Cathal BarryCathal Barry visits some of the most prominent Holy Land sites
Garden of Gethsemane
The infamous garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem best known as the place where Jesus prayed and his disciples slept the night before Jesus’ crucifixion.
Visitors to the Garden of Gethsemane are amazed when they learn that the gnarled olive trees they see could have been young saplings when Jesus came here with the disciples on that fateful night after the Last Supper.
The impressive Church of All Nations, built in the 1920s, relates the events of this place in brilliantly detailed floor-to-ceiling mosaics.
Dominus Flevit
The Church of Dominus Flevit is located on the Mount of Olives, opposite the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church was designed and constructed between 1953 and 1955 and is held in trust by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.
Dominus Flevit (the Lord Wept) was fashioned in the shape of a teardrop to symbolise the tears of Christ. It was here that Jesus, while walking toward the city of Jerusalem, became overwhelmed by the beauty of the Temple and – predicting its future destruction and the diaspora of the Jewish people – weeped openly.
Mount Tabor
The Church of the Transfiguration, located on Mount Tabor, is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Christ took place, an event in the Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon an unnamed mountain and speaks with Moses and Elijah.
The current church, part of a Franciscan monastery complex, was completed in 1924. There is a Greek Orthodox church located on Mount Tabor as well, dedicated to the same purpose.
The Church of the Nativity
Luke’s Gospel describes how Mary “gave birth to her firstborn, a son… and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them”. Over this cave-like manger arose the great Basilica of the Nativity.
From the very beginning of the Christian era, this was a sacred grotto above which, in the fourth century, Emperor Constantine constructed a large church, first piercing a hole in the cave roof for the faithful to gaze down upon the holy spot, then erecting an octagonal altar above it.
Around 200 years later, Emperor Justinian rebuilt the basilica much as it is seen today, adding a mosaic pediment of the magi in Persian dress. It is claimed that because of this image, the ravaging Persian troops of 614 spared the Church of the Nativity from destruction.
Today, throngs of pilgrims flock to the Church of the Nativity to visit the cave where Jesus’ birth took place and the manger stood beneath the huge basilica.
The Western Wall
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a relatively small western segment of the walls surrounding the area called the Temple Mount by Jews and known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary/Al-Haram ash-Sharaf.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and is the place to which Jews turn during prayer.
Via Dolorosa
For many Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, the most important and meaningful thing they will do while in the city is walk the Via Dolorosa, the route that Jesus took between his condemnation by Pilate and his crucifixion and burial. The Via Dolorosa pilgrimage is followed by Christians of many denominations, especially Catholics and Orthodox.
The route of the Via Dolorosa begins near the Lions’ Gate in the Muslim Quarter and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter, covering 500 meters and incorporating 14 Stations of the Cross
The Cenacle
The Cenacle, also known as the Upper Room, is the place traditionally held to be the site of The Last Supper.
This room is also considered the site where many other events described in the New Testament took place, such as:
- The washing of the feet
- Some resurrection appearances of Jesus
- The gathering of the disciples after the ascension of Jesus
- The election of Matthias as an apostle
- The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.
The Milk Grotto
This small shrine cut from soft white chalk, is only a few minutes’ walk from Manger Square in Bethlehem.
This grotto, with a Franciscan chapel built above it, is considered sacred because tradition has it that the Holy Family took refuge here during the Slaughter of the Innocents, before their flight into Egypt. It is said that while Mary was nursing the baby Jesus here, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning it white.
Both Christians and Muslims believe scrapings from the stones in the grotto boost the quantity of a mother’s milk and enhance fertility. Mothers usually mix it in their drinking water, while would-be mothers place the rock under their mattress.
There is also an old tradition that identifies this as the burial site of the young victims of Herod’s ‘Slaughter of the Innocents’.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church within the Christian Quarter of the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
The site is venerated as Calvary (Golgotha), where Jesus was crucified and also contains the place where Jesus is said to have been buried.
Within the church are the last four Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus’s Passion. The church has been an important Christian pilgrimage destination since at least the 4th century as the purported site of the resurrection of Jesus.
Ascension Dome
This little shrine on the Mount of Olives marks the place where it is believed that Jesus ascended into Heaven. The building contains what is said to be the last impression of Jesus’ right foot on earth.
Mount of the Beatitudes
Located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes is the traditional site of Jesus’ delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, probably the most famous sermon of all time. Pilgrims have been drawn to this scenic place since at least the 4th century.
The church on the Mount of Beatitudes is Byzantine in style. Its octagonal shape represents the eight beatitudes. The chief attraction here, though, is the setting. The cool and quiet gardens overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the landscape where Jesus conducted his ministry make an excellent place to contemplate some of the best-known Christian teachings.
Nazareth
Nazareth is the cradle of Christianity, the city where, according to tradition, the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the place where Jesus spent his childhood and youth.
There are many ancient churches in the Old City, with the Church of the Annunciation heading the list. The rebuilt church retained parts of the previous churches, from the Crusader and Byzantine periods. The church also houses an impressive collection of paintwings.
Right next to this church is the Church of Saint Joseph, built on the ruins of agricultural buildings where, according to tradition, Joseph, Mary’s husband, had his carpentry shop. While the Church of the Annunciation was built on the site of Mary’s home, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation is built over Mary’s Well, from which Jesus mother is said to have drank.
River Jordan
The Jordan River, in which John the Baptist baptised his cousin Jesus, is considered to be one of the world’s most sacred rivers.
It originates approximately 200 meters above sea level on the slopes of Mount Hermon, Israel. It ends its course at the lowest spot in the world, the Dead Sea, at 420 meters below sea level. Along its course, the Jordan feeds two lakes: the Hula (now almost completely drained) and the Sea of Galilee. In its course from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the Jordan travels a winding 230km.
Numerous references to the Jordan River appear both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, indicating its biblical importance and sanctity. In fact, the Jordan River is mentioned about 175 times in the Old Testament and about 15 times in the New Testament.
Capernaum
Jesus chose Capernaum as the centre of his public ministry in Galilee, after having left Nazareth, which was a humble mountain village. From the Evangelists we know that the houses of a number of the Apostles were in the village, including Peter’s where Jesus took up residence, as well as a synagogue where he went on the Sabbath day.
Capernaum was an ideal site where he was able to approach many humble, open-hearted people, without provoking a reaction from the distant ruling classes.
At Capernaum – known as Jesus’ “own town” (Matthew 9:1) – walking where Jesus walked becomes a reality.
Sea of Galilee
According to the Gospels, Jesus’ earthly ministry centered around the Sea of Galilee. While important events occurred in Jerusalem, Christ spent most of the three years of his ministry along the shore of this freshwater lake. Here he presented more than half of his parables and performed most of his miracles.