the walls to the northwest near the Bab 'Abdu-I'hamid (1887), the
Benedictine monastery with a seminary for Syrian Catholics on the
Mount of Olives (1899), the new German Benedictine monastery at
the "Dormitio B.M.V." on Mount Sion, given by the German Emperor
in 1906, the German and Austrian hospices, the French Passionists
and Lazarists, the Italian Salesians, and French Peres de Sion and
Christian Brothers. There are convents of the French Carmelite
nuns (on the Mount of Olives, since 1873), Poor Clares, Franciscan
nuns, "Dames de Sion", Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, Benedictine
nuns, Sisters of the Rosary of St. Joseph and of Marie-
Reparatrice". Of all these Latin institutions the older colonies
(e.g. the Franciscans) have on the whole an Italian character, by
far the greatest number are French, but the Germans (especially
since the troubles about the protectorate) are now getting
considerable influence. As throughout the Turkish Empire early in
the twentieth century, French was the European language most
spoken at Jerusalem.

Most of the Eastern Catholic Churches have establishments in the
Holy City. The Melkite Patriarch of Antioch also bears the titles
of Alexandria and Jerusalem. He has a church (St. Veronica) in the
Khan-ez-zeit just behind St. Saviour where the Melkite patriarchal
vicar (who generally resides at Jaffa) and the patriarch himself
(when present) officiate; near it is a hospice for Melkites. There
is also a Melkite monastery near the New Bazaar (Es-suk el-jedid).
The Maronites have a parish church served by their patriarchal
vicar; that of the Catholic Armenians (Notre Dame du Spasme) is in
the Via Dolorosa opposite the Austrian hospice. The Armenians had
an Archbishop of Jerusalem (Michael Alessandrius) from 1855 to
1867. No successor has been appointed to him. The Syrian Catholics
have also a small church where their patriarchal vicar officiates.
The Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch is considered as
administrator of an Archdiocese of Jerusalem; but he does not use
the title. A hardship felt by all these Eastern Catholics is that
they cannot celebrate their Offices at the Holy Sepulchre. Among
Catholics the Turk recognizes only the rights of Latins there.

The Orthodox Church naturally also fills a large place among the
Christian communities of Jerusalem. The patriarch bears the title
"the most blessed and holy Patriarch of the holy city Jerusalem
and all Palestine, of Syria, Arabia beyond the Jordan, Cana of
Galilee and Holy Sion". It should be noticed that of all the
persons who bear the title "Patriarch of Jerusalem", this one
alone represents historic continuity from the original line. His
patriarchate extends to the Lebanon on the north and the Red Sea
on the south (except the autocephalous convent on Sinai). East and
west it is bounded by the Syrian desert and the sea. The patriarch
resides by the "Great Laura" in the Haret deir-er-rum not far from
the Anastasis; he has also properties in the country at Katamon
near Jerusalem (where they say St. Simeon lived) and near Deir
Aban (between Jerusalem and Jaffa). The sees of the Patriarchate
are C sarea, Scythopolis (Beisan), Petra, Ptolemais ('Akka),
Nazareth, Bethlehem, Lydda, Gaza, Nablus, Sebaste, Tabor, the
Jordan, Tiberias, Philadelphia, Pella, Kerak, Diocaesarea
(Sepphoris), Madaba. The only resident bishop is the Metropolitan
of 'Akka; those of Lydda, Gaza, Nablus, Sebaste, the Jordan,
Philadelphia, Kerak and Madaba live at Jerusalem and form the
Patriarch's Court. The other sees are left vacant. In the
administration of his Church the patriarch is assisted by a synod
consisting of ten bishops and ten archimandrites. Near the
patriarchate is the large Orthodox monastery (St. Constantine)
with a printing press and hospice for pilgrims. In the Holy
Sepulchre the Orthodox possess the central part (the "Katholikon")
and various chapels. They have a monastery built against it (to
the west). The actual Anastasis under its cupola is too precious
to be given to any one religion; so it is common property, used in
turn by all. There are sixteen other Orthodox monasteries in and
around the city and various hospices, hospitals and schools. For
the education of their clergy they have the "Monastery of the Holy
Cross" (Deir el-musallebe) about one and a half miles west of the
city. This monastery (said to be at the place where the tree grew
from which the cross was made) was originally Georgian.
Inscriptions in that language may be seen in the church. It was
sold to the Greeks, opened as a theological college in 1855, since
then several times closed and re-opened. Many students do not
belong to the patriarchate, but come from Asia Minor, Cyprus,
Greece, etc., to study here. There are hardly any Arabs. The only
language used in the college is Greek. The Greek element has
hitherto had exclusive possession of the older Orthodox
establishments in Jerusalem.

