Obethlehem - Holy Sites

The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest church buildings in the world. Even more significant is the fact that it has been in continuous use since Emperor Justinian built the present structure in the early sixth century.

The first permanent structure was one of three churches built by Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century, after Christianity achieved the status of a recognized religion in the Roman Empire . Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem had issued this request when he traveled to Nicea to take part in the first ecumenical council in 325.

In 326 Constantine 's mother, Helen, traveled to the Holy Land and investigated the sites most important in the life of Christ.

Helen was shown a cave outside the city of Bethlehem , where early traditions of the Christian community had localized the place of Jesus' birth. The Gospel of Luke reports that Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room in the inn. The Gospel of Matthew mentions a house where Joseph and Mary were staying when the Magi arrived. However, the second-century Palestinian writer Justin Martyr noted that this manger was located in a cave.

The focus of the church of Constantine was an octagonal structure with an opening looking down into the cave. To its west was a large basilica and then an atrium lined with columns that opened in the direction of the town of Bethlehem .

Justinian's sixth-century renovations included an enlarged basilica and the addition of three apses where the octagonal structure once stood. Access to the grotto was made easier by stairways so that worshippers could meditate there on the meaning of the incarnation.

One of the first views of Bethlehem for many visitors is the familiar site of the facade at the entryway to the Church of the Nativity.

Three stages of the doorway are evident today. The upper lintel gives a faint reminder of the three-meter-wide Justinian entrance, which was flanked by two other doors. Traces of the north door emerge from behind the eighteenth-century buttressing while the south door is lost behind the wall of the Armenian monastery. The lower pointed arch comes from Crusader times when the wall needed strengthening and when architectural styles stretched heavenward. Finally, the present narrow door, erected in the Ottoman period to prevent the entry of the travelers' horses and camels, compels the visitors to stoop in humility when entering this historic holy structure.

	Christians Holy Sites In Bethlehem

	Nativity Church

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	The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest church buildings in the world. Even more significant is the fact that it has been in continuous use since Emperor Justinian built the present structure in the early sixth century. The first permanent structure was one of three churches built by Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century, after Christianity achieved the status of a recognized religion in the Roman Empire . Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem had issued this request when he traveled to Nicea to take part in the first ecumenical council in 325. In 326 Constantine 's mother, Helen, traveled to the Holy Land and investigated the sites most important in the life of Christ. Helen was shown a cave outside the city of Bethlehem , where early traditions of the Christian community had localized the place of Jesus' birth. The Gospel of Luke reports that Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room in the inn. The Gospel of Matthew mentions a house where Joseph and Mary were staying when the Magi arrived. However, the second-century Palestinian writer Justin Martyr noted that this manger was located in a cave. The focus of the church of Constantine was an octagonal structure with an opening looking down into the cave. To its west was a large basilica and then an atrium lined with columns that opened in the direction of the town of Bethlehem . Justinian's sixth-century renovations included an enlarged basilica and the addition of three apses where the octagonal structure once stood. Access to the grotto was made easier by stairways so that worshippers could meditate there on the meaning of the incarnation. One of the first views of Bethlehem for many visitors is the familiar site of the facade at the entryway to the Church of the Nativity. Three stages of the doorway are evident today. The upper lintel gives a faint reminder of the three-meter-wide Justinian entrance, which was flanked by two other doors. Traces of the north door emerge from behind the eighteenth-century buttressing while the south door is lost behind the wall of the Armenian monastery. The lower pointed arch comes from Crusader times when the wall needed strengthening and when architectural styles stretched heavenward. Finally, the present narrow door, erected in the Ottoman period to prevent the entry of the travelers' horses and camels, compels the visitors to stoop in humility when entering this historic holy structure.

	Milk Grotto

	In Bethlehem the sacred area around the Nativity Grotto has been the focal point of all tradition. Nevertheless in Bethlehem a small Chapel has been for long centuries a devotional site. The "Milk Grotto" over which today a small Chapel rise, is frequently visited by local women, Christians and Moslems alike, to ask for the intercession of Mary. mother of Jesus. A legend recalls how some Mary spilt some milk while breast feeding baby Jesus and this is the reason for the "white" stone of the cave. A tradition going back to the VII century located at this site the burial place of the innocent victims killed by Herod the Great after the birth of Jesus.


	Shepherds Field

	Leaving Bethlehem to the plains underneath you can see the site where tradition indicates the spot where "Shepherds kept watch" on that night when Christ was born. The site is situated about 600 m from the town in the village of Beit Sahur . Eusebius (265-340) says that Tower Ader, a thousand paces from Bethlehem marked the place where the shepherds received the message. St. Jerome had the same opinion. Arculf (670) saw a church in this place. The Calendar of Jerusalem (VII-VIII cent.) says that to the east of Bethlehem was a monastery called Poemenium (of the flock) where the angel appeared to the shepherds. The Abbot Daniel (1106) calls the place Agia Pimina (holy pasture) and Peter the Deacon (1137) calls the church Ad Pastores, which had a grotto and an altar, while Phocas (1177) mentions a monastery too. After the Crusader period the area seemed to have laid in ruins as the pilgrims started to visit a new site, Deir el-Ra'uat (Convent of the Shepherds). Since 1859 though the site of Siyar el-Ganam (the Sheepfold) has been preferred as the traditional site of for these evangelical events. This area, in the care of the Franciscans, was partially excavated in 1859 by C. Guarmani and extensively excavated by Fr. V. Corbo in 1951-52. These excavations revealed a vast monastic agricultural establishment, with presses, cisterns, silos and grottoes. The site resulted inhabited since the Herodian period had its main development in the V-VII century. A first church of the IV-V century was enlarged in the VI. In this reconstruction, in the apse of the Church, the builders used stones coming from the Constantinian octagonal construction of the Basilica of the Nativity. The remains of two semicircular altars and inscriptions in mosaics confirm the sacred character of the site. Near these ruins, in 1953 the Franciscans built a "tent like" chapel as a sanctuary to commemorate these events. This sanctuary of the "Gloria in Excelsis" is the work of architect A. Barluzzi and is internally decorated with frescoes by Noni. This chapel was built by donations coming from Canada .

	Nearby Christians Sights

	Just south of Bethlehem is another of Herod's palaces. This one, known as Herodian, was built on the flat top of a cone-shaped hill, nearly 2,500 feet (758 meters) above sea level. Herod's architects actually shaped the mountain to make it symmetrical. The fortress was built in the first century, and became a stronghold of the Zealots in the Great Revolt against the Romans. The Mar Saba Monastery was founded by St. Saba of Capadocia in the 5th century. This is a stereotypical monastery where reclusive monks spent years in caves without communicating with anyone. Over the centuries, invaders razed the monastery, but it was rebuilt by the Russian government in 1840. The bones of St. Saba, which had been taken to Venice by the Crusaders, were returned after Pope Paul VI's visit to Holy Land in 1964 as a goodwill gesture toward the Greek Orthodox Church. The skulls of monks killed through the years are kept in a chapel in the monastery. Even today, women are not allowed inside the monastery. Two other monasteries are in the Bethlehem area. One is Mar Elias , which was built in the 6th century. According to legend, this is where Elias rested on his flight from the vengeance of Jezebel. The St. Theodosius Monastery was built in 500 C.E. Christians believe the wise men rested here after God warned them in a dream they should not return to Herod.