From the Rector

*Cross sections of The Tomb of Jesus by Le P. Hugues VINCENT (1912)*

Dear friends in Christ,

As we enter Holy Week on this Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, our journey with Christ moves toward the place called Golgotha—"the place of the Skull." We'll hear the sung Passion Gospel of Saint Luke. Throughout Lent, we have walked with Jesus along the Stations of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, and today, Luke's Passion narrative brings these stations vividly before us as we follow Jesus, even from a distance, to his crucifixion and burial.

The name Golgotha comes from Aramaic, translated as Kranion in Greek and Calvary from the Latin "calva," meaning a scalp without hair. Contrary to how we often imagine it, the Gospels never describe Golgotha as a "mount"—this designation came centuries later when surrounding rock was removed, leaving an isolated knoll about five meters high. Originally, it was likely a small rocky outcropping resembling a bare head, hence the name "Skull."

*Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Calvary altar with candles & decorations removed (1934)*

This place of execution stood outside Jerusalem's walls yet close enough to the city that passersby could witness the condemned. What strikes us in Luke's narrative on Palm Sunday is not only the horror of crucifixion, the killing of the Divine Martyr, but the unexpected grace that follows through Joseph of Arimathaea—a wealthy, righteous member of the Sanhedrin who boldly approached Pilate to claim Jesus' body.

Joseph's devotion is remarkable. In a culture where touching a dead body meant ritual impurity during the high holy days of Passover, he "took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid." This was no ordinary burial. Joseph offered Jesus his own family tomb—a profound act of reverence.

The tomb itself resembled others of that time—two chambers connected by a low doorway. The outer chamber served as a vestibule where mourners gathered; the inner chamber contained a rock-cut couch where the body reposed. A massive, wheel-like stone sealed the entrance, rolled into a groove. You'll remember the spice-bearing women approaching the tomb on Easter morning wondering, "Who will roll away the stone for us?"

There is poignant urgency in this burial. It was the "Parasceve"—the Day of Preparation before Sabbath—and everything needed to be completed before sunset to observe Mosaic Law. Tradition suggests the instruments of crucifixion, known too as the Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or Instruments of the Passion (e.g., the cross, the hammer, nails, and pincer; the holy lance; the rope employed to lift the cross; the crown of thorns; the Titulus Crucis, or the plaque fixed to the cross inscribed in Latin, INRI, meaning "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum," or "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"; among other items) were hastily disposed of in a nearby cistern cut into the rock, which normally collected precious rainwater.

Today, after centuries of destruction and reconstruction, we're unable to see Golgotha as it was, as well as the tomb exactly as they appeared on Good Friday. Yet beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre lies earth's holiest ground—the rock that held Christ's cross and the tomb that could not contain him.

As we process with palms this Sunday and hear the Passion narrative sung, we begin more fully to recognize in Golgotha not just a place of death, but the threshold of resurrection. In Joseph's act of mercy, we glimpse how God works through human kindness even in darkness. The same tomb carefully prepared for death would soon become the site of life's greatest triumph.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Peter

From the Organist & Choirmaster

Holy Week & Easter