We have alluded to the troubles now raging through the attempt of
the Arabs to break this monopoly. It is considerably broken,
though not in favour of the Arabs, by the Russian establishments.
The autocephalous Russian Church is represented in Palestine by a
great number of large colonies and institutions altogether
separate from those of the Patriarchate. The first Russian
archimandrite arrived in 1844; the consulate dates from 1858. The
Russian Palestine Society builds churches, in which the liturgy is
celebrated in Slavonic, and hospices for Russian pilgrims all over
the country to the great annoyance of the Greek patriarchal
element. It is because Russia has taken up the cause of the native
Arabs that they can no longer be ignored as obscure
revolutionaries of the lower classes. On the contrary, the Greek
influence is already doomed; when Lord Damianus dies or is
successfully deposed, we may expect to hear of an Arab patriarch
as his successor. It remains to be it made at Antioch by
excommunicating him. The chief Russian establishments at Jerusalem
are the enormous group of buildings outside the city on the Jaffa
road. These contain a large and very handsome church where the
Russian archimandrite officiates, huge hospices for pilgrims, a
hospital and other buildings, all close to the Russian consulate.
Then they have a gorgeous church in Gethsemane, and another one
with a high tower, a convent of nuns, and other buildings on the
top of the Mount of Olives (the place of the Ascension in their
tradition). There are also another Russian hospice in the
Muristan, a lunatic asylum, and schools. But the Russians have no
rights at the Holy Sepulchre. Each time they want to have a
service there they must ask leave of the patriarch. About 8000
Russian pilgrims visit the Holy Places every year.

The Gregorian Armenians have a Patriarchate of Jerusalem as one of
their two minor patriarchates. In the seventeenth century the
Katholikos of Echmiadzin gave the Armenian Bishop of Jerusalem the
right to consecrate chrism; thereupon the bishop assumed the title
patriarch and began ordaining bishops. The title is now
acknowledged by the Armenian Church. The jurisdiction of the
Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem extends throughout the Pashaliks
of Damascus, 'Akka, Tarabulus (Tripoli), and Cyprus. Under him are
seven archbishops and bishops who live with him and form his
synod, and fourteen suffragans. The patriarchate is at the great
Armenian monastery of St. James to the southwest of the city, near
the Bab Nebi Daud. This was formerly a Georgian monastery; the
Armenians possess it since the thirteenth century. Besides the
patriarch and bishops about a hundred vartabeds live here. There
are also a seminary and schools and a hospice for pilgrims
adjoining the great church. They also have a monastery just
outside the same gate (the reputed house of Caiphas), a convent of
nuns (Deir-ez-zeituni) near the patriarchate, and land outside the
city opposite the great Russian colony. The whole southwest of
Jerusalem around their patriarchate is the "Armenian quarter". At
the Holy Sepulchre they possess the Chapels of St. Helena, of St.
John, of the "Division of Garments", of St. James (behind the
Anastasis), and the "Stone of the Holy Women" (cf. Meistermann's
plan). The Armenians have further rights of walking in procession
about the Anastasis, and take their turn to celebrate their
offices at it.

