Wikipedia defines the Holy Land as an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the Biblical land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. Jews, Christians and Muslims regard it as holy and it is a major pilgrimage destination for the Abrahamic religions.
Part of the significance of the land stems from the religious significance of Jerusalem (the holiest city to Judaism and the location of the First and Second Temples), as well as its historical significance for the setting for most of the Bible, the historical locale of Jesus’ ministry, the location of the first Qibla and the site of the Isra and Mi’raj event in Islam.
I have had the privilege of visiting the Holy Land twice—as a pilgrim and as a tourist. Do I feel that I have seen enough of it? Definitely not, there is so much more to understand and experience about this place. Things are not as simple as they seem, only our faith is.
In my research about the long histories of the churches I will be mentioning here, I will be using the phrase “believed to be” and “traditionally” quite often as I have noticed our guides were careful to describe them this way.
Emperor Constantine the Great, a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first one to convert to Christianity, was instrumental in building many of these original churches during his reign. He was involved in the development of the Edict of Milan in AD 313 which gave Christians the freedom to follow their faith without persecution.
His mother, Helena, was a Greek Christian. He appointed her as Augusta Imperatrix which gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury in order to locate all possible relics of Christian tradition. She was successful in this mission to the Holy Land and was canonized after her death. She is Saint Helena to the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern and Roman Catholics, as well as the Anglican and Lutheran churches.
Another phrase I will be mentioning often is “Status Quo”—an understanding with respect to the nine shared religious sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The other places not covered by this agreement have been determined to be in the possession of only one religion.
This “Status Quo” stemmed from a decree from the Ottoman Sultan Osman III in 1757 and this was further affirmed through the years, until it received international recognition in Article 9 of the Treaty of Paris in 1856.
The first time the phrase “Status Quo” was used regarding this arrangement was in the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Then it was further formalized in the 1949 United Nations Conciliation Commission after the Palestine War.
Part I: The UNESCO World Heritage Listed Churches
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Located in West Bank Palestinian territory, the grotto it contains is recognized by Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. This church is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, as it is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
Originally commissioned by Constantine the Great in AD 330, the whole compound now covers 12,000 square meters with three different monasteries—Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic and Greek Orthodox.
A 14-point silver star marks the spot where Jesus was believed to be born in the grotto below the altar. Inside this grotto, there are 15 silver lamps (six for the Greeks, four for the Catholics and five for the Armenians).
In 1847, this star was stolen by Greek monks who wanted to remove this Catholic item, but it eventually reappeared in December 1853 amid much controversy. It was rumored that this act of theft helped trigger the Crimean War.
When the Persians invaded Palestine in AD 614, this church was spared from destruction because their Commander espied a depiction of the Three Magi wearing the garb of Persian Zoroastrian priests on the church wall. The “Status Quo” is very much evident here.
The upper church and a major part of the grotto where Jesus was born belongs to the Greeks. The Franciscans control the “manger” part of the grotto. The Armenians share ownership in other parts of the church.
Christmas in the Church of Nativity lasts from Dec. 24 to Jan. 18 since Christians celebrate Christmas from Dec. 24 to 25, the Greeks Jan. 6 to 7 and the Armenians on Jan. 18.
In 1516, the church had suffered from much decay, so the main entrance was walled in to prevent the entrance of horses and cattle. A small, low door was created as a result. This is the now very famous Door of Humility.
The Church of Saint Catherine in Bethlehem
A Roman Catholic church adjacent to the northern part of the Church of the Nativity, it also functions as a Franciscan monastery and is administered by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It has been modernized many times since the Byzantine period till the 19th Century.
This modern church is the work of Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi, and was completed in 1948. It got its name from a medieval chapel allegedly built on this site where Jesus is believed to have appeared to St. Catherine telling her of her coming martyrdom.
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch celebrates midnight mass on Christmas Eve, after which he leads the way to the adjacent Church of the Nativity carrying a figure of the baby Jesus and places it on the silver star in the Nativity grotto.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem
Located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City, this church contains two sites considered holy in Christianity: Calvary or Golgotha and Jesus’ empty tomb. The tomb itself is enclosed in a 19th Century shrine called the Aedicule (which has two small rooms—the first holds a relic called the Angel’s stone and the second is the tomb of Jesus) and the “Status Quo” also applies to this site.
Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic are the main denominations sharing this church as well as Coptic, Syriac and Ethiopian Apostolic. The last four stations of the Via Dolorosa are within the Church. It has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination since it was built during the 4th Century and called the Church of Resurrection.
Completely destroyed in 1009 as a result of wars and natural calamities, it was rebuilt and completed in 1048. By the year 1099, it came into the possession of the Knights of the First Crusade and after many changes of hands, the Franciscan friars renovated this church in 1555.
The Muslim Nuseibeh family have been responsible for opening the door to this church as an impartial party to the Church denominations since the 12th Century, alongside the Joudeh family who were added by Saladin in 1187.
The key entrusted to them is made of iron and is 12 inches long with a triangular metal handle and a square end. The Joudeh family is in charge of protecting and holding the key, and every day they turn it over to a Nuseibeh family member who takes the key from them and proceeds to climb a small wooden ladder to unlock the door. This process is repeated in the evening, every day and the members of this family have performed this duty for centuries.
Upon entering the church, to the right, one can see a stairway leading to Calvary. It is the most lavishly decorated part of this whole complex and it is split into two chapels, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic, each with its own altar.
It is the Greek altar that is placed over the Rock of Calvary which also serves as the 12th Station of the Cross. The Catholic altar, which is the 11th Station, represents the Nailing of Jesus to the Cross. Between both altars, a statue of a mourning Mother Mary serves as the 13th Station.
The restoration of the Catholic chapel was undertaken by Barluzzi between 1933 to 1937. After leaving Calvary through the other end, one can come across a stone venerated by believers as the Stone of the Anointing—which tradition holds to be where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea.