I checked the Tomb, and yes--it's empty!

Happy Easter from Jerusalem! So as not to miss any of the Easter awesomeness, I "doubled dipped" and attended two services--a non-denominational Protestant service in the Garden Tomb at sunrise, and a mid-morning Roman Catholic Easter Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Protestant service was unlike anything I had ever experienced before--compared to the typical Catholic Mass, the celebration was a lot more joyful and interactive, with plenty "amens" of hand-waving. It consisted entirely of (very modern) Christian songs with readings and an excellent sermon. I was confused--why were these people so happy? Where was the Latin? Despite the initial culture-shock, however, I enjoyed the service immensely.

Here are a few pictures from the Garden Tomb. The first picture shows the crowd gathering outside; the second and third were taken during the service. The last picture shows the band, which was set up near the entrance to the tomb . For purposes of crowd control, the tomb was not open to visitors on Easter (ergo, the closed door).

We made our way to the Old City into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where we waited for several hours for Mass to begin. Luckily, we caught the end of the preceding Greek Orthodox service, which concluded with a number of beautiful chants. One is captured in the video below.

When the Catholic Mass finally began, it was sheer chaos. In addition to the fact that we had to guess (ultimately incorrectly) in which part of the church the Mass would take place (In front of the Tomb? In the chapel beside the Tomb?), we were also being harassed by the church caretakers--a family of Arabs who shouted "Sorry! Sorry!" as they rammed people out of their way while moving the portable pews. Against all odds, we found some prime standing room.

The Mass was led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, but he was accompanied by several dozen other priests and a whole host of Franciscan brothers. A picture of the service--conducted in Latin, although booklets were provided in English and other languages--are below.

The Mass concluded with a solemn procession around the Tomb (three times, counter-clockwise). [In preparation for the procession, the Arab caretakers had to remove the pews, nearly causing a riot.] Candles were provided to all attendees and the Easter light was shared. Several pictures and a video (of the conclusion of the procession) appear below.

This last picture requires some explanation: the doors of the Holy Sepulchre were locked during the Catholic Mass. At the end of the service when they finally opened, the mass of visitors queuing in the courtyard outside began pouring in, blocking the path of the procession heading out. What ensued was a small mosh pit of Christian love--or Christian rage.

My apologies for the video--my camera has the very useful ability to take pictures WHILE recording video, however, this causes the video to freeze for a moment.



As the title indicates--I checked both tombs, and they were empty! Happy Easter!