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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1901)
April 7, 1001. TniiJ tLLUSTKATED 1U0K. v 1 'U J' V',V ORIGINAL MILLARD RESIDKNCK WHKRK NEW YOUK L1FK 1IUILDIN0 NOW STANDS, Probable Place of Christ's Transfiguration (Copyright, 1901, by C. II. Levy.) That Jesus wns transfigured upon n muiiii taln Id Oalllcu Is one of the events In 1 1 in llfo upon which no less t linn three (if tho gospels agree, almost to tho point of Iden tity. That this waB Mount Tahor Is agreed In tho same unanimous fashion by all Chris tian authorities from tho earliest times to tho present day. Hut It Is only lately that excavations have been made at Tabor proving tho early occupation of this moun tain ns a site sacred lo early Christians. This valuable Investigation has been made by an Alsatian missionary, Father llarnnbe, who Is considered one of tho leading au thorities upon Christian archaeology In Pal estine, and la now In the monastery on Mount Tabor. Ills investigations hnvo Just been mndo public In Paris. Mount Tabor had been n uotablo placo oven In early Kgyptian times, lying as It did upon the direct rnuto between Kgypt nnd Assyrln. Prof. Maspero has Identified an Kgyptian searnbacus found at Tabor as belonging to tho eighteenth Kgyptian dy nasty, so this site must have been well known as early as 1C0O D. C. That It boro a sacred character In tho times Just pre ceding tho birth of Jesus seems moro than probablo from Itabblnlcal traditions, which speak of It as tho Sacred Mountain ol Galilee. Father narnabo holds that tho tradition which located the transllguration on Mount Tabor Is ono of tho best founded of all traditions, going back to tho very (lrst century of tho Christians. Orlgen, Kuseblus, St. Cyril of Jerusalem nnd St. Jerome are unanimous In proclaiming Tnbor as the Mount of Transfiguration. Attentive study of the accounts In the three gospels of tho transfiguration point toward Tabor, although It Is not named. Incident nf TriiiiNtlKiiriitloii. Father narnabo polntB out that Jesus, during the last fow weeks of Ills ltfo, was making a final pastoral Journoy In Galileo. He camo from Tyre and was on His way to tho sea of Geneseroth. At last lie reached Caesnrea Phlllppl on tho extreme northern boundary of tho territory of Israel, In tho center of a population largely pagan. When He arrived In this neighbor hood Ho nuked Ills disciples: "Who do they say tho Son of Man Is 7 And you yourselves, who do you say I am?" Simon-Peter, answering, said: "You aro tho Christ, tho Son of tho Living God." Seeing them so well fixed In the faith Jesus began to disclose to His disciples that Ho must go to Jerusalem, suffer much, bo put to death and rlso on tho third day. Of Ills further sojourn In Caesarea no single detail Is given. Six days later the mystery VmmS 1 H V KNTItANCE TO THE MILLARD DANK. of tho Transfiguration took place. All three ovangcllsts seem to Insist upon a spaco of tlmo having elapsed between tho last dls courso of the Savior nnd Ills Transfigura tion. Slnco no word Is snld of any preach ing during this tlmn It Is probablo thnt tho six days wero passed In a Journey, nnd It might easily tnko six days, walking ns slowly ns Jesus walked In convorso with Ills disciples, to go from Caesnrea Phlllppl to Tabor. Having satisfied himself by his Investiga tions, both historical nnd geographical, that Mount Tabor wns the site of tho Trans figuration. Father Darnnbo set himself to tho examination nf tho ruins found there. The transformations of the buildings on Tnbor havo been bo numerous thnt they present many dlflleultles to the nrchnonlo glst. who has to help himself by history nt times, nnd then fill In the gaps nf history by his discoveries. Tho prlnclpnl ruins of a religious order are to be fotind grouped together In a square on tho west ern sldo of the plateau. To the left nn entering nre tho remains of n small church, the wnlls of which are still standing from three to six feet high. This wns tho first sacred edifice found In excavating this cor ner of tho plateau. Thero seems tn hnvo been a second church here nlsn. Tho first wns hardly more thnn a chapel. 