December 17 , 1890. OMAHA ILLUSTRATED 1W3JS.
I By Which Gate Did
Jesus Enter Jerusalem
*
I The question of the particular gate
through which Jesus entered Jerusalem
that first Palm Sunday with the people
shouting around him may seem superflu
ous , for common tradition has named the
Golden Gate. But the kaiser's visit to
Jerusalem In the spring of last year brought
up another version. The Hulda Gate was
mentioned then and It Is high tlmo to look
Into this question and dctcrmtno the truth.
The Hulda Gate Is the name that the
Jc\\s of today give to the old temple gate
that lies at the foundation of the mosque
of Aksa , but It Is also known as the double
gate. Josephus tells us that there wore
gates on the south side of the temple and
the Talmud says there were two Hulda
gates on the south. Today there are two
gates In the southern wall , some 225 feet
apart.
This gate has been called the mole gate.
A mole works Into the earth , travels under
ground and then comes up. So does this
gato. In Solomon's tlmo It was not roofed
over , but later when Herod enclosed the
royal grounds In the temple court he put
a roof over It so It became a kind of tunnel
from the outer wall to the Inner court.
At present the gates are walled up on the
wept over It , " which points to the middle
path. By the southern road little could
bo seen of the city , but all the extensive
temple buildings were visible.
And , too , It must bo remembered that the
path pursued by Jesus did not Ho far from
Bcthpage , which was on the eastern de
clivity of the Mount of Olives , so It was
Impossible for Jesus to have taken the south
ern path. And It Is just as certain that
Jesus did go by the middle path , which
posses directly over the ridge of the Mount
of Olives.
Sonic HennoiiH.
As you come down from the mountain you
are directly In front of the Golden Gate
This would have been the case no matter
by which path ho had como from Bethany ,
It was the nearest gate of the city and Its
threshold was only about 100 feet above
the road along the garden of Gethsemano
and the bridge and but 725 feet away In an
air line. Hero , too , the valley was at Its
widest ; hero the valley running from the
northern eldo of the city opened Into the
valley of KIdron , broadening the whole val
ley. As a result of this the path had to
run along a curved line.
Now , the Golden Gate Is In the temple
wall , but nt that tlmo the city wall was
-
*
1
THE GOLDEN GATE OUTSIDE.
outside. Because the western gate was
double the name Hulda was later given to
It. alone and not to the eastern one.
The Jews of a later period did not like
the name with its application to the mole
so they connected the name Hulda with
that of the prophetess , who , they say , was
tbo only ono besides the kings to be burled
In the city proper nnd that her tomb was
near this gate , hence the name.
Not n Tcnnlilc Theory.
That Jesus and his disciples often passed
through this gate may bo accepted as cer
tain , but that ho entered there on Palm
Sunday is absolutely untenable. Not one
of the many pilgrims before and after the
crusades mentions this as the gate through
which Christ entered Jerusalem. Only of
late has this Idea been suggested.
The Golden Gate Is to be found In the
eastern wall of the present harem or court
of the mosque of Aksa. The lower portions
tions belong to the period of the temple
while the upper part are Byzantine. The
top Is moslem. This gate was made Into
a fortified tower. Like the other temple
gates It had a double entrance. It has been
built up by a wall for a long time.
From tlmo Immemorial has this been con
sidered the ono through which Jesus en
tered and passed to the templo. Jesus came
from Bethany , whence there are three paths
to Jerusalem. The southernmost , the mod
ern high road , passes over the lower ridge
between the Mount of Offense and the
Mount of Olives proper. This Is the longest
route. The second , the middle path , leads
directly over the summit of the. Mount of
Olives and then southerly. The third and
northernmost path also passes over the
heights , All three pass by the present
Garden of Gethsomano and there run Into
a single road , The valley of tbo KIdron Is
then traversed by a bridge.
Now , according to Luke"Jesus de
scended the Mount of Olives , " which could
apply to the northernmost nr to the middle
road , and besides , "he saw tbo city and
from flfty to sixty-five feet outside of the
wall of the templo. Necessarily there must
have been a gate in the city wall at this
point , but It was not a double , only a single
gate like all the other city gates. After
Jesus had ridden through this gate and
approached the temple gate , He had to get
down from HIa ass ; nor would He have
been permitted to ride through the Hulda
gato. This caused a slight delay , during
which the accompanying multitude crowded
together , Increased also by others , especi
ally children , who came out of the neigh
boring houses that were built between the
two walls.
