[Pyro7480]

Tenth Station of the Cross - Jesus' lifeless body is placed in Joseph of Arimathea's family tomb

Keep up the good work! The above is a mistake. That would be the Fourteenth Station.

[Robert Drobot]

Post # 16 : "In answer to the above question: sometimes it is necessary, just to separate the truth from all the imbedded pious fiction that has come to be associated with the "Way of the Cross." This day, therefore, rather than follow the traditional Via Dolorosa, we have challenged ourselves to trace, as much as the present topography of the Old City allows, the more authentic route of Jesus from his condemnation to his crucifixion. As we do so, we must be mindful of the fact that the archaeological layer related to the time of Jesus lies from 7 to 13 feet below present street level which rests on several layers of debris from twenty centuries of destruction and rebuilding. Furthermore, we will ignore the non-biblical, mythological stations that have come to be associated with the official way of the cross ( i.e. Station 4 - Jesus meets his mother Mary; Station 6 - a woman named Veronica wipes Jesus' face)."

Post # 9 : The "Via Dolorosa," the Way of Sorrow, traces the last steps of Jesus, from where he was tried and condemned before Pontius Pilate, to Golgotha, where he was crucified and buried. Every day countless pilgrims walk the famed route, identifying with Jesus' suffering while stopping at 14 Stations of the Cross, each commemorating some incident in the Passion. There is, however, no historical basis for the route, which has changed several times over the centuries.

The name Via Dolorosa did not come into use until the 16th century AD and originally there were only seven stations. But, in the late Middle Ages, under the influence of the Franciscans, the "Way of the Cross" was introduced into western churches in the form of devotional places in the church nave, or outdoors by a wayside, before which prayers were said. European pilgrims coming to Jerusalem naturally expected to see the same arrangement of fourteen stations as in their churches back home, therefore the Via Dolorosa in the Holy City was made to conform! The present route, with the last five stations inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, was devised in the 18th century AD, but four of the stations were not fixed until the 19th century AD."