Jerusalem (part 2)

St. James Armenian Cathedral was a difficult place to visit. First, at the entrance it is called "Convent St.Jacques" - St.James becomes St.Jacques in French. Second, the church was open for short half an hour during the day (not counting early 6 am service). Even worse the cathedral was closed even when it was supposed to be open, the priest explained that they have to prepare for additional services for Easter. Armenians were the first to accept Christianity as the sole state religion in 301 AD and they are very serious about the rules while inside the church. There is a special overseer making sure that people don't put their hands in their pockets and don't sit with their legs crossed. I became conscious of the last rule when I got a warning - seriously! Inside, the church is dimly lit by oil lamps and candles - nothing like other Orthodox churches.

Armenian quarter is Armenian only nominally since the number of Armenians living in the old city is only 500. Apparently, a lot of Armenians were brought to Jerusalem in 19th century to work on tile decorations of the Dome of the Rock.
Another interesting place I visited was Syriac Church - an alternative place of the Last Supper (now you realize why no love was lost between various confessions! Syriacs split from the mainstream Christianity in the 5th century disagreeing on the nature of Christ among other things. St. Mark Syrian Orthodox Church has more relaxed rules (compared to Armenians). People freely talked during the service, went out to smoke or to make phone calls, etc. The service was in Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic, though I would not be able to distinguish it from Arabic. The church reminded me Aleppo or Damascus.

Another interesting church to stop by was an Ethiopian church outside of the Old City (Ethiopian split from the mainstream Christianity roughly at the same time as Syriacs). Inside it looked as a hybrid of a church and a mosque - everybody takes his or her shoes off before entering and the floor is covered with carpets.