Today is our first full day in the Holy Land. We're up at the crack of dawn since we'll be on the road at 7:30 AM sharp.
We begin the day at Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The mountain is shaped like half a sphere and rises 1,886 ft. very quickly from the ground below. Taxis will take us up a serpentine road to the top. That's better than taking the 4300 stairs which date from the 4th century!
Three gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration. Here's Luke's version. About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothes became dazzling white. And behold, two men, were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them and they were frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice chat said “This is my chosen Son, listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. (Luke 9:28-36)
I don't know how they could be sleepy after witnessing that, but apparently it was not until after his resurrection that they fully grasped this event.
Due to its strategic importance, Mount Tabor has often been surmounted by a fortress. On the plains below, battles have been fought by Egyptian pharaohs, Alexander the Great, Roman generals, Crusaders and Napoleon. Very cool, but that's not why we're here.
By the 4th century, the first churches were built here honoring the Transfiguration and Elijah. Several centuries later two fortified monasteries were built as well and it was an important site during the Crusader period. Islamic attacks began in the 1100s and eventually in the 1200s, they managed to take over and demolished all of the buildings. The Franciscans returned to the area to settle with Turkish permission in 1631 but it was not until 1924 that they were able to rebuild the church. It was quite a feat to construct the church at that time since all the materials needed to be hauled up the mountain and many of the masons had to be brought in from other countries.
Today, atop this mountain, there is a Roman Catholic church and a Greek Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic church was built over the ruins of the previous churches in the same design. The architect was Antonio Barluzzi and (if I've counted right) we will see as many as eleven of his churches on our trip. A number of the churches we will see on this trip are of more recent origin because older ones were destroyed over the years.
The large church consists of three naves which are separated by two rows of columns supporting arches. In the two bell towers on either side of the entrance, there are two chapels, one dedicated to Moses and one dedicated to Elijah. In the upper part of the church above the altar, there is a mosaic depicting the Transfiguration. The Grotto of Christ is in the eastern part of the church. Steps lead down to a lower level with a sanctuary enclosed by walls belonging to a Crusader church and roofed with a modern barrel vault.
On the south part of the mount there is the Greek Orthodox monastery, the Church of the Transfiguration built in 1862, and Mechisedek’s chapel.
We begin the day at Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The mountain is shaped like half a sphere and rises 1,886 ft. very quickly from the ground below. Taxis will take us up a serpentine road to the top. That's better than taking the 4300 stairs which date from the 4th century!
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| Mount Tabor |
Due to its strategic importance, Mount Tabor has often been surmounted by a fortress. On the plains below, battles have been fought by Egyptian pharaohs, Alexander the Great, Roman generals, Crusaders and Napoleon. Very cool, but that's not why we're here.
By the 4th century, the first churches were built here honoring the Transfiguration and Elijah. Several centuries later two fortified monasteries were built as well and it was an important site during the Crusader period. Islamic attacks began in the 1100s and eventually in the 1200s, they managed to take over and demolished all of the buildings. The Franciscans returned to the area to settle with Turkish permission in 1631 but it was not until 1924 that they were able to rebuild the church. It was quite a feat to construct the church at that time since all the materials needed to be hauled up the mountain and many of the masons had to be brought in from other countries.
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| Church of the Transfiguration |
Today, atop this mountain, there is a Roman Catholic church and a Greek Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic church was built over the ruins of the previous churches in the same design. The architect was Antonio Barluzzi and (if I've counted right) we will see as many as eleven of his churches on our trip. A number of the churches we will see on this trip are of more recent origin because older ones were destroyed over the years.
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| Tranfiguration Mosaic |
The large church consists of three naves which are separated by two rows of columns supporting arches. In the two bell towers on either side of the entrance, there are two chapels, one dedicated to Moses and one dedicated to Elijah. In the upper part of the church above the altar, there is a mosaic depicting the Transfiguration. The Grotto of Christ is in the eastern part of the church. Steps lead down to a lower level with a sanctuary enclosed by walls belonging to a Crusader church and roofed with a modern barrel vault.
On the south part of the mount there is the Greek Orthodox monastery, the Church of the Transfiguration built in 1862, and Mechisedek’s chapel.
From Mt. Tabor, we travel to the Arab town of Kafr Kanna in Northern Israel which is thought to be the site of Cana referenced in the New Testament. It was the site of two miracles of Jesus. His first miracle was the changing of water into wine (click on the link to see a short video) at a wedding feast which is described in John 2. The 6 jars he transformed were the equivalent of 730 bottles, so that was some wedding!
