Nottingham Forest meets the Holy Sephulcre
November 9th, 2006A visit on Tuesday to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Wailing Wall, where I wrote a note and made a prayer, was followed by a memorable walk up through the bazaars and narrow streets to Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sephulcre, manned by members of that most wonderful of denominations, the Greek Orthodox Church. I have always loved Byzantine mosaics and bright icons, and the site of the Crucifixion did not fail to make a deep impression. It was with similar feelings that I queued to visit the site of Christ’s Tomb. The priest who was responsible for controlling the crowds turned out to be a great fan of Manchester United, but he really waxed lyrical when remembering the late great Brian Clough. He particularly admired the way in which Mr. Clough had taken Nottingham Forest up several divisions before winning the First Division Championship. This sort of conversation would be unremarkable in many places, but the fact that I was having it with a Greek Orthodox priest in Jerusalem made it all the more memorable, if not wholly bizarre.
The result of this happy exchange was a few more moments than are normally allowed in the tomb itself. The base of the tomb had a sweet and peculiar scent, and the candles within the tomb gave off no heat. As to why this is the case, I am not able to explain. Jerusalem is a city with many secrets.
