The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located
in Bethlehem in the West Bank.
The grotto it contains holds a prominent religious significance to Christians
of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest
site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica
is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
The church was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great a short time
after his mother Helena's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the
site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus. That
original basilica was likely built between 330–333, being already mentioned in
333, and was dedicated on 31 May 339.
It was destroyed by fire during the Samaritan revolts of the sixth century,
possibly in 529, and a new basilica was built a number of years later by
Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), who added a porch or narthex, and
replaced the octagonal sanctuary with a cruciform transept complete with three
apses, but largely preserved the original character of the building, with an
atrium and a basilica consisting of a nave with four side aisles.
|
Outer courtyard.
Bethlehem's main city square, Manger Square, is an extension of the
large paved courtyard in front of the Church of the Nativity and St
Catherine's.
-
Here crowds gather on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols in
anticipation of the midnight services.
|
|
Facade of the Church of the Nativity (left) and Armenian monastery
(right).
|
|
Door of Humility.
The Church of the Nativity is entered through a very low door called the
"Door of Humility."
-
In the aim to prevent people from entering the church with horses and
cattle, the main entrance was walled up and transformed into a
diminutive door, known until our days as the "Door of Humility", since
visitors are forced to bend down to go through it.
|
|
Arches in the west wall giving access to the inner courtyard .
|
|
Equestrian statue of Saint George (al-Khadr) under the arches.
Bethlehem celebrates festivals related to saints and prophets associated
with Palestinian folklore.
-
One such festival is the annual Feast of Saint George (al-Khadr) on
5–6 May. During the celebrations, Greek Orthodox Christians from the
city march in procession to the nearby town of al-Khader to baptize
newborns in the waters around the Monastery of St. George and
sacrifice a sheep in ritual.
|
|
Entering the Basilica of the Nativity.
The main Basilica of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
|
|
Nave of the Basilica of the Nativity.
The main Basilica of the Nativity is designed like a typical Roman
basilica, with five aisles formed by Corinthian columns, and an apse in
the eastern end containing the sanctuary.
-
The original Roman-style floor of the basilica has been covered over
with flagstones, but there is a trap door in the floor which opens up
to reveal a portion of the original mosaic pavement from the
Constantinian basilica.
-
The open ceiling exposes the wooden rafters, recently restored. The
previous 15th-century restoration used beams donated by King Edward IV
of England, who also donated lead to cover the roof; however, this
lead was taken by the Ottoman Turks, who melted it down for ammunition
to use in war against Venice.
|
|
Church's interior walls.
The church's interior walls features medieval golden mosaics once
covering the side walls, which are now in large parts lost.
|
|
South aisle of the Basilica of the Nativity.
There are 44 columns separating the aisles from each other and from the
nave, some of which are painted with images of saints, such as the Irish
monk St. Cathal (fl. 7th century), the patron of the Sicilian Normans,
St. Canute (c. 1042–1086), king of Denmark, and St. Olaf (995–1030),
king of Norway.
|
|
Chancel with gilded iconostasis.
The east end of the church consists of a raised chancel, closed by an
apse containing the main altar and separated from the chancel by a large
gilded iconostasis.
|
|
Walking towards the stairs.
|
|
Going down the stairs towards the Grotto.
Stairways on either side of the chancel lead down to the Grotto.
|
|
Grotto of the Nativity.
The Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been
born, is an underground space which forms the crypt of the Church of the
Nativity.
-
It is situated underneath its main altar, and it is normally accessed
by two staircases on either side of the chancel.
|
|
Altar of Nativity.
The cave has an eastern niche said to be the place where Jesus was born,
which contains the Altar of Nativity.
|
|
The exact spot where Jesus was born.
The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath the Altar of
Nativity by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription
Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717 ("Here Jesus
Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"-1717).
-
The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver
lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the
Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian
Apostolic.
|
|
Grotto of the Manger.
Roman Catholics are in charge of a section of the Grotto known as the
"Grotto of the Manger", marking the traditional site where Mary laid the
newborn baby in the manger.
-
The Altar of the Magi is located directly opposite from the manger
site.
|
|
Continuing to walk through the caves.
The grotto is part of a network of caves, which are accessed from the
adjacent Church St Catherine's.
-
The tunnel-like corridor connecting the Grotto to the other caves is
normally locked.
|
|
Church of St. Catherine.
The adjoining Church of St. Catherine is a Roman Catholic church
dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, built in a more modern Gothic
Revival style.
-
It has been further modernized according to the liturgical trends
which followed Vatican II.
-
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates
Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
-
See more at
Church of Saint Catherine, Bethlehem - Wikipedia.
|
|
Entering St. Catherine's Church.
|
|
Interior of St. Catherine's Church.
|
|
Caves accessed from St. Catherine's.
Several chapels are found in the caves accessed from St. Catherine's,
including the Chapel of Saint Joseph commemorating the angel's
appearance to Joseph, commanding him to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13);
the Chapel of the Innocents, commemorating the children killed by Herod
(Matthew 2:16–18); and the Chapel of Saint Jerome, in the underground
cell where tradition holds he lived while translating the Bible into
Latin (the Vulgate).
|
|
Chapel of the Innocents.
The Chapel of the Innocents honors the children killed by Herod.
-
The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents is an incident in the
Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod
the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children
who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
-
See more at
Massacre of the Innocents - Wikipedia.
|
|
Chapel of Saint Jerome.
St. Jerome's Chapel is the underground cell where tradition says he
lived while translating the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
-
St. Jerome was a scholar at a time when that statement implied a
fluency in Greek. He knew some Hebrew when he started his translation
project, but moved to Jerusalem to strengthen his grip on Jewish
scripture commentary. A wealthy Roman aristocrat, Paula, funded
Jerome's stay in a monastery in the nearby city of Bethlehem, where he
settled next to the Church of the Nativity and he completed his
translation there.
-
See more at
Jerome, Translation of the Bible - Wikipedia.
|
|
Tomb of Saint Jerome.
According to a tradition not sustained by history, the tombs of four
Catholic saints are said to be located beneath the Church of the
Nativity, in the caves accessible from the Church of St. Catherine: 1)
St. Jerome, whose remains are said to have been transferred to the
basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome; 2) St. Paula, a disciple and
benefactor of Jerome; 3) St. Eustochium, the daughter of St. Paula; 4)
St. Eusebius of Cremona, a disciple of St. Jerome.
|
|
Coming out of the caves beneath St. Catherine.
|
See also
Source
Location
