P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
The use of symbols is part of our life. They also hold an important place in our faith. Experience in spiritual life shows that it is beneficial when the symbols we use are occasionally reconsidered and reflected upon. This helps us avoid superficiality and routine. Thus, it is very beneficial for us when we take the time to think again about baptism, about the Eucharist as food that gives us strength, or when we explain to someone interested the symbolism of the scapular as a garment through which we spiritually connect with the Virgin Mary.
When Pope Francis declared the Year of Mercy and highlighted the symbolism of the Holy Doors by instituting them also in individual dioceses, it initially caused some confusion. A door is also a symbol, but a less common one. I would like to share with you a few thoughts that have helped me understand and appreciate this symbol.
1) A door is a place to enter a city or temple
Cities had great significance in ancient times: they provided safety and protection. There was a huge difference between staying or even sleeping with one’s possessions and family in the open countryside and being able to take shelter in a city. The walls surrounding the city provided a space of safety. The openings in the walls are doors. In the doors, there were fitted gates, doors (ianua), which could be closed from the inside as needed (at night or in danger) and reinforced with bolts.
Similarly, a house of individual families was a place of privacy and safety. Isaiah uses this as a metaphor and encourages: “Come, my people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide for a little while” (Isaiah 26:20). However, the close houses of that time mainly served for overnight stays. Many activities took place outside the house, so its inhabitants often went out and came in. Surely, that's why the Israelites were to “inscribe the words of the Lord” (Deut 11:20) on their doors: so that they would have them often in mind. Conversely, the words to Cain are warning: “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it!” (Gen 4:7). Temples in ancient times were also separated from the surroundings and equipped with doors. At night, the temple gate was closed, and in the morning, the priests ceremonially opened it, reciting prayers and offering sacrifices.1 In this way, holy spaces were protected so that no unauthorized person could penetrate them—intentionally or through negligence—and defile the temple or provoke the deity.2 Everyone was very afraid of the wrath of the gods. Even the Lord's temple in Shiloh was closed at night (1 Sam 3:15). In connection with Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, the Bible mentions the doorkeepers of the temple gates (1 Chronicles 35:15).
 Holy Door in Kostelní Vydří |
 Interior of one of the gates in the Holy Land |
All photographs in this issue are by P. Vianney, O.Carm.
2) A door leads to a better place
Passing through a door—a seemingly—has always been a strong experience,3 which led people to feel that they did not just perceive doors functionally, but they became a symbol (as will be discussed further).4 Thus, the psalmist rejoices: “Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” (Psalm 122:2)
The basic function of a door is to allow entry into a designated area (which would otherwise be inaccessible), most often a city or a temple. It is a passage from one “world” to another: from open land to the safety of the city, from a profane street to a holy temple. It is, therefore, an entry into a qualitatively significantly different, “better” space! Moreover, the contemporary doors of mercy symbolize a person's entrance into the space of God's closeness, God's love, and forgiveness. Into a space that we cannot and do not know how to “break into,” but which God opens to us with open arms.
An unpleasant experience is to face closed doors and be forced to remain outside, in front of the door. When the prophet Isaiah promises the coming of the Lord's Anointed and with it salvation, he also uses this image. He prophesies that the mighty Messiah will not experience this:
(...) I will open doors before him, and the gates shall not be closed.
I will go before you and level the mountains;
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze, and cut asunder the bars of iron;
I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness and riches stored in secret...
(Isaiah 45:1–3; ecumenical translation)
And to Jerusalem, which “will shine with light”, Isaiah prophesies perfect safety, because all, including foreigners and enemies, will come to it as friends and bring lavish gifts as a token of their respect:
Your gates shall be continually open; they shall not be shut day or night,
so that nations may bring you their wealth, with their kings led in procession. (Isaiah 60:11).