12x1S feet, with a seml-clrrulnr recess on the west. The wnlls nre built In Rnmnn style, cov ered nn the Inside by white stucco, nn which are some trares nf decorative fo liage In red tints. Tho pnvement Is n mosaic of black nnd white rubes, forming n lnrgo circle nnd lozenges. r'1il(rctiir of Hnrly Dittr. This Httlo building bears tho chnrnrter nf tho oratories of tho fourth nnd fifth cen turies. It Is without doubt one nf tho oldest church edifices ever discovered In the Holy I,nnd. Two niches In tho recess show tho Christian character of the edlflcn with out any doubt, for ono Is evidently the pTn thesis or oblntlnnnrum, whom the faithful deposit their offerings nf bread and wine, nnd tho other Is the dlaconlcuni, where tho rhnllen nnd gospel were kept. A little further to the west Is a ehurrh with three naves, having smnll chapels on enrh sldo nf It St. Antnnlne of Plalsnnco states (r7n) thnt ho found three churches on Tnbor nt tho spot nt which Peter said to Jesus "It Is good. Iird. to bo here. Mako three tabernacles, ono for you, onn for Moses nnd ono for Kilns." It Is known thnt In r.33 tho council of Constantinople decreed the erection of a bishopric upon Mount Tnbor nnd In consequence thero must have been n cnthedrnl thero. Upon tho best nrehne ologleal grounds It rnn bo nsserted thnt tho ruins found hero nrn not Infer than the sixth century, hut they mny be much earlier, Tho rhnrch wns perched upon the solid rock, nn tho very spot, nrcnrdlng to tradition, where tho transfiguration took place. On each side nro thn chapels dedl cated to Moses nnd Klljnh. nnd they were certnlnly constructed nt tho same tlmo as tho main edifice. In thn ruins nf this rhureh were found severnl rnpltnls in white mnrble. Ono nf these rnpltnls Is perfectly preserved, nnd Is n font nnd n half high It Is mnrkedly Corlnthlnn In chnrnrter, and Identical with those nf the naslllca of Delhlehrin. which nrehaenlnclsts ngree goes back to tho age of Constnntlne. This nnelent church was succeeded In later times by one built by tho Denedlctlno monks, which wns destroyed by tho troops nf Rnlndln In 1187. From 12M to 1217 tho Saracens were In possession. In 1 220 the cities nf Nnznroth nnd Mount Tnbor were surrendered to Christian hands, nnd the m'ountnln wns occupied by thn Hungarian rirothers, who built n new church, using snmn of tho mnterlnl frnm the old one Dur ing thn Crusades this wns burned. There nre other Interesting ruins nnrth of SKNATOU MILLARD AT HIS DKSK. the remains of the church, consisting of a vast hall with tho bascH of Unco hugo col umns which onco Bustnlued tho nrches, That this hall was vury broad Is attested by the dlscoxory of ono of tho ruined nrches. This Is thought to bo tho cnpltular hnll of tho llcnedlctiues. Thero has nlsn been found u large Ionic capital which soetns to belong to tbo Macedonian period nnterlor to Jesus Christ. Another capital found In a wall has the head of n lion In the center nnd n crunching child on each sldo of It. On another cnpllnl are the figures of a Hon nuil n bull. Sit II another capital Is markedly Kgyptlnn or Phoenician In style, with the flgurn of a ram n ml n Hun or tiger. Here, too, nro many blocks of basalt with curious figures upon them, HI,o tboso found on tho slopes of Mount llermon. All of these stones nro, of course, of pagan origin. Tho Inscriptions In Greek nnd Arabic aro well preserved and refer to tho build ing of tho fortress. On the west sldo of tho plateau nm several sepulchral grot toes, with tho benches hewn out of tho rock. As these tombs have been violated by Arabs in search of treasure It Is Im possible to stnto whether they nro Hebrew or Christian. Father Rnrnnbo describes sotnu vortical tombs forming a little ceme tery In thn center of tho plateau. In tho center nf this cemetery wero tho romnlns of a small room, paved nnd built nf plnstcr, In one corner of which wns a furnace, glazed and hnrdened by fire, nnd In nnothcr corner an oblong tub of masonry Itnod with n kind nf hnrd cement. This scorns to hnvo been a room where the. bodies of children wero washed, that they might bo embalmed after tbo Hebrew method. This room would seem to go back to tho tlmo of JosephiiB. Tho Saraceim built houses over these tombs and used them for cellnrs, Tho several grottoes found on tho west, evidently used as habitations, aro among the most Interesting of all tho discoveries Hero nre mills for grinding grain nnd nnelent wine nnd oil presses. Nenr thorn are several cisterns In tho shape, of Inrgn bottles, like tho ono Into which Joseph wns lowered. Whether these dwellings wero occupied by tho Hebrews nnd later by an chorites and monks no proof Is forthcom ing. Kuropenii iirihaeoliiglsts mid theologian regard these discoveries as among tho iiiohI Important to biblical history ever made Their particular value lies In the fact of their showing thnt lu tho enrly days nf the Christian tellglon, when nil that concerned the life of Christ was still mntter of oral tradition and familiar local hlxtnry, Mount Tnbor wns by general consent re garded as tho scene of tho transfiguration nnd edifices commemorative of tho evont wero erected there. C. H. LKVV Veteran Singing iMaster Tho veteran singing mnster, Mnnuel Oar cla, has attained tho nge of 96. Ho Is still In excellent health. When ho wns 00 Garcia, who then had a class at tho London Royal Academy of Music, rocolvcd a testimonial subscribed for by practlcnlly every professor of tho Institution. iiHkSIKi-JJjjKIISI iHiWKrant'KHnBEiiiH iBJIiHiMHHntHH iHHHHll iIkmmbIHkIRHIH DANK AT VIRGINIA CITY, Mont.