Orthros.

Taking advantage of the abundant free time offered by a week at Omena, I've decided to post a few more batches of photos from my time in Jerusalem. I wanted to finish this task in late June while the memories of my retreat in the Holy Land were still fresh in my mind, but I had to suspend the project when I left for Chile. Hopefully readers will consider my efforts better late than never.

The set of photos included with this post were taken before and during the Greek Orthodox service of Orthros (Matins) in the Church of the Anastasis (a.k.a. the Holy Sepulchre) on the morning of Sunday, June 22nd. The Orthodox chapel known as the Katholikon is located in the very center of the church, just east of the Tomb of Christ. Though some scholars complain that the Byzantine decoration of the Katholikon clashes too much with the Crusader architecture of the Holy Sepulchre, I found this chapel to be one of the most beautiful and prayerful parts of the church. The service of Orthros was appropriately moving and impressive, though it certainly didn't approach the pomp of the celebration of Pentecost that I had attended the previous Sunday in the same space. Looking at these photos, I'm particularly pleased by the effect provided by the beams of light streaming into the Katholikon from the windows in the domes of the church - note, for example, the way the light illuminates the clouds of incense surrounding the deacon in the third and fifth photos from the top. I hope you enjoy these photos, and I hope to present another set tomorrow. AMDG.