3) A door symbolizes the entire city, the whole temple, the whole
The Old Testament expression loves specificity. A part is a symbol of the whole.5 For example, the term “sword” (which “devours”) means “war.” Similarly, the term “gates” often designates the entire city. To live “in the gates” means to live in the city (e.g., Deut 14:27; 15:7). The Lord promises Abraham: “Your descendants shall possess the gates of your enemies” (Gen 22:17). And when the psalmist sings that the Lord: “loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob” (Psalm 87:2), he surely does not only mean the city gates but the entire city of Jerusalem.
In other cases, the word “gate” refers to the entry into a space or state whose shape is not that of a building. To the pagan Nineveh, the prophet proclaims: “The gates of your land will be opened wide to your enemies; the bars will be devoured by fire” (Nahum 3:13).
The end of a person's life also means approaching “the gates”: “They drew near to the gates of death.” (Psalm 107:18b). The ailing king Hezekiah laments death: “I must depart to the gates of Sheol” (Isaiah 38:10), while the author of the Book of Wisdom confesses to the Lord: “You bring down to the gates of Sheol and raise up from them.” (Wisdom 16:13).
In the Gospel, we encounter the symbol of the gate in the Sermon on the Mount: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter by it. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Mat 7:13–14.) The same symbolic language is used by the Lord Jesus when he says: I am the door (John 10:9). That he means “door opening,” the gate (not the door set in it) is evident from his subsequent words: “He who enters by me will be saved.” The same meaning has the symbol of the way: “I am the way” (John 14:6).
When the Lord Jesus tells Peter that he will build his church on him and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18), the gates symbolize strength, power.
4) A small digression: how to understand the term “in the gate”?
The Scripture often mentions that something took place “in the gate.” How should we envision that practically? Archaeologists say that originally the gate was merely an opening in the city walls, but by at least 2200 BC, city gates already had the form of a massive structure, soon architecturally designed to allow the most effective defense in the event of a siege. After all, the Czech verb to defend is related to the word gate and means to protect.
The passage through the gate was made challenging for the enemy by claw-like projections on its inner walls, behind which defenders could take cover. At Solomon’s gate in the city of Megiddo there are four pairs of these. This created three recesses on the sides of the passage through the gate. “From this inner gate led north-eastward some courtyard which ended in the passage of the outer gate and which had one recess on each side. From here led a 3-4 m wide road out into the terrain.”6 This could well correspond to the expression that King David sat between two gates (2 Sam 18:24). Upon reviewing the various available literature, three possible answers emerged regarding what the words “in the gate” mean.
Variant A: some hall inside the gate building
“Inside these gates of the so-called ‘claw’ fortifications were vast areas—stores and halls—where people met and gathered. Various matters concerning the whole city were discussed there, much like in the Roman cities at the forum (R 4:1; Ps 69:13).”7
Variant B: a small area on the inner side of the gate
On the inner side of the gates there was usually a “small area,” which was perhaps the only larger space in the city.8 Markets can be found in cities only at a later time (after 900 BC). This idea fits well with the term: “at the gates.”
“The open space inside and outside the gates was (given the narrow streets in old cities) usually the only larger open space in the city: here the residents gathered for political, legal, and especially all commercial dealings (e.g., Ruth 4:1–11; Gn 23:18).9
Then the expression “in the gate” should be understood more broadly, not literally. And just as the expression “in the midst of the gate” (1 Sam 9:18; 2 Sam 3:27). If the word gate here means: “the area at the gate,” then: “in the gate” means: in that area. And “in the midst of the gate” means: in the middle of that area.
Variant C: the actual passage space in the gate
The interpretation may not be too complicated. It could simply refer to the passage space in the wall mass, which one would pass through to enter and exit the city. This was in the ancient city “the largest covered and thus shaded area”.10 The space may seem narrow to us, but everything back then likely had much tighter dimensions than we are used to today. It may also seem to us that it was a very restless place and therefore unsuitable for significant matters, but this seems to bother Orientals much less than it does us.
