Church of the Nativity

by | Jan 15, 2018 | Bethlehem, World Heritage Sites

Church of the Nativity

Also called the Basilica of the Nativity, it’s the oldest continuously operating church, commissioned in 327 CE by Emperor Constantine. A major restoration project recently took place to restore the church to its former glory.

You might be surprised, if you’ve never seen pictures, to find that the facade of the church is only a tiny Ottoman-era front door, aptly named the Door of Humility. Watch your head as you bow through – originally the entrance was much larger, but the Crusaders reduced its size to prevent attackers from riding in. Later, in the Ottoman periods, the portal was made even smaller – you can still see the outline of the original 6th-century doorway and, within it, the pointed Crusader-era arch. Proceed to the cavernous nave. Renovations over the centuries have included a new floor here, beneath which lies Constantine’s original 4th-century mosaic floor, rediscovered in 1933 and now viewable through wooden trapdoors in the central aisle.

Opening Hours

Spring till Autumn
06.30 – 19.30

Winter
06.30 – 18:00

Visitors Each Year

The 6th century saw the church rebuilt almost entirely by Emperor Justinian, after the majority of it was destroyed in a Samaritan revolt in 529 CE. The mammoth red-and-white limestone columns that still grace the nave are probably the only surviving remnants of the original structure, their stone quarried from nearby. Some of them are decorated with frescos of saints, painted by Crusaders in the 12th century. To the right of the Door of Humility, a doorway leads to the Armenian Monastery, these days housing just six monks to service the needs of Bethlehem’s 300-strong Armenian congregation. The Armenians flourished during the 1600s, when they were noted for their transcribed and illuminated versions of the Bible.

At the front of the nave, descend the stairs to enter the Grotto of the Nativity. Atmospherically lantern-lit and redolent with mystery, this is where Jesus is said to have been born, the 14-pointed silver star marking the spot. The Chapel of the Manger or ‘the Crib’ to one side of the grotto represents the scene of the nativity, while the chapel facing it houses the Altar of the Adoration of the Magi, which commemorates the visit of Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior. The Persians spared the church and grotto when they sacked Palestine in 614 CE, ostensibly because they saw a depiction of the magi in their own native costume.

Though all might seem serene down here, conflict has actually rocked this cradle for ages. The 14-pointed star was stolen in 1847, each of the three Christian communities in residence (the Greek Orthodox, the Armenians and the Catholics, who have bitterly and ceaselessly fought for custodianship of the grotto) blaming the others. A copy was subsequently supplied to replace it, but the fights didn’t end there, and administrative domination of the church changed hands repeatedly between the Orthodox and Catholics. To this day, management of the church is divvied up metre for metre between the Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian clerics (this system of management for holy places is known as the ‘status quo’). Take the grotto lanterns for example: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, five to the Armenians and four to the Catholics.

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