Being Christmas week this post has a Christmas theme and provides a brief overview of the relics of the nativity venerated by medieval pilgrims. Nativity scene by Cypriot folk painter Parthenios image ? The Holy Land was the ultimate destination for medieval pilgrims, it was here that Jesus Christ was born, lived, died and was resurrected. So you could say, the pilgrims who came here were spoilt for choice, having access to wide range of sites associated with the New and Old Testament and the life of Christ.
Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was a must see for medieval pilgrims and many would have timed there visit to coincide with Christmas. Within the town of Bethlehem, t he traditional site of the birth of Christ was marked by the Church of the Nativity.
Grotto of the Nativity in the cave under the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. Image taken ca. Pilgrims were flocking to Bethlehem from the 2nd century AD. This first church was not completed until AD and it was later destroyed during the Samaritan revolts in the 6th century. The current church was built on top of the aforementioned one in AD by the Emperor Justinian. This link will take you to a 3D virtual tour to the current Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Since early medieval times the Church has been increasingly incorporated into a complex of other ecclesiastical buildings, mainly monastic.
As a result, today it is embedded in an extraordinary architectural ensemble, overseen by members of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Armenian Church, under the provisions of the Status Quo of the Holy Places established by the Treaty of Berlin In modern times Christmas services for Roman Catholics and Protestants are celebrated on Christmas eve and Christmas day, the 25th of December.
