makatuni yameisha ??
Fabrication of a Christian Holy Land
The fabric of faith
“And in Capernaum, what is more, the house of the prince of the apostles has been turned into a church, leaving its original walls however quite unchanged.“
The 4th century pilgrim Egeria (according to the 12th century Peter the Deacon, that is)
The Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, set an example and provided the largesse. Shortly before her death in 330, she entered the land “where Jesus had trod” in order to take possession of talismanic mementos of the new god. She returned to Constantinople with tangible evidence of the divine favour that protected the imperial household, notably nails from the true cross. Locally, the bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, had effectively won the lottery, sanctioned by Constantine himself to demolish the edifices of paganism and build a great church with “no expense spared.”
But what of the hinterland of Palestine, particularly the Galilee, with its mixed population of Jews and pagans, and very few Christians?
Seizing the opportunity was a Jewish entrepreneur, and, of necessity, a convert to Christianity,
Joseph of Tiberias.
This erstwhile member of the Sanhedrin convinced the new master of the Roman world that his religious revolution would benefit enormously if the glorious passage of Christ through the land of the Jews were to be commemorated with suitable trophies and churches that would both strengthen the faith of pilgrims, following in the steps of his mother, and draw in converts to Christianity from the Jews and heathens.
“Joseph asked nothing of the emperor but this very great favour – permission by imperial rescript to build Christ’s churches in the Jewish towns and villages where no one had ever been able to found churches, since there are no Greeks, Samaritans or Christians among the population. This rule of having no gentiles among them is observed especially at Tiberias, Diocaesarea, Sepphoris, Nazareth and Capernaum.” – Epiphanius (circa 374), Panarion, 30
Joseph must have been no less adept at convincing his former co-religionists of the lucrative business opportunity that Constantine’s conversion had presented. The Jews were not yet the pariahs they would become and Christian pilgrims needed guides, accommodation and sustenance. They would enthusiastically avail themselves of every available memento that had been sanctified by the holy presence.
Thus it was that Joseph, raised to the rank of count by an appreciative emperor, built a church for pilgrims at Capernaum, within the shadow of the synagogue itself.
At Tiberias, a part of the neglected temple of Hadrian became a church to the apostles James and John, whose house was conveniently found to lie beneath the imperial sanctuary.
At Nazareth, Joseph constructed a “House of Mary” church.
At Migdol, it was, of course, the home of Mary Magdalene that was so honoured.
It seems that even Simon Magus, the great heresiarch, had his purported residence at Sepphoris (Diocaesarea), sanctified as a house church.
Once a Jesus-venue had been selected, fame and veneration grew.
At Capernaum the church was given an association with the apostle Peter – and pilgrims, like Egeria, in the 4th and 5th centuries scratched graffiti into the walls, thus themselves providing the only “evidence” of an apostolic connection.
The circle was complete.
It is not only the characters of the gospel story that had no real existence. Even the very places of Jesus’s mighty deeds are mere fictitious overlays on the true geography.
At times, the locales appear to conform to reality, but for the authors of the drama geographic veracity was no more important than historical veracity.
The message of their tale was of a “higher truth” than mere worldly accuracy.
But to those who came later, who wanted to believe the myth or encourage others to do so, superimposing the imaginary world onto the real topography was important.
The fabrication of a Christian holy land, that began with the Empress Helena and Joseph of Tiberias seventeen centuries ago, continues today, fuelled by evangelical zeal and mass tourism.
Faith and “tradition” – and now 21st century showmanship – continue to actualize the dream, and for many, fake or real, does it really matter?