Holy Wednesday in Jerusalem: Venerating the pillar of Christ’s flagellation

Marinella Bandini   By Marinella Bandini for CNA

March 27, 2024 Catholic News Agency News Briefs 1 Print

 

On Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. They prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans perform inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn “Columna Nobilis” and then, one by one, they performed an act of veneration. March 27, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem, Mar 27, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his passion.

The first stone is venerated at the Basilica of the Agony, which stands at the place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Holy Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of the Agony (Gethsemane), incenses the stone of agony at the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration. This is the very place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper, in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. March 27, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Holy Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of the Agony (Gethsemane), incenses the stone of agony at the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration. This is the very place where Jesus withdrew to pray after the Last Supper, in an orchard known as Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. March 27, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land

Right here, on the morning of Holy Wednesday, the Passion according to Luke (Luke 22:14–23:56) is chanted, which narrates the transformation of Jesus’ sweat into “drops of blood falling to the ground” as he was praying. At the moment this event is described, the chronicler and the reader of the Passion venerate the “stone of agony” at the center of the presbytery.

Father Alessandro Coniglio, who presided over the Mass, emphasized to CNA that “the mystery of the blood of Christ is at the heart of Holy Week. In the Old Testament, blood is the sign of life: Jesus giving his blood signifies the gift of his life for us and our redemption.”

Three friars of the Custody of the Holy Land chant the Passion according to Luke (Lk 22:14-23:56) during the Holy Wednesday Mass on March 27, 2024. In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
Three friars of the Custody of the Holy Land chant the Passion according to Luke (Lk 22:14-23:56) during the Holy Wednesday Mass on March 27, 2024. In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion. Credit: Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land

The other stone venerated is the column of the Flagellation, whose base is now preserved in the Chapel of the Apparition (of Jesus to his mother) at the Holy Sepulcher, belonging to the Franciscans. Tradition says that while Jesus was being struck by the scourge, the column to which he was bound became stained with his blood.

“During the Byzantine era, this column was kept in the basilica of Hagia Sion (Holy Mary in Zion) on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,” Franciscan friar Stéphane Milovitch, president of the Holy Sepulcher community and director of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Custody of the Holy Land, told CNA.

Already in the fourth century, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria in her diary spoke of this column and recounted that the veneration, at that time, took place at dawn on Good Friday at the Cenacle (upper room).

The column of the Flagellation, made of red porphyry, is kept in a niche within the Chapel of the Apparition inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where it has been preserved since the 14th century. On Holy Wednesday, a day especially dedicated to its veneration, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land prepare a special adornment with drapes and flowers for the column. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The column of the Flagellation, made of red porphyry, is kept in a niche within the Chapel of the Apparition inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where it has been preserved since the 14th century. On Holy Wednesday, a day especially dedicated to its veneration, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land prepare a special adornment with drapes and flowers for the column. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

After the destruction of the Byzantine basilica, the traces of the column were lost, but it reappeared in the 14th century at the Holy Sepulcher, where it is still visible today in a niche next to the altar in the Chapel of the Apparition.

“The pilgrim Felix Fabri, a German Dominican who arrived here in the late 1400s, speaks of three columns of the Flagellation,” Milovitch recounted, “one at the Holy Sepulcher, one at Santa Prassede in Rome, and one in Lyon, France, of which the memory has been lost today. These are very ancient traditions.”

The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. In Jerusalem, on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion, including the column of the Flagellation. Tradition says that while Jesus was being struck by the scourge, this column to which he was bound became stained with his blood. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. In Jerusalem, on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to the Gospel of Luke, were stained with the blood of Jesus during his Passion, including the column of the Flagellation. Tradition says that while Jesus was being struck by the scourge, this column to which he was bound became stained with his blood. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

In front of the red porphyry column, surrounded by drapes and ornaments on this day of remembrance, the friars prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans undertake inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn “Columna Nobilis” and then, one by one, performed an act of veneration.

In the afternoon, members of other Christian churches — Greek Orthodox, Armenians, and Copts — also arrived to venerate the column of the Flagellation.

