Preserving the peace in a holy place

CJR’s Merrill Perlman tackles a style question regarding two newly acquired titles — “Cardinal Sins: First or middle name?”

In ceremonies filled with pomp, twenty-two men were named cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, including two from the United States: Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and Edwin O’Brien, emeritus archbishop of Baltimore and now the grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. (Now, that’s a title!)

Depending on where you looked, the men are addressed in different fashions: In most news reports, they were referred to as “Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan” and “Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien.“ But on the website of the Archdiocese of New York, the new cardinal is called “Timothy Cardinal Dolan.”

And therein lies a tale.

Perlman reports that the pope and the Catholic News Agency both prefer putting the title first — “Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien.” So there you have it.

Perlman doesn’t explain the history or significance of that other title for O’Brien, though — “grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.”

I’ve been to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I didn’t see any horses — just a bunch of Catholic clergy exchanging hostile glances with a bunch of Orthodox clergy, while another faction of clergy on the roof (yes, seriously) kept watch for an opening.

The truth is that O’Brien’s inheritance of this old crusader title doesn’t mean much. Being “grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem” isn’t nearly as important a role as being a member of the Nuseibeh or Joudeh families. Those families are not Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox or Coptic Orthodox or Armenian Apostolic or Syriac Orthodox or Protestant. They’re not Christians at all, but Muslims.

Which is why they’re the only ones who can be trusted with keys to the place. That’s how it’s been for at least the past 800 years or so.

Because keeping the keys out of Christian hands has been the only way to keep us from killing each other over control of the shrine. (This makes it not only the traditional site of Jesus’ tomb, but also the final resting place of the meaning of Jesus’ death.)

So while the Grand Poobah of the Fraternal Order of Equestrian Odd Fellows heads home to Baltimore, the “custodian and gatekeeper” is there in the Holy Land, preparing for the Christian Lent(s) and Easter(s).

In a 2005 interview, Wajeeh Nuseibeh said he was honored to play his traditional role, keeping the peace between the shrine’s feuding factions:

“Like all brothers, they sometimes have problems. We help them settle their disputes. We are the neutral people in the church. We are the United Nations. We help preserve peace in this holy place,” he said.

… Nuseibeh said he is deeply touched by the Christian rituals and feels a close affinity with the church, but he does not pray there.

“I know every stone. It is like my home,” he said. “But I go to pray at the Omar Mosque next door.”