The Jacobite Syrians have a little church (claimed as the house of
John Mark) in theHaret-en-nebi Daud, with a monastery where the
vicar of their maphrian (who now unites with this dignity that of
Metropolitan of Jerusalem) resides, and the central chapel behind
the Anastasis. The Copts have a large monastery (Deir-es-sultan)
close to the Holy Sepulchre to the north, at the ninth Station of
the Cross, with a hospice. Another Coptic church is at their Khan
north of the Birket Hammam-el-batrak (Pool of Hezekiah), and they
have several chapels in the Holy Sepulchre itself. The Copts have
had a Bishop of Jerusalem since the eleventh century. He now
resides at Cairo with the title Bishop of the East (Sharkiye), or
of the Anastasis (Kayame), or Jerusalem (El Quds), and ranks
immediately after the Abuna of Abyssinia. The Abyssinians possess
a large round church outside the city to the northwest (beyond the
Russian buildings) and a monastery touching the Holy Sepulchre and
the Coptic monastery. They have no special place in the great
church itself; but share with the Copts (with whom, of course,
they are in communion). The Nestorians had a Metropolitan of
Jerusalem from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Since 1282 the
title seems to have disappeared (Le Quien, II, 1299).

Lastly, English, German and American Protestants of all sects have
a great number of establishments, churches, hospitals, and
hospices in Jerusalem. The most important of these are the German
Evangelical Erl serkirche in the Muristan (built in 1898 on land
given by the German Emperor) with a school, the Johanniterhospiz,
Hospital of the Kaiserwerth Deaconesses, the Leper-house kept by
the Moravians, and the Syrian Protestant orphanage. In 1841, by
arrangement between the Prussian and English governments, an
Anglo-Lutheran "Bishopric of St. James" at Jerusalem was founded.
The bishops were to be appointed alternately by the two
governments and to have jurisdiction over all Anglicans and
Lutherans in Syria, Chaldea, Egypt and Abyssinia. This is the
famous "Jerusalem bishopric" that gave so great scandal to the
leaders of the Oxford Movement. The bishops were: Michael Samuel
Alexander (appointed by England), 1842-5; Samuel Gobat von
Cremines (by Prussia), 1845-79; Joseph Barclay (by England), 1879-
81. Already during Gobat's time the two elements had drifted
apart; when Barclay died, the arrangement fell through.

The Anglicans have now a bishopric "in" Jerusalem of quite a
different type (since 1887). Bishop Blyth and his archdeacons are
conciliatory to all the Eastern Churches and on excellent terms
with the Orthodox patriarch. The Anglican Collegiate Church of St.
George (with a college) is the seat of the bishop in Jerusalem. It
is situated outside the city to the north, beyond the Dominican
convent. St. Paul's Church belongs to the Church Missionary
Society (outside, northwest); there is a large Anglican school
(founded by Bishop Gobat) at the southwest corner of the walls.
The London Jews' Society has a church, two hospitals and several
schools.

The following persons use the title of Jerusalem in some form:

�  Catholics: the Latin Patriarch, residing in the city; the
Melkite Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and all the
East, residing at Alexandria or Damascus; the Melkite Patriarchal
Vicar of Jerusalem residing at Jaffa; the Maronite Patriarchal
Vicar of Jerusalem residing in the city;

�  Non-Catholics: the Orthodox Patriarch residing in the city; the
Armenian Patriarch residing in the city; the Jacobite Maphrian
(Metropolitan of Jerusalem) residing with his Patriarch (of
Antioch) in the Zapharan monastery near Mardin; the Jacobite Vicar
of Jerusalem (for the Maphrian) residing in the city; the Coptic
Bishop of Jerusalem (or the East or the Anastasis) residing at
Cairo; the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem.

ADRIAN FORTESCUE
Transcribed by Donald J. Boon

Dedicated to the Coming Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the  entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this  worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
mail at (knight.org/advent). For  more information please download
the file cathen.txt/.zip.

-------------------------------------------------------

  Provided courtesy of:

       Eternal Word Television Network
       PO Box 3610
       Manassas, VA 22110
       Voice: 703-791-2576
       Fax: 703-791-4250
       Web: http://www.ewtn.com
       Email address: [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------

You are viewing proxied material from gopher.ratthing.com. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.