December, 2001

The Church of the Nativity

The forbidding, fortress-like church in the center of the modern city of Bethlehem, facing Manger Square, is one of the oldest churches in the world. Queen Helena initiated the construction of the great basilica over the cave of the nativity in 327 AD The first church was destroyed by the Samaritans in 529, but emperor Justinian ordered Helena's original church to be rebuilt in such splendor, size and beauty that no church in the holy city should surpass it.

The surviving mosaics on the side walls and floor, dating from restoration works in 1165-69, show how splendid the church must have been. The church was repaired again in the 15th century, but it fell into decay after that. The Ottoman Turks removed some of its marble in the 17th century. Control of the church has more than once led to physical warfare, most significantly in 1852 when Napoleon III, who considered himself successor to the French crusader King Louis IX, proclaimed the entire church complex as French property. This brought him into conflict with Russia, which supported the rights of the Eastern Orthodox Church. This was one of the chief causes of the Crimean war.

The door leading into the church is only 120cm (less than 4ft) high. It is too small and out of scale with the importance of the church. One can still see traces of the original arch, which was almost 3m (more than 9ft) high. It was lowered by the crusaders in the middle ages and further restricted during the Ottoman era either to prevent Mamluk horsemen from entering the church on horseback or to force visitors to show respect by bowing upon entering the church.

Two sets of stairs on either side of the altar lead down into the Grotto of the Nativity, the site where Jesus was born. A silver star embedded in white marble marks the exact spot. The original star was place here by the Roman Catholic Church in 1717.

(text from This Week in Palestine, Issue No. 44, December 2001)

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