In Jerusalem and environs (Ottoman Palestine), the "kavass" or "consular attendant" is a common sight in many liturgical processions. In the following images from Easter Sunday in Jerusalem, they can be seen, adding their typical color and pageantry to the solemnity of religious events with the Latin Patriarch. Today their role is strictly ceremonial.
In some ways the kavass have become part of the local folklore and a symbol of processions in the Holy Land. They trace their Christian origins to the time of the Ottoman Empire in the 1850s, when the guards began to escort religious authorities in the city of Jerusalem. This was due to the rise in status of foreign and non-Muslim dignitaries. The guards were assigned to protect the Latin Patriarchs, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, diplomatic consuls, and even the chief rabbi of Palestinian Jews.
Today the kavass still tend to this role for the main three guardian churches of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem -- the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians all have their own, generally accompanied by police escort. The word kawas is Arabic for "archer." Their presence has historically also helped maintain order and crowd control among the flocks of people present for the liturgical rites at the church of the Holy Sepulchre.
As time went on, the kavass became part of the status quo, a division of places, tasks, and ceremonies in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre that has been fixed by the Ottoman decree in 1852 and has remained unchanged. In 1740, France was allowed to appropriate the right to recruit their own kavass, something that had been previously reserved to the Ottoman authorities. Before that time, the kavass were Turkish infantry troops, imposed by the Muslim authorities. The French Consulate began to recruit their own from the local population while they had assumed responsibility for protecting the Catholic presence.
Thus their ceremonial role has continued to this day, despite the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. Tradition preserves their identification with foreign interests and the status quo. The kavass at the service of the Latin Patriarch are today in his employment. He is proceeded by four of them in processions and at least one acts as a dragoman, an interpreter and translator with knowledge of various languages that today would include Arabic, English, Hebrew, and French.
To this day, the kavass fulfill their functions with dedication and color as liturgical honor guard and informal bodyguards of the Patriarch. In these images they can be seen leading the procession of the Latin Patriarch through the streets of the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem, on Easter Sunday, beginning at the palace of the Latin Patriarch and culminating with Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. They therefore play an important liturgical role, in their ever-present activities in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, etc.
Sometimes the kavass are seen wearing plain blue business suits, while for more solemn occasions they wear a blue Turkish ceremonial dress, called for by long-standing protocol. Their heads are covered each with a red fez (tarboosh) hat, which they wear at all times. They carry a walking stick or mace with a metal flashing at the bottom; they tap this on the ground as they walk in unison, announcing the arrival of the procession. They also wear a ceremonial scimitar attached to their waist.
Given the immense amount of change in our societies in recent years, it brings sheer delight to see this time-honored tradition being preserved in the Holy Land. Without the kavass presence, a certain solemnity would be lost. Thankfully the splendor of the old ways has continued here, a magnificent setting that evokes a vanished kingdom.
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