Tha rest of the city now heard the loud
crl&i of. "Hosanna ! " the people came to sec
what it wan all about and went Into tbo
temple with Jesus. This Is a reasonable
and natural account of the occurrence.
But If , on the other hand , It Is supposed
that Jesus entered by the Hulda gate , every
thing becoonei unnatural and forced. Even
hero tbo KIdron valley bad to bo crossed
But It was certainly easier there , where it
was not so deep , as lower down wbero It was
not only deeper , but also narrower and
steeper. Sepp admits that Jesus went by the
southerly path , but did not go ns far as tbo
Garden of Gothsemano , but turned off west
ward Into tliu valley to shorten the route.
A northerly short cut would have led by
tliu so-called tomb of Absalom Into the val
ley to tbo lower bridge. But this road Is
very steep , much steeper than that which
led to the Golden Gate. In fact , In order to
rlda to the western suburb comfortably on
the ass , so as to pass through Ophel , the
route had to bo followed further In tbo val
ley , as far as the Pool of SHoam and then
an ascent of thre'o hundred feet to the
threshold of tbo Hulda Gate had to bo mado.
Besides , the road to the Golden Gate was only
one-fifth ns long as that to the ether gate.
Therefore there can bo no doubt that Jesus
entered by the eastern gato. All subsequent
historical notlccn agrca with this Idea.
That this eastern gate was partially de
stroyed by tbo Romans Is proven by the
-55 = = 1
MAIN DOORS OF THE BASILICA.
discovery of the ruins of the low or ecc-
tlon. It Is possible that this gate was par
tially restored by Hadrian In the second
century , but not probable. This emperor's
architectural achievements weru chiefly In
the city , not In the tomplo. The real restora
tion of these gates only took place Bator.
Later History.
The Hulda Gate was rebuilt by Justinian
In the sixth century , as we know from an
Inscription on a stone used for It. The
gateway formed the foundation for his
Church of St. Mary. As to the Golden
Gate , In the year 562 , when Justinian died ,
It had been restored , for a little later , be
tween 570 and COO , Antonlus Martyr saw It
still ! n ruins. Ho says : "From Gctbsem-
ane we ascended many steps to the gate of
Jerusalem. This gate Is connected with that
ouco beautiful gate of the temple , whoso
thieshold and posts still stand. "
Here wo have mention of two separate
gates ; first tbo city gate , of ccurso , in the
city wall ; and near It , but somewhat re
moved , were the ruins of the former temple
plo gate , which had been part of the temple
plo wall. The steps that ho mentions are
these which had been long used by foot
travelers , leading directly from the valley up
to the gate from the south of the Garden of
Gethsema'ne. This has nothing to do with
the path by which Jesus made His festal
entrance Into the temple.
A little later the Persians , under Chos-
roes , captured the city and destroyed many
buildings , especially churches , among which
were those that had been In the valley of
Jehosaphat ( KIdron valley ) . The eastern
gate was included in this destruction. The
Christian emperor , Heracllus , besieged the
Persians and entered Jerusalem In 629 with
the holy cross , which ho had recovered.
He came In through this eastern gate. I
think that Heracllus , who wanted to re
build something in Jerusalem , was the ono
who undertook the reconstruction of the
Golden Gate on Its ancient foundations ,
but according to a new Byzantine plan.
In this way it became a monument of his
victorious entry Into Jerusalem nnd the
bringing back of the holy cross and nt the
same time a reminder of the former entry
of Christ.
Baedeker assigns the rebuilding to the
seventh century ; others place It earlier or
later. The monumental building was , how-
over , never completed , as It was begun and
partly carried out. This would bo inex
plicable If Justinian had been the robullder ;
for ho certainly would have finished It.
