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Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)

1,002 bytes added, 04:39, March 25, 2008
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Re-added the Brotherhood - its part of the church history and it is also on Wikipedia ...
Another version (probably) of the above story reads as follows. After prince Ibrahim Pasha, Mohammed Ali Pasha's son, had conquered [[Jerusalem]] and Syria year 1832 A.D., he invited the [[Coptic]] [[Pope]] [[Peter VII (Mankarius) of Alexandria|Peter VII]] to visit Jerusalem and attend to the service of the appearance of the light on Bright Saturday from the Sepulchre of the Lord Christ in Jerusalem as the Greek Orthodox [[Patriarch]]s did every year. The Pope accepted the invitation, and when he arrived, he was received with honor and reverence and he entered Jerusalem with a great procession and a splendid celebration, in which the governor, the rulers and the heads of the different Christian denominations participated. He realized with his wisdom that if he minister alone in the Holy Sepulcher that would cause animosity between the Copts and the Greeks. The Pope asked the Pasha to relieve him from this service, but he asked him to participate with the Greek Patriarch on the condition that he will be their third, for he doubted the authenticity of the light. On Bright Saturday the church of the Holy Sepulchre was crowded with the worshipers, the Pasha ordered the people to evacuate the church to the spacious outer courtyard. When the time to start the service came the two Patriarchs and the Pasha entered the Holy Sepulcher to pray the customary prayers. In the specific time, the light burst out of the Sepulcher in a way that terrified the Pasha, who became in a daze and confusion, and the Pope attended to him until he recovered. The people outside in the courtyard were not deprived from the blessing of the light since one of the pillars of the western gate of the church split and the light appeared to them from the pillar. This incident increased the reverence and respect of the Pope before the Pasha. His holiness the Pope made many repairs and renovations in the church of Resurrection. [http://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/g_4_6_2006.html#2 Source: Coptic Orthodox Synaxarium]
 
==The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre==
The Patriarch of Jerusalem leads the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. This brotherhood consists of all metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, archimandrites, priests, monks and deacons belonging to the patriarchate. The purpose of this group is to guide Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land and advocate the Orthodox faith. Within the brotherhood, there is another subgroup called the "guards." The guards are a specific group of monks from the Holy [[Monastery of St. Constantine and Helen (Jerusalem)|Monastery of St. Constantine and Helen]]. These monks are given the specific role of guarding the Chapel of the Sepulchre (the tomb of Christ) and defending the faith. There will always be at least one guardian within the Chapel of the Angel. They ensure that respectable and appropriate conduct is shown by [[pilgrim]]s at the tomb of Christ. The order is considered a continuation of the original group, established well before St. Helen's visit in 326.
==End Notes==
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