Via Dolorosa
Today’s route Via Dolorosa (Road of tears, the path of suffering) or Via Crucis (Road of The Cross) extends from the former fortress Antonia to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and has fourteen stations.
This is the road Jesus Christ passed from the verdict made by Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect at the time of Jesus, all the way to the place where he will end his life. The tradition of this route dates back to the early times of Christianity, although the name and today’s route of Via Dolorosa are from the sixteenth century.
Every Friday, at three o’clock in the afternoon, there’s a procession by the Franciscan order with stopping at every station to read relevant quotations from the Old and New Testaments in the native languages of the participants.
Stations:
First stop – Jesus is condemned to death
Second station – Jesus is scourged and receives the cross
Third – Jesus falls the first time under the weight of the cross
Fourth – Jesus Meets His Mother – the Virgin Mary
Fifth – Simon helps Jesus to carry the cross
Sixth – Veronica wipes the tears of Jesus
Seventh station – Jesus falls the second time under the cross
Eighth – Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem
Ninth – Jesus falls the third time under the cross
Tenth – Removing clothes from Jesus
Eleventh – Jesus is nailed to the cross
Twelfth – Jesus dies on the cross
Thirteenth – Jesus is taken down from the Cross
And last, fourteenth station – The Tomb of Jesus
If you want to visit and find out more about Via Dolorosa, look for contact information of Tanya Ben Haim Marcetic in the contact section of the website and make your tour of Israel a unique experience that you’ll never forget!