Jerusalem: History and Christianity.
Jerusalem means many things to billions of people around the world. I want to focus more on the Christians specifically, as I myself am one of them and also because I feel like the Christian opinion is often ignored when thinking of the city nowadays. More specifically, I want to discuss how the history of Jerusalem over the past two thousand years has affected the modern Christian point of view of the city in the present. For this project, I will be focussing on four distinct time periods throughout Jerusalem's history and explaining the effect that they have had on the Christian worldview. The time periods in question will be Jerusalem under Roman rule, the crusades, Jerusalem under Ottoman rule, and the modern-day conflicts in the city.
First, I will focus on Jerusalem under Christian Roman rule. (313-643AD). From the time of the destruction of the Temple in 70AD to the time of Constantine, Jerusalem became Aelia Capitolina, a Pagan military outpost on the fringes of the Roman Empire. Things changed for the city when Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313. Not only did this put an end to the persecution of Christians in the empire, but Constantine also commissioned several building projects in Jerusalem, most notably, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This made Jerusalem a major holy city in the Roman and later Byzantine empires, and its effects are felt to this day. The people that helped make Jerusalem such an important site for Christianity are saints in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, and that is a testament to the importance that people like Constantine and Saint Helena had on Christianity in Jerusalem. The sites built in Jerusalem during this time are very important to Christianity even today.
The second time period that I want to discuss is the time of the Crusades, (1095-1279) The most important effects of the crusades on the Christian mindset are found not in the crusades themselves, but in the events that led up to them. In 1095, at the council of Calcedon, Pope Urban II ordered the crusades to take back Jerusalem and other holy cities in response to Muslim conquests. This fundamentally changed the Christian view on Jerusalem because it made Christians see it as a goal; something that needed to be protected. Before the crusades, Christians were more focussed on the heavenly aspect of the city, as exemplified in the poem "Jerusalem the Golden" by Saint Bernard. With the crusades, Jerusalem became something that must be defended from "evil invaders." This point of view persists to this day in certain denominations and is best exemplified in the modern focus that evangelical protestants have on giving Jerusalem to the Jews.
The third time period is Jerusalem under Muslim - particularly Ottoman - rule (643-1917 for Mulsim rule in general, but 1516-1917 for Ottoman rule). There are two major effects of Muslim/Ottoman rule on the Christian point of view on Jerusalem. The first is the plurality of denominations in holy sites. Before the Muslims took over, sacred places such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were ruled by the denomination of whoever was in charge of the city. However, the city had to change this under Muslim rule, as no denomination had an advantage over the others. This generated an uneasy balance, in which holy sites are shared between Orthodox and Catholic churches, which remains to this day. Another major effect of Ottoman rule on the city was the division of the Middle East with the Sykes-Picot agreement. This divided the dying Ottoman Empire into several pieces and laid the groundwork for the creation of the state of Israel, which remains a polarizing issue for Christians in the present.
Speaking of the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, that is the fourth time period that I mean to talk about. The modern conflicts have in some ways, caused a rift within Christianity. On one side are the Palestinian Eastern Rite Catholic Christians who want their land back from the Jews, and the Evangelical American Christians who support the Jewish state of Israel. The Evangelical Protestants have firmly sided with Israel in these conflicts because they believe that Jesus will return to Earth when the Jews are all in Israel. Therefore, they see a Jewish state of Israel as something that has been divinely ordained by God. This is probably a result of the Zionist movement which is the root cause of the conflicts in the first place.
In conclusion, the Christian viewpoint on Jerusalem is diverse and complicated and has been shaped by the major events in the city's rich history. The Christian conception of Jerusalem has been shaped by the construction of Holy Sites in Roman times, Holy wars during the crusades, conquests by Muslim rulers, or a modern-day series of conflicts which have had long-lasting effects, as well as many other things.
The second time period that I want to discuss is the time of the Crusades, (1095-1279) The most important effects of the crusades on the Christian mindset are found not in the crusades themselves, but in the events that led up to them. In 1095, at the council of Calcedon, Pope Urban II ordered the crusades to take back Jerusalem and other holy cities in response to Muslim conquests. This fundamentally changed the Christian view on Jerusalem because it made Christians see it as a goal; something that needed to be protected. Before the crusades, Christians were more focussed on the heavenly aspect of the city, as exemplified in the poem "Jerusalem the Golden" by Saint Bernard. With the crusades, Jerusalem became something that must be defended from "evil invaders." This point of view persists to this day in certain denominations and is best exemplified in the modern focus that evangelical protestants have on giving Jerusalem to the Jews.
The third time period is Jerusalem under Muslim - particularly Ottoman - rule (643-1917 for Mulsim rule in general, but 1516-1917 for Ottoman rule). There are two major effects of Muslim/Ottoman rule on the Christian point of view on Jerusalem. The first is the plurality of denominations in holy sites. Before the Muslims took over, sacred places such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were ruled by the denomination of whoever was in charge of the city. However, the city had to change this under Muslim rule, as no denomination had an advantage over the others. This generated an uneasy balance, in which holy sites are shared between Orthodox and Catholic churches, which remains to this day. Another major effect of Ottoman rule on the city was the division of the Middle East with the Sykes-Picot agreement. This divided the dying Ottoman Empire into several pieces and laid the groundwork for the creation of the state of Israel, which remains a polarizing issue for Christians in the present.
Speaking of the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, that is the fourth time period that I mean to talk about. The modern conflicts have in some ways, caused a rift within Christianity. On one side are the Palestinian Eastern Rite Catholic Christians who want their land back from the Jews, and the Evangelical American Christians who support the Jewish state of Israel. The Evangelical Protestants have firmly sided with Israel in these conflicts because they believe that Jesus will return to Earth when the Jews are all in Israel. Therefore, they see a Jewish state of Israel as something that has been divinely ordained by God. This is probably a result of the Zionist movement which is the root cause of the conflicts in the first place.
In conclusion, the Christian viewpoint on Jerusalem is diverse and complicated and has been shaped by the major events in the city's rich history. The Christian conception of Jerusalem has been shaped by the construction of Holy Sites in Roman times, Holy wars during the crusades, conquests by Muslim rulers, or a modern-day series of conflicts which have had long-lasting effects, as well as many other things.
Comments
Post a Comment