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The Church of the Nativity is one of the places in the Holy Land that is visited by people of all religions.
About 9 miles[9 km]South of Jerusalem, on a hill covered with vineyards, fig trees and olive groves, is Bethlehem, a city in Palestine. Its name means place of bread, fertile place.
The Church of the Nativity is one of the places in the Holy Land that is visited by people of all religions.
Some for historical reasons and others to worship the sign of the Birth of the Man-God and pray on their knees touching the point that today is sealed by a star.
The photos you see are of the place where thousands of people from all over the world come every day to worship at the birthplace. The place where the Virgin Mary gave life to the Son and Savior of the world.
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When visiting the Holy Land at the time when the Divine events occurred, the aura of the days can be felt more. When on the night of the birth of the Holy Child one finds oneself in the cave of Bethlehem, the place where the center of the world, the center of events and the beginning of the divine journey of the Man-God is considered, then certainly one feels the difference of the moment when God became man and came to earth according to the Scriptures, for the salvation of men.
All the steps lead to Bethlehem, where the story of human humiliation began, after the Son of God was humiliated for the first time and was born in a manger between animals and horses, in a stable in Bethlehem.
Going down from the main Temple of Bethlehem to the cave and the manger, only then does he realize how Christ came into the world, under what circumstances his first cry was heard, how the Virgin embraced him and how the animals warmed him in the cold night. .
People who bring their personal stories, their own experiences and their own truth come to Bethlehem, which is an important pilgrimage and tourist attraction for visitors to the Holy Land.
The temple of Bethlehem was built in 327-333 AD from St. Helena in the cave where Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled with the incarnation of the Divine Word. The place of greatest religious and historical importance is the Holy Cave of the Nativity which is located under the katholikon of the church and the Holy Pass. The Holy Cave is carved out of natural rock and is the original site of the Nativity.
The place where Jesus was born belongs to the Greek Orthodox. A fourteen-pointed silver star symbolizing the bright star of the birth of Christ indicates the place where the Divine Word was incarnated.
In front of the birthplace is the Holy Crib and, according to tradition, Santa Elena found the original clay crib that she replaced with a silver one. This manger was transferred to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and survived until the 12th century.
Next to the manger is the pilgrimage of the Magi and to the northwest of the cave there is a tank from which the Virgin drew water from it to wash the Holy Child. And in Bethlehem, as in all pilgrimages in the Holy Land, the Hagiotafite monks give a great struggle to keep intact the holy pilgrimages and the rights of the Orthodox in the area.
The struggle of the Greek Orthodox to protect their holy relics and their rights in the church is great.
The struggle not only takes place in the Holy Sepulcher but also in all our temples, even in Bethlehem. Parents serving in the Church of the Nativity, if they are not careful to be careful, may one day be found outside the temple by Armenians and Latins, who are trying to conquer even a piece of cave land.
Elder Chrysostom, who is now in the Aba Gerasimos monastery, recalls: Here, when one of the Latins or Armenians cleans for example or incense in the area of the church that belongs to the Orthodox and we do not react, at the same moment this area belongs to you. “We are fighting these battles here and if we are not careful one day we may have nothing else.”
The monasteries are attacked daily, but also the Church of the Nativity as well as the Holy Sepulcher, with the ultimate aim of falling into the hands of the Latins, the Armenians and the rulers of the region and this is something that makes even more vigilant to who truly respect the holy pilgrimages.
The Israeli wall that encloses the Palestinian territories and the strict control of the Israeli soldiers do not discourage pilgrims who wish to visit Bethlehem without counting the inconvenience of waiting at the military checkpoints.
His goal is to arrive and worship the place where the Savior was born. Touch for a while the star of the manger, which indicates the exact point of birth and pray in the place where the baby voice of the Divine Infant was heard for the first time.
In the central square of Bethlehem, in the square of the manger, in front of the Town Hall, is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Savior, which today is under the auspices of Unesco.
Thousands of visitors from all over the world arrive each year for religious, tourist and historical reasons.
“This is where the whole history of Christianity begins. This is where the Godman was born and brought with him the love they fight so hard for today. Christian love is persecuted and we are all responsible for it.
We may not be able to protect it, but we must understand the message of the days and the message of the birth of Christ, which means love. For this love Christ came to earth ”confesses the mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Babon, who every time the Bethlehem tree is lit feels, as she says, that the city sends her a message of hope everywhere.
Outside the Bethlehem temple, especially on Christmas Day, even Muslim citizens come with Christians to welcome the birth of the Godman. Christians out of deep faith, Muslims out of respect for what they consider a celebration for Palestine.
Source: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
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