In the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the Armenian monks of the community of the Holy Sepulcher visit the Chapel of the Apparition of the Franciscans and venerate the column of the Flagellation preserved there. After taking turns kissing the column, they all pray together in front of it. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the Armenian monks of the community of the Holy Sepulcher visit the Chapel of the Apparition of the Franciscans and venerate the column of the Flagellation preserved there. After taking turns kissing the column, they all pray together in front of it. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

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The Dispatch

‘Br. Martin,’ self-described monk with large Twitter following, says he won’t heed bishop’s warning

May 19, 2022 Catholic News Agency 26
Martin Navarro, a layman and founder of the group the Oblates of St. Augustine, is refusing to obey his bishop’s demands that he no longer fundraise, identify himself as “brother,” dress in a habit, and construct a chapel in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. / Screenshot from YouTube video

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 19, 2022 / 18:40 pm (CNA).

A social media-savvy layman, who uses the title “Brother” and wears a habit, will not obey his bishop’s orders to cease presenting himself as a religious brother or member of a religious community. 

Nor will Martin Navarro  — whose “Br. Martin” Twitter account has more than 11,000 followers — acquiesce to Bishop James Johnston’s demands to stop fundraising in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and cease building an unauthorized chapel. 

“We’re following the rules, we’re following the guidelines, as well as being honest as who we are and what our intentions are,” Navarro said in a YouTube video posted May 17.

As to his practice of wearing a habit, he said, “it’s a free country, so to speak; you can wear whatever you want.”

Navarro, 31, has asked Johnston to formally recognize a Traditional Latin Mass religious group Navarro started called the Oblates of St. Augustine. 

Johnston denied the request. He also ordered the group to cease operating in the diocese.

The bishop issued the demands in a letter dated May 6 addressed to Navarro. Navarro made the letter public in the same YouTube video from May 17.

“I have not given nor will give approval or permission to explore, found, or establish the community about which you have previously inquired,” Johnston stated in the letter.

“I further direct that you do not use the religious title of ‘Brother Martin’ at any time nor dress in a religious habit, since in justice and truth, your canonical status is not one of membership within a religious community, such continued usage is both disingenuous and dishonest,” he added.

Bishop James Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph. CNA
Bishop James Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph. CNA

Johnston reiterated his demands “in order to emphasize the seriousness of my warning and prohibitions” at the end of the letter.

“I reiterate what I have made eminently clear above: do not call yourself ‘Brother,’ do not continue to present yourself within the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in any manner or means, including by wearing a religious habit, as a Brother or as a member of a religious community, do not ask for any funds or alms within the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph whether in person or on the Internet or other social media formats, and do not utilize an unapproved chapel within the Diocese of Kansas City St. Joseph,” he stated.

“Your request of me regarding your proposed formation of Oblates of Saint Augustine is, therefore, denied.”

Church law at issue

Navarro told CNA on May 18 that he will not comply with Johnston’s orders.

The Oblates of St. Augustine community he leads is based in Weston, Missouri, a small town about a 40-minute drive north of Kansas City. It’s unclear how many men are in the group. Speaking to CNA, Navarro would only say that since founding the Oblates in 2020, “I’ve never been alone.”

The Oblates’ website describes the group as a “community of Traditional Roman Catholic men, faithful to the Traditional Roman Rite, the Holy Rule of St. Augustine, and the traditional formulations of the Catholic religion.” The group says it is devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass and breviary.

Navarro said the group is currently living on property leased to them by Mike Parrott, the host of a YouTube channel called Restoring the Faith Media. The group’s chapel in a converted garage already is under construction on the property, and nearing completion. Navarro told CNA the group has raised more than $161,000 for the monastery project. A separate funding drive accepts donations for the group members’ living expenses.

Navarro’s “Br. Martin” Twitter account often tweets comments concerning an ongoing dispute between Parrot and the Church Militant media outlet which began over Parrot’s fundraising efforts on behalf of Father James Jackson, a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter who is facing federal child pornography charges in Rhode Island.

In his letter, Johnston cited several canons, as well as Pope Francis’ 2020 motu proprio Authenticum charismatis, to support his authority over the group’s activities in his diocese.

Johnston warned that “failure to observe these provisions … could result in further disciplinary actions. Accordingly, this letter itself stands as due canonical warning of the same.”

Navarro, for his part, says Johnston is misinterpreting church law, and using it “to intimidate us from praying.”

Asked to respond to Navarro’s intention to defy Johnston, Ashlie Hand, communications director for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, issued a statement to CNA Thursday night.

“Bishop Johnston has communicated appropriate guidance and next steps with Mr. Navarro regarding his request to establish the Oblates of St. Augustine in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph,” Hand said. “Bishop Johnston intends any further communication to be private.”

[…]

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