5) Life flowed at the gates of the city or temple
At the gate
- the city elders or the men of the city would gather,
- announcements intended for all were made,
- contracts were made, land sales were conducted,
- trade took place,
- friends were awaited and welcomed, inviting them as guests into their homes,
- incoming foreigners were inspected.
Simply put: the gate and the area at the gate were bustling places through which one simply had to pass if one wanted to go out or in or meet those coming or going. It is understandable that at the gates, therefore, were also the curious, idle people, and those who wanted or needed to address others—such as asking for alms.
In fact, even in the New Testament: the lame man whom Peter healed sat daily at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms (Acts 3:2).
6) “Gates of righteousness”
In the city gate, judicial proceedings took place in biblical times. During Old Testament judicial proceedings, the accused and the accuser, after discussing the matter in the city gate, were either declared innocent or guilty (ashamed). In Israelite understanding, the primary goal was not to punish the offender but to uphold the law—justice—and thus also to defend the just.11 The complaints of the prophets indicate that the courts at the gates of Jerusalem were not always just (Isaiah 1:21; 29:21).
But the expression “gates of righteousness” (Psalm 118:19–20) does not relate to jurisdiction and the city gate, but to the temple and to the piety of the pilgrims who ascended to it. The entire context in the Czech ecumenical translation reads:
18 The Lord disciplined me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Which is often freely translated as:
Open wide, gates, that open to the saved!
Behold, the gate that leads to the Lord, through which those who have been saved enter!
For indeed, the psalmist speaks of salvation earlier in verses 5–18.
The Old Testament scholar Erich Zenger points out that this does not refer to one of the external gates of the Jerusalem temple, but likely to a gate inside that separated the so-called courtyard of women from the courtyard of men, in which stood the altar for burnt offerings and the actual temple building, into which only priests could enter. Although we do not have more detailed reports on the liturgy of that time, ceremonies likely took place at this gate, to which Psalms 15 and 24 relate, in which the question arises: Who may ascend to the temple, to the Lord's mountain? At this gate stood priests who taught the people about “righteousness,” i.e., the prerequisites that one must meet to enter inside the temple (see 2 Chronicles 23:19), before the Lord, the God of righteousness.12
Similarly, Isaiah prophesies that the Jews redeemed by the Lord from the power of their enemies, grateful and trusting in the Lord with renewed intensity, will journey to Jerusalem singing: “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in” (Isaiah 26:2).
7) The tradition of holy doors in the year of mercy
The holy door was first reliably reported to have been opened at St. John Lateran in 1423. However, there is a letter from 1400 mentioning that in that year a gate was opened in this basilica, which had not been opened for fifty years and that believers passed through it three times asking for forgiveness of sins and punishment. Finally, the letter states: “Thus, if you wish to enter heaven, pass through here. Christ is with you.” Giovanni Ruccelai (1475–1525) is the author of another important text documenting the origin of the tradition of holy doors in Roman basilicas: “Of the five doors, one is commonly bricked up, except in the jubilee year, when it opens at Christmas at the beginning of the jubilee. The believers take apart the bricks and pieces of plaster, and pilgrims from beyond the Alps take them home as holy relics.”
Currently, the holy door is opened in all four Roman basilicas during jubilee years. The penitential pilgrimage, the sacrament of reconciliation, and passing through the holy door are endowed with special indulgences.
8) Citation from the ceremony of opening the holy door (Article 3):
The ceremony for opening the holy door, created for this year's year of mercy, explains what the conceptual content according to the authors of the idea of the holy year represents:
The mystery of God, who is infinitely merciful and full of compassion (Eph 2:4; James 5:11), revealed and realized in Christ, the face of the Father's mercy (MV 1), and permanently effective through the gift of the Spirit (John 20:22–23).
Acknowledgment of Christ as the only door, the gate through which one comes to salvation (cf. John 10:9), and the only way that leads to the Father (cf. John 14:6).
The unceasing journey of the Church to “Christ, who is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8).
In these words, it is briefly summarized what can be the theme of our contemplation in our journey to the holy doors and through them onward...
