2007年VOA标准英语-Christians Celebrate Easter in Jerusalem

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
08 April 2007

Christian1 Orthodox worshippers pray and hold candles at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher2, 07 Apr 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070530/1344300.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Christian Orthodox worshippers pray and hold candles at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, 07 Apr 2007

Christians³ celebrated⁴ Easter Sunday in Jerusalem with services in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher and at other sites in the Holy Land. VOA's Jim Teeple reports that for the first time in four years, five different Christian sects⁵ celebrated Easter on the same day.

Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarch led a solemn procession of Armenian monks⁶ into the basilica of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified and buried. The Armenian procession was just one of several that celebrated Easter Services in one of Christianity's holiest sites on Sunday.

This year for the first time in four years, five different Christian sects celebrated Easter at the same time.

Father Jerome Murphy-O'Conner is an Irish Dominican priest who has lived in Jerusalem for more than 50 years, teaching New Testament⁷ studies at Jerusalem's Ecole Biblique, a graduate school of theology.

Father Jerry, as he is known, says with the convergence of the Orthodox and the Western calendars this year, space is at a premium⁸ in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

"This year, it happens every five or six years, the Orthodox and the Western church all celebrate Easter on the same day," he said. "What it means in practice is that schedules have to be kept very tight. People cannot hang around after a service. They have to leave to make room for the others, and of course if they are in a state of spiritual exaltation and delay then there can be trouble unfortunately."

Unlike previous years, there were no clashes reported between followers⁹ of different Christian sects. Tobias Raschke, from Munich, who attended Easter Services at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, said he was impressed by how all the different sects and nationalities mixed together.

"We got up at three in the morning to hold a German Easter liturgy¹⁰ and now we have come to the Church to see what is happening here," said Raschke. "This is a crazy place because somehow now they have an Armenian service and then after one hour they have a Catholic service. It is fascinating to see the key to the church is in the hands of a Moslem¹¹ and the Israeli police making sure that nothing happens. I think it is great the job Israel is doing here, making it safe so people can come here from different faiths and denominations¹² and pray here and everything is safe."

With an easing of security fears this year, the convergence of the Western and Orthodox Christian calendars and weeklong Jewish Passover observances occurring at the same time, Jerusalem hotels reported full occupancy rates for the first time in years.

Father Jerome Murphy-O'Conner says with thousands of Jewish and Christian visitors in Jerusalem this year some will probably leave the city disappointed.

"The city is really crowded with pilgrims. The basic meaning of pilgrimage is to go pray at a place," he said. "You go because you believe somehow that prayer there is will be somehow easier or real because a holy person has sanctified it. People who have that unconscious expectation then find themselves in a huge crowd being pushed and shoved and they feel they are being robbed of space to recollect¹³ themselves."

Israeli security forces sealed off the occupied West Bank at the beginning of Jewish Passover observances last week, preventing most Palestinians, except those granted special visitors passes, from visiting Jerusalem.

Thousands of Palestinian Christians, mostly from the nearby city of Bethlehem are granted the passes but security restrictions¹⁴ exclude many, especially young men from visiting.

Israeli authorities say the restrictions are necessary to prevent suicide bombings against targets in Israel.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 sepulcher   

n.坟墓

参考例句：

• He said softly,as if his voice were coming from a sepulcher.他幽幽说道，象是从坟墓里传来的声音。
• Let us bend before the venerated sepulcher.让我们在他神圣的墓前鞠躬致敬。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

6 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

8 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

9 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

10 liturgy   

n.礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• A clergyman read the liturgy from the prayer-book.一名牧师照着祈祷书念祷文。
• The mass is the church a kind of liturgy.弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。

11 Moslem   

n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的

参考例句：

• Moslem women used to veil their faces before going into public.信回教的妇女出门之前往往用面纱把脸遮起来。
• If possible every Moslem must make the pilgrimage to Mecca once in his life.如有可能，每个回教徒一生中必须去麦加朝觐一次。

12 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制