TRAVELING TO VIA DOLOROSA, THE WAY OF GRIEF

TRAVELING TO VIA DOLOROSA,WAY OF GRIEF OR WAY OF SUFFERING.

The Via Dolorosa [Latin for Way of Grief or Way of suffering] is a street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked carrying His cross, on the way to His crucifixion. The current route has been established since the eightteenth century, replacing various earlier versions. It is today marked by 9 Stations of the Cross, there have been fourteen stations site the late fiveteenth century, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The route is a place of pilgrimage.

The Via Dolorosa: 14 Stations, the Stations of the Cross are as follows:

Picture 25: The map of Via Dolorosa in the Old City

The 14 stations of Via Dolorosa:

· Station I Antonio Fortress: Pilate condemns Jesus.
· Station II Lithostrotos [Pavement]: Jesus receives the Cross.
· Station III Jesus falls under the weight of the Cross.
· Station IV Mary sees Jesus with the Cross.
· Station V Simon of Cyrene is made to take the Cross.
· Station VI Veronica wipes Jesus face.
· Station VII Jesus falls a second time.
· Station VIII Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem.
· Station IX Jesus falls the third time.
· Station X Calvary: Jesus is stripped of his garments.
· Station XI Calvary: Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
· Station XII Calvary: Jesus dies on the Cross.
· Station XIII Calvary: Jesus’ body is taken from the Cross.
· Station XIV Holy Sepulchre: Jesus’ body is laid in the Tomb of
Joseph of Arimathea.

Trial by Pilate: Station I and II.
The first and second stations commemorate the events of Jesus’ encounter with Pontius Pilate, the former in memorial of the biblical account of trial and Jesus’ subsequent scourging.

Picture 26: Station I: Crown of thorns put to the head of Jesus by Mathias Stom

And the latter in memorial of the Ecce Homo or “Behold the man” speech, attributed by Gospel of John to Pilate [John 19: 5]. On the site are 3 early nine teenth-century Roman Catholic churches, taking the names from these events: the Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross, Church of Flagellation, and Church of Ecce Homo .

Picture 27: Ecce Homo by Matio Cerezo.

Pilate is supposed to have pointed at Jesus and proclaimed "Ecce Homo, Behold the man" [John 19: 5].

Pic. 27 A: The Church of Ecce Homo, in fact, dates from at least a hundred years after Pilate's time, for it is part of a triumphal gateway erected in 135 CE as the eastern entry into Aelia Capitolina.

The priests urged the crowd to demand Jesus death, Pilate washing his hands, and Pilate released Barabbas instead of Jesus.

And then Pilate sentenced Jesus to death, and delivered Jesus to be crucified

[John 19: 16; Luke 23: 24; Mark 15: 15; Matthew 27: 26]

A large area of Roman paving, beneath these structures, was traditionally regarded as the pavement [Greek: Lithostrotos] where Jesus received the Cross.

Picture 28: Station II Lithostrotos where Jesus received the Cross.

Picture 29 : Station II, Jesus was carrying the cross by Raphael, 1516

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