Aaron Bernstein - Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ

The next morning the Holy Communion was celebrated in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel by the new Bishop, who preached his last sermon before his departure from England, in the evening, from the appropriate, and, as subsequent circumstances proved, pathetic words, "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there," &c. (Acts xx. 22-24). On the 13th a farewell meeting was held, and an address presented to the Bishop, who with Mrs. Alexander, the Rev. G. Williams, his private chaplain, the Rev. F. C. and Mrs. Ewald, and Dr. E. Macgowan, sailed from Portsmouth, on December 7. H.M. Steam Frigate 'Devastation' was granted for the purpose by the Government. The party arrived off Beyrout on January 14, 1842, and reached Jerusalem on January 21.

The entry of the Bishop into Jerusalem was a unique event in the history of the Holy City, and was thus described by himself: – "On Friday evening we arrived in the city of our forefathers under circumstances of peculiar respect and honour… We formed quite a large body – the Consul-General (Colonel Rose), with seven or eight of his escort; Captain Gordon, and six or seven of the officers of the "Devastation"; Mr. Nicolayson and Mr. Bergheim, who met us at Jaffa, and accompanied us; Mr. Johns and the American missionaries, with escorts, who came to meet us about three miles from Jerusalem; and, at last, the chief officers sent by the Pasha, who had himself come to meet us in the afternoon, but was obliged to return, as night came on, and it was damp (we arrived about six o'clock), and a troop of soldiers, headed by Arab music, which is something like the beating of a tin kettle. Thus we entered through the Jaffa gate, under the firing of salutes, &c., into Jerusalem, and were conducted to Mr. Nicolayson's house, where we were most kindly and hospitably received, and all felt overwhelmed with gratitude and adoration… We had service in the temporary chapel on Sunday last. I preached my first sermon from Isaiah lx. 15; Mr. Williams preached in the afternoon, and Mr. Nicolayson conducted a German service in the evening. We had a very good congregation, all our friends, the Consul-General, Captain Gordon, and the officers, being present. Our feelings on the occasion can be better imagined than expressed, as you may easily suppose. We also had the Sacrament, and it will be pleasing to the ladies of Reading to know, that the handsome communion-service which they presented to the church was made use of for the first time by the Bishop of Jerusalem." 7 7 Jewish Intelligence , 1842, p. 127.

The Times contained a full account of the Bishop's entry, and concluded with these words: – "The Mission is sure of the firm support of the British Government and the British Ambassador at the Porte. As regards Syria, the Consul-General has lent all the force of his official authority, personal influence, and popularity, to set the undertaking afloat, while the mild and benevolent character of the Bishop, and the sound practical sense and valuable local experience of his coadjutor, Mr. Nicolayson, are sure guarantees that caution, charity, and conciliation will preside at all their efforts."

In conformity with instructions received from Constantinople, proclamation was made in the mosques, that "he who touches the Anglican Bishop will be regarded as touching the apple of the Pasha's eye."

The presence of the Bishop was soon felt in work amongst the Jews in Jerusalem. The daily services held in the temporary chapel on Mount Zion were a source of much delight to him, and also the large congregations. The Bishop thus summed up his episcopal duties for the first year: "We have had every ordinance of our Church performed in our chapel." The Bishop had held his first ordination on March 17, had baptized a Jew on Whitsun Day, and confirmed eight Hebrew Christians; married two converts; finishing up with the ordination of a Hebrew Christian missionary. The upper room proved all too small, and the building of the London Society's permanent church, which was to serve the joint purposes of a Cathedral, a chapel for British residence, and a mission centre, was proceeded with, although Alexander did not live to see its consecration. His episcopate was destined to be a very brief one, but its three years may well be described as "years of plenty." His letters shew how ardently he threw himself into his work, and how very near his heart it was. Outlying districts of his extensive diocese were visited; and the outlook was bright and promising.

A great blow fell upon the work in the autumn of 1845, in his sudden death, on Nov. 26, after the short episcopate of four years. The sad event occurred in the desert at Ras-el-Wady, on his way to visit Egypt, which formed a part of the diocese of Jerusalem. A pathetic interest attaches to the Bishop's last annual letter, written before he started for Cairo, in which, speaking of his arrangements, he alluded to the "uncertainty of everything."

As to the past he spoke with conscious satisfaction of the Divine blessing resting upon the work of Jewish converts baptized and confirmed, and amicable intercourse maintained with Jewish residents and strangers in Jerusalem, of opportunities at Jaffa, of his visit to Damascus, and of friendly relations maintained with the different churches. He thus concluded: "On the whole we have great reason to thank God and take courage, and to call upon our friends to join with us in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, on the memorable day, January 21, when we made our first entry into the Holy City. A day which is much to be remembered, even when the results, which have already followed in this short period, be alone taken into consideration; but a day which we trust will yet prove one of the most remarkable in the history of the Church, when the Lord 'shall build up Zion, and appear in His glory,' and when all, who now mourn for her, seeing her desolate and trodden down, shall rejoice for joy with her; and when God's people shall be delighted with the abundance of her glory."

Mrs. Alexander thus described the Bishop's last days in the desert at Belveis, Nov. 3, 1845: "On setting out through the desert, each day my beloved husband and myself rode our own horses; we generally were in advance of the caravan, and we used regularly to chant some of our Hebrew chants, and sang the following hymns: 'Children of the Heavenly King;' 'Long has the Harp of Judah hung;' Psalm cxi.; 'Glorious things of thee are spoken;' all out of our own hymn-book; and never did his warm and tender heart overflow so fully, as when he spoke of Israel's future restoration. When I spoke to him about his duties in England, he answered, 'I hope, if invited, to preach my first sermon in England at the Episcopal Jews' Chapel;' and on my asking what subject he would take, he replied, 'I shall resume the subject I adopted when I last left that dear congregation;' namely, that none of these trials had moved him. (Acts xx. 24-28.)"

His chaplain, the Rev. W. D. Veitch, reporting the death, said: "It was truly a heart-rending scene. In a tent, in the wild sandy desert, no medical help at hand, to see the widowed wife and fatherless daughter bending over the lowly pallet, on which were stretched the lifeless remains."

"The immediate cause of death," wrote Mrs. Leider, who formed one of the party, "was rupture of one of the largest bloodvessels near the heart; but the whole of the lungs, liver, and heart, were found in an exceedingly diseased state, and had been so for a length of time; the accelerating cause, doubtless, was great and continued anxiety – such as the Bishopric of Jerusalem and its cares can best account for. I heard it said on this occasion that had his lordship not come into the East, he might possibly have lived to a good old age; but the mitre of Jerusalem, like the wreath of our blessed Lord, has been to him a crown of thorns."