Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Threshold of Judgment Gate (built in the 1st century BC by King Herod the Great) -Alexander Church of Nevisky, Jerusalem

The most important structure of this church is an ancient stone, preserved inside a glass. Follow the photographs below and you can see the glass-covered stone, just below the statue of Christ on cross, with lamps hanging above. The stone is believed to be the threshold of the gate called the Judgment Gate”. This Herodian built gate served as one of the exit points from the City of Jerusalem. In that case, it is the same gate through which Jesus would have passed on the way to Calvary/Golgotha, which was then located outside the city walls. The gate came to be known as the “Judgment Gate,” since there the Romans would pronounce final sentence on those who were to be executed. Thus, Jesus' final reading of judgment, or sentence of death, would have been here in this area.

Interestingly, the modern Church of Holy Sepulcher, where according to traditions Jesus was crucified, is located very near to this gate. One can still see the threshold rubbed down and polished by thousands of feet and wheels that had passed over it. You can also notice groves in the middle of the stone, where bolts were pushed in when the Gate was locked. On both sides of the gate are remnants of the stones of an ancient road. The Threshold of the Judgment Gate remained obscure until it was discovered in the middle of the 19th century.

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