But the Mohammedans captured the city
under Omar in 637 , only eight years after
Heracllus' triumphal entry , when ho had not
yet flnlf-hed the work of rebuilding. It'was
never added to after that. In fact , Omar
had the entrance to the gate walled up ,
When , In 1187 , Saladln captured the city ,
the entrances to the gate were once more
walled up. And BO It stands to this day ,
Ceremonies of the
Jubilee Year at Rome
The ushering in of the twentieth century
Is of raoro Importance to the Cathalfb world
from Its sacred aspect than any political
or diplomatic , crisis \\lilch mjght occur in
the secular world. Quo of the nest sol
emn ceremonies In the hlstorj of the
church will bo celebrated In all of ( ho great
Catholic divisions of the world , beginning
at noon on the 24th day of Deceiub r , which
Is the beginning of the now year of apostolic
tolic history.
Pope Boniface VIII Instituted the- custom
of breaking down the door of tht > Basilica
of St. Peter's In Homo and afterwards di
rected that the custom should be observed
at the beginning of the century , In perpe
tuity. Slnco that time It has been ob
served only by the Jesuit lathers , but the
Jesuit church of which the Holy Father Is
the head has preserved this ceremony and
It Is now carried out to the utmost detail in
all of the Jesuit churches of the world.
The holy year begins with the first vespers
of the feast of Christmas , which Is flxoil
at the meridian of the day preceding Christ
mas , or what wo commonly call Christmas
Eve. , and every Jesuit church In the world
at that hour has Its holy door scaled. The
workmen are present and arc prepared to
rccclvo the cardinals , prelates and prlasts
who approach , awaiting the three strokes
of the silver mace , In order that the proces
sion may pnes through. Ills holiness approaches
preaches the door , seizes a slhor mace ,
raises It over his head , strikes the door
three times and Immediately from the other
sldo It Is demolished.
The Holy Ceremony.
It Is not taken from Its hinges , the lock
Is not broken ; the door Is broken down ;
there Is an aperture made and If this aper
ture Is largo enough to permit his holiness
to pass through , ho turns and salutes his
consorts , who fall upon tholr knees ; then ho
leads the way through the embrasure Into
the cathedral's Interior.
Immediately after the procession has gone
beyond the door , or rather passed through
the aperture which has been made "by violence
lence , " the pope returns and with a silver
trowel caste some llmo upon the floor and
then selecting thrco stones which have
been placed ready at his hand , puts them In
position , blesses the door , the trowel , the
lime and the stones , rcassumcs the head of
the procession and passes on. Immediately
the door Is re-scaled to await the coming
of another "year of Jubilee. "
The pope now proceeds to the altar , where
as the most devout penltant , ho gets upon
his knees. In tbo meantime the dean of
the College of Cardinals , followed by a
rctlnuo of prelates , passes on through St.
Peter's and approaches the holy door of the
basilica of St. Paul's and there , represent
ing the pope , performs the same ceremony.
After these two ceremonies are performed
the cardinals and priests retire to their re
spective basilicas and there perform the
same ceremony In private ; that Is , they de
molish and pass through a holy door of tholr
own , to tholr particular apartments. After
wards , for n whole year , those doors are
sealed and impassable to all pilgrims and all
penitents. It is only at the "feast of the
nativity" when a penitent may pass through
and then only with the blessing and upon
their knees.
Accompanying the holy father and Imme
diately behind him Is the high penitentiary ,
who directs whatever shall bo done , who
stands between the pope and the throng of
people who are present to witness the coro-
mony.
It Is particularly Interesting to know
that the churches of the Jesuit fathers
THE GOLDEN GATE INSIDE.
throughout the United States have preserved
this custom with rigid directness , but also
that It has bean made an annual observance.
( 'Tho year of Jubilee , " which occurs every
twenty-five years , at the meridian of the
24th day of December , Is with them an
epoch On such occasions a program Is
prepared , arrangements are made and the
ponltcntfl of tbo church are bidden to' be
present at the ceremony ; and It IB a most
solemn occasion. A procession Is formed
which Is presided over by the archbishop ,
who has already delegated one of tbo fath
ers to represent the popo. Behind him are
the priests and lesser dignitaries rf the
church ami following them Is the multitude
of penitents. In the utmost sllonco and with
bowed heads they nwalt the demolition of
the door.
Ceremony In ThlN Country.
The ceremony of breaking down the door
Is peculiarly attractive and extremely pic
turesque. At the church of St. Frauds
Xavlcr In Sixteenth street , Now Yol-k. the
ceremony Is performed with the snmo ex
actitude with which It Is concluded at St
Peter's In the presence of the pontificate
Ono of the fathers Is delegated to repre
sent the pope and with n silver mace In
hand ho approaches the door and strikes
upon It with thrco solid blows. The arch
bishop and the priests , the prelates and the
accompanying throng kneel and with bowed
heads await what Is to como. The blows
delivered by a priest who hns been dele
gated to represent the high penitentiary resound -
sound from the other side. The represent
ative of the pope then strikes ono fierce
blow with his silver nmco and Immediately
mallets and hammers are at work from the
other sldo and white all are kneeling anil
praying the dror Is burst open and as soon
as the aperture Is suinclently largo the pro
cession passes through.
No 0110 , not even the arrhblnhop , raises
his head at this time. Particles of the re
fuse are , however , seized by each person In
passing and devoutly preserved. The ceremony -
omony Is conducted In absolute Fllcnconnd N
the most solemn ccrnslon of the Catholic
yoar.
Two Expensive
Public Buildings
Now York's elaborate capital In Albany
Is built on land the first purchase for which
was made In 1863 at an expense of $51,000 ,
reports the Now York Sun. Other land was
acquired as needed between 18C3 and 18GS ,
when the first appropriation for construction
was made , and In 1870 additional land to
the value of nearly $400,000 was purchased ,
and thereafter the work of construction
vent on. On January 7 , 1879 , eight
jcars after the laying of the cornerstone ,
the present capltol was occupied , but work
In It has continued since then as the ex
igencies of the legislature and the public
offices required.
According to Comptroller Roberts' report
made to the last legislature the total co t
of the state capltol up to January 1 , 1899 ,
was $24,244,102 , and of this sum $543,179
was for the purchase of land and the bal
ance for construction , labor , supplies anl
Interior furnishings and decorations , The
Albany capltol Is pointed nt frequently ns
the most expensive building In the coun
try. It has ontnlled an enormous expendi
ture of public money.
Buildings constructed through Iccls'atlon
nnd subject to labor regulations which are
onerous to the state often are unduly expensive -
pensive , but It Is not an exceptional build
ing In this regard. Albany has a rival In
the city of Philadelphia , the city hall of
which has cost nearly as much ns the Al
bany capital nnd from recent Indications It
may cost considerably more. The official
architect recently submitted lo the Pub'lc '
Buildings Commission a report on the woik
still to bo done to finish the building. It
Is expected that $4,000,000 additional will
bo required to complete the buildings , and
that between two and thrco years will elapse
before this can bo done. To date the coat
tins been $22,501,1550 , appropriated by coun
cils up to January 1 , 1899. Of this Bum
$16,843,331 was for construction.
Precipitancy Is seldom characteristic of
Philadelphia or of Its public works nnd the
building of the mammoth city hall In that
town has been going on for thirty years
During that period the business of the city
has grown enormously and the commission
has had to meet the requirements as they
arose. The population of the city of Ph'ln- '
delphla at the time of the beginning nt the
construction of the city hall , the original
commission to supervise which was provided
for In an net of the Hnrrlsburg leglslnt'iro
In August , 1870 , wa 075,000. At lhat tlmo
the various public departments which are
now provided for In the city hall occupied
fifty-two omcefl , whereas the present nunibo *
of offices occuplr-d Is 143 , showing the
growth of municipal business in the mean
while , the present population of Philadel
phia , 1,300,000 , being nearly double what It
was when the construction of the city linli
was first undertaken. Lnst year's appropria
tion for the city hall was $1,000,000. nnd
ether -work upon It will require , It Is es
timated , $4,000,000 additional. On January
1 , 1899 , this was the comparison between
the Albany capltol and the Philadelphia
city hall In outlay : Albany cnpltol , $24-
244,102 ; Philadelphia city hall , $22,501.500.
The Albany public building , Itwill bo ob
served , is somewhat ahead In the amount
expended , hut outlays upon It have prac
tically ceased , whereas the Philadelphia
city hall IB not yet completed nnd probably
before the beginning of next year will ex
ceed In cost the sum expended by Now York
for Its state cnpitol. Unlike the Albany
structure , which Is nt the top of a hill , the
Philadelphia city ball Is BO well situated
for pedestrians that mnny thousands of
Phlladolphlans pass through It each day ,
how many the Philadelphia commission has
not computed ,