Articles

Unrelenting Efforts

The Presidential Committee for the Restoration of the Church of the Nativity
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It was a great honor for us to have been named members of the Presidential Committee for the Restoration of the Church of Nativity more than ten years ago by His Excellency President Abbas, president of the State of Palestine, entrusting us with one of the most important religious and historical sites in the world. […]
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A Message from His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III

As we come upon the completion of the restoration of the Church of the Nativity and the upcoming restoration of the Holy Grotto, the birthplace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we rejoice in the fact that this holy shrine will be protected and better visible for all those who come to venerate and seek its […]
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Message from the Custody of the Holy Land

In the name of the Custody of the Holy Land, which represents the Latin Catholic community in the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, I convey to President Mahmoud Abbas and to the Presidential Committee for the Renovation of the Church of the Nativity my best greetings and congratulations on the successful completion of the […]
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Message from the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

We greet you with Christian love to emphasize the fact that the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, being one of the longest-functioning ancient Constantinian Christian Holy Places in the world, was generously cared for by the authorities of the State of Palestine, promoted by His Excellency President Abbas, under the guidance of his special […]
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A Message from the Mayor of Bethlehem, Anton Salman

Palestinian identity in Bethlehem has certainly been under threat, but the one thing that remains steadfast is the Church of the Nativity, where it all began. In September 2013, the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs shouldered the responsibility of renovating the entire Church of the Nativity, together with an Italian mission from Pavia. This […]
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Bethlehem

A Brief History
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Bethlehem is located less than 10 kilometers south of the Old City of Jerusalem, along the main road between Jerusalem and Hebron, on a mountainous plateau that rises an average of 750 to 800 meters above sea level. Today it has a population of about 32,000, in addition to three refugee camps built after 1948 […]
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The Church of the Nativity

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The exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ in the Grotto of the Nativity is not known, but there are historical indications that the grotto was localized in the middle of the second century AD. The exact location was agreed upon in the third century AD. Emperor Constantine built a basilica over the cave […]
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Bethlehem

and the Basilica of the Nativity
بيت لحم وكنيسة المهد – Bethléem e la basilique de la Nativité – Bethlehem und die Geburtskirche – Belén y Basílica de la Natividad – Betlemme e Basilica della Natività – Вифлеем и базилика Рождества EN. The historic center of Bethlehem is located at an elevation of over 800 meters and was built around the […]
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The columns

الأعمدة – Les colonnes – Die säulen – las columnas – Le colonne – Колонны EN. The Basilica of the Nativity was rebuilt by the emperor Justinian in the sixth century. The fifty stone columns have capitals with vegetal patterns that used to be covered with golden foil. Above, visitors can see the detail of […]
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Wall mosaics

جداريات الفسيفساء – Mosaïques murales – Wandmosaiken – Mosaicos de pared – Mosaici murali – настенная мозаика EN. New mosaics were created in 1169 that portray the Virgin Mary in the apse; Gospel scenes in the transept; the genealogy of Jesus, the provincial councils of Syria-Palestine, and the angels in the main nave; and the […]
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Floor mosaics

أرضيات الفسيفساء – Mosaïques de sol – Bodenmosaike – Mosaicos de piso – Mosaici pavimentali – Напольная мозаика EN. Under the current flooring, there are the remains of a magnificent fourth-century mosaic, part of the first basilica that was built by order of Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. تحت الأرضية الحالية، توجد بقايا فسيفساء […]
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Wood architraves

and the baptismal font
عوارض خشبية وجرن المعمودية – Architraves e les fonts baptismaux – Architraven und das Taufbecken – Arquitrabes y la fuente bautismal – Architravi e il fonte battesimale – Наличники и купель крещения EN. The colonnade of the basilica rebuilt by Emperor Justinian was topped with a Lebanese cedar wood architrave that dates to between 545 […]
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Issue #260.5 | December 2019
This month’s issue THE TREASURES OF THE NATIVITY Special Issue
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