Our final sight-seeing stop on Friday was St. George's Cathedral. I love the nested arches of the entry.
The signs and plaques provide information about the importance of this cathedral in the Arab Christian community:
The cathedral itself was open, and no one else was around. We quietly slipped in and were met with this view:
In the back was the magnificent organ.
Each chair held a needlepoint-covered prayer cushion. Some must be 100 years old. As far as we could tell, no two were alike. The hymnals were in English ....
.... but the posted hymn selections were in Arabic numerals.
Stained glass at the end of the apse behind the altar:
Baptismal font, indicating that they practice immersion baptism:
Mosaic commemorating the resurrection. I don't know Latin, but I can decipher "I am the resurrection and the life" across the bottom of the mosaic.
A gift from Queen Victoria, who died soon after the cathedral was completed:
This very old painting in the baptistry area might be depicting St. George, with Christ in the upper right corner. I was surprised to learn that St. George was a Palestinian conscript in the Roman army. Or it could be John the Baptist. That could be the head of John the Baptist in the lower right corner, and the faces look a lot alike. I don't know.
I love this poster on the left! If only....
The cathedral is actually part of a building complex that includes a college.
I really enjoy visiting the churches. They provide a sense of cultural and political history in addition to the testimony of continued faith and spirituality. They remind me of how very much we have in common and how tragic it is that people have so often quarreled and killed over religious differences.
We walked past the local HQ of the World Health Organization.
The Seventh Day Adventist Community Service Center is a few blocks from our hotel.
We peeked into a backyard. The fun-filled treehouse has gone to ruin, and a big satellite dish seems to have gained prominence. (Or was this a military lookout with a satellite communications system? I prefer the treehouse theory!)
I'm guessing that picture is of John the Baptist. In the really old art, it seems like he is often depicted with kind of ratty hair and with his own head.
ReplyDeleteI love that prayer poster. What a beautiful sentiment.
Those needlepoint pillows really caught my eye--we just did a round of crocheted altar clothes for our temple, and it's nice the handiwork of faithful women bring beauty to sacred places of worship everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt's John the Baptist. You can tell because he's wearing fur and his head is on the platter.
ReplyDeleteThe Latin on top means "and lives and was dead" or something along those lines.
ReplyDelete