Library › St John Phocas › Pilgrimage in the Holy Land

Pilgrimage in the Holy Land

St John Phocas, tr. Stewart, 1889

Chapter 29

At a distance of about six miles from Jerusalem, the Holy City, is the city of Armathem,¹ wherein the great prophet Samuel was born; and at a distance of about seven miles, or rather more, beyond it, is the large city of Emmaus,² built upon a rising ground in the midst of a valley. Here for about four-and-twenty miles extends the country of Ramplea,³ wherein may be seen a very great church of the great and holy martyr George.⁴ Here also was he born, and did great works for holiness, and here, too, is his blessed tomb. The church is oblong, and in the apse, under the place of the holy table, one sees the mouth of his sepulchre, faced all round with white marble. It is worth while to tell what I heard from the priests of this church as to what took place a few years ago at the tomb of the saint. They said that the present intruded Bishop of the Latin rite ventured to open the mouth of the sepulchre, and that when the marble slab which closed it was taken away there was disclosed a large grotto, on the inner side of which was found the tomb of the saint; when, however, he endeavoured to open this also, fire was seen to flash forth from the sepulchre, and left one of the men half burned and another burned to death.

Previous · Contents · Next