According to the story, it was the
According to the legend, the dogwood felt great sorrow for the role it played in Jesus Christ's death. While on the cross, Jesus sensed the tree's anguish, and he decided to transform it so that it could never again be used in crucifixion. From that point on, the dogwood was no longer a tall, stately forest tree.
Eastern Christianity
According to the sacred tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the True Cross was made from three different types of wood: cedar, pine and cypress.
At the time Jesus Christ walked on this earth nearly 2,000 years ago, there were giant dogwood trees that grew in and around Jerusalem. They were as tall as oak trees, and very straight and strong — the straightest and strongest trees of that day.
Abstract. On three occasions, Acts refers to Jesus' crucifixion as 'hanging on a tree' (5.30; 10.39; 13.29), a phrase alluding to the proscriptions for displaying an Israelite convicted of a capital crime (Deut. 21.22-23).
As legend has it, the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made from a dogwood tree. God decreed that the dogwood tree would from that day forth never grow large enough to be used to make a cross. Thus, the dogwood tree is a small, under story tree.
The Gospel of John says there was a garden at Golgotha, and a tomb which had never been used. Since the tomb was nearby, John says, that's where Jesus's body was placed. The Gospel writers say the tomb was owned by a prominent rich man, Joseph of Arimathea.
The dogwood's lustrous green summer leaves give way to brilliant scarlet fall foliage, and even in winter the dogwood's dark, patterned bark offers unique beauty. The dogwood is also distinguished by its broad natural range, and by being as at home in a natural forest as it is in the home landscape.
The information center at the Ministry of Tourism in Israel was contacted to find out whether dogwoods actually grow in Jerusalem, Israel, or the surrounding areas. Their reply? "No, the dogwood doesn't grow naturally in or near Israel. It is native to Europe, eastern Asia, and North America only."
Dogwoods are an important food source for wildlife and a significant component of the calcium cycle in eastern forests. Dogwood seeds, fruit, flowers, twigs, bark, and leaves are used as food by various animals.
According to legend, St. Helena — the mother of Emperor Constantine — found the cross in Jerusalem and distributed pieces of the wood to church leaders in Jerusalem, Rome and Constantinople (present-day Istanbul in Turkey).
And based on the fragments he was allowed to examine by microscope, de Fleury concluded the true cross was made of pine wood. Later, four cross particles were also microscopically examined – part of ten pieces of the true cross, accompanied by documentary proofs from Byzantine emperors.
While most of the supposed pieces of the True Cross have been lost over centuries of religious and secular upheaval, there are still some fragments in existence today. Some of the largest pieces to survive can be found in Europe's major religious institutions such as St.
According to Christian tradition, especially in the South, blossoms on dogwood trees bear the scars of Jesus' crucifixion when they bloom in the spring.
Flowering dogwood is named for the showy spring flowers. The common name dogwood comes from one colonial description of the fruit as being edible but not fit for a dog. The common name dogwood is also thought to be from the use of the wood for skewers or “dogs.” Other common names include boxwood and cornel.
Jesus bestowed a curse unto the tree of his crucifixion. He cursed the tree to never again grow tall enough to be used in another crucifixion as a dogwood cross. The dogwood tree which once stood tall, became a short tree with thin and crooked branches.
Jacksonia scoparia, commonly known as dogwood (from its strong odour when burning), is a native species of a pea-flowered, greyish, leafless, broom-like shrub or small tree that occurs in the south east of Queensland, Australia and eastern New South Wales.
“No, the dogwood doesn't grow naturally in or near Israel. It is native to Europe, eastern Asia, and North America only.”
Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane Israel's most famous trees are the ancient olive trees located in the Garden of Gethsemane, the valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Christians believe Jesus prayed before he was crucified.
Dogwood tree
In the fall, bright red berries appear at the point where the leaves meet the branches. Dogwood berries are not toxic when eaten, but there have been reports of rashes after skin contact with the tree.
Flowering dogwoods live up to about 80 years. Flowering dogwood is seriously threatened by a powerful fungus, Discula destructiva, or dogwood anthracnose. This fungus is spreading rapidly throughout the range of dogwood.
Aramaic is best known as the language Jesus spoke. It is a Semitic language originating in the middle Euphrates. In 800-600 BC it spread from there to Syria and Mesopotamia. The oldest preserved inscriptions are from this period and written in Old Aramaic.
The agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is an episode in the life of Jesus, which occurred after the Last Supper and before his betrayal and arrest, all part of the Passion of Jesus leading to his crucifixion and death. This episode is described in the three Synoptic Gospels in the New Testament.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City is one of the most important sites in Christianity as being the location where Jesus Christ was supposedly crucified as well as where he was buried and then resurrected.