While in Cana on another occasion, Jesus learns of a boy who is very sick. He is the son of a government official of Herod Antipas, the king who later has John the Baptist beheaded. This official travels from his home in Capernaum to Cana to find Jesus. The concerned father urges him to come to Capernaum to heal his son. Jesus tells him that his son lives and the man believes him and heads home. On the way home, the official is met by his slaves who have hurried to tell him good news that his son is alive and well. Cana is about 16 miles from Capernaum.
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| Altar |
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| Wedding Church |
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| The First Wedding |
We will visit the Franciscan Wedding Church in Cana. The Knights acquired the land in 1254. The Franciscans came here in 1641 and began building the present church over an older church in 1879. It was consecrated in 1883 and renovated a few times since then, most recently in 1999.
At this site, we will renew our wedding vows. If you're counting, this marks the third time we will get married (the second was our 25th anniversary). We'll get some of that wine so we can celebrate later.
Near the church we will visit the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary since one of the sisters here is a friend of Father King's. The sisters run a school here so it will be interesting to see what that's like.
After lunch we drive to Nazareth, the town where Jesus lived during his early years. In the time of Jesus, this was a pretty small town, but today its a city of 76,000, mostly Arab and about 70% Muslim. There is an adjacent town, Nazareth Illit, which was founded in 1957 which has 40,000 people with 65% being Jewish.
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| Basilica of the Annunciation |
Pilgrims have been coming here since the beginning of Christianity and we know that a church existed on the site since at least the fourth century. The Crusaders built a larger church which had ornate interior decorations. In 1187, after the Crusaders were defeated by the Muslim Sultan, the Christian inhabitants of Nazareth took refuge in the church where they were all slaughtered. The church was apparently left standing but destroyed in 1263 by the Emir of Baybars. The conquerers forbade the construction of another church, but they allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the cave beneath by paying a fee to the Muslim guards. Later, the Franciscans established a monastery here and built a church in 1730 which was enlarged in 1871 and demolished in 1955 to make way for the new basilica.
Many of the sites we will visit have newer churches because earlier Byzantine or Crusader era churches were destroyed like the church here in Nazareth. Sadly, the persecution of Middle Eastern Christians is a serious crisis today. The percentage of Christians in the Middle East is down to 5% from 20-30% at the beginning of the last century. We are grateful that our trip helps to support Christians living in the Holy Land.
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| Upper Church Interior |
The large upper church has a large dome shaped like a lily opening to the church below. The symbolism combines the lily, as an image of Mary’s purity, with one of the Semitic meanings of the name Nazareth, a flower. The lantern in the cupola symbolizes the light of the world.
Behind the main altar is a large mosaic depicting the one holy, catholic and apostolic church. Around the sides of the church are mosaics from around the world with depictions of Mary.
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| Lower Church |
A staircase takes you to the lower level which has a sunken grotto with the cave home of Mary. Around the grotto they have preserved the remains of older churches built on this same site. In one of these areas there is a mosaic floor with the words, "Gift of Conon, deacon of Jerusalem". The most sensational discovery was of a synagogue-church dating back to before the first church was built. Scratched on the base of a column appeared the Greek characters XE MAPIA, translated as “Hail Mary” — the archangel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary.
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| Annunciation Grotto Altar |
The altar in the grotto says "Verbum Caro Factum Est" (And the Word was Made Flesh) which is Cardinal Rigali's motto.
Next to the large basilica is the much smaller Church of St. Joseph built on the site of the workshop of Joseph. The present church was built by the Franciscans in 1914 and replaces earlier Byzantine and Crusader churches destroyed by Islamic forces. Underneath the church are caves dating back to the Roman period.
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| Exterior of Church |
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| Interior of Church |
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| Death of St. Joseph Window |
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| Mary's Well |
Not far from the site of the basilica is Mary's well. This particular structure is a recreation built around 2000, but the site marks the spot of Nazareth's well fed by a fresh water stream that Jesus, Mary and Joseph would have come to often to draw water. The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Gabriel is adjacent.
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| Mt. Precipice |
Our last stop is Mt. Precipice outside of Nazareth. In the gospel of Luke, he tells the story of Jesus reading from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. After reading from the scroll, Jesus spoke of how prophets are not accepted in their own land and the assembly grew angry and drove him to the brow of a hill intending to hurl him down it. Jesus calmly walked between them and out of danger.
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| 2009 Papal Mass on Mt. Precipice |
On this site in May 2009, Pope Benedict XVI said Mass during his visit to Nazareth.
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