The Sanctification Of Jerusalem, By Mircea Eliade Essay

Gregorio 1 Roxanne Gregorio Scott Abramson AN N EA 10W 24 June 2015 The Sanctification of Jerusalem Jerusalem is considered to be among the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. It is the birthplace of three major monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which is why this city has an extensive history of being at the center of religious conflicts. Jerusalem became regarded as a holy city when people used it as a place to symbolize God and His presence as well as where He revealed his miraculous works. Mircea Eliade, a historian of religion, demonstrates his theory on how hierophanies establishes the basis of religion and how people see sacredness as something that is valuable to human life because it represents reality, which then transcribes to existence. According to Eliade, hierophany is defined as a type of event that manifests sacredness (11). This is a fundamental tool in determining what makes an ordinary event or object holy. He explains that, â€Å"[b]y manifesting the sacred, any object becomes something els e, yet it continues to remain itself, for it continues to participate in its surrounding cosmic milieu† (Eliade 12). Holy water, for example, remains water despite being blessed by the priest. However, since it is already blessed with prayer, then it becomes â€Å"sacred† to religious people. It becomes a symbol of protection from any evil as well as a way to cleanse one’s soul before entering the holy church. Hierophany Gregorio 2