The Church of the Nativity

The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest church buildings in the world. Even more significant is the fact that it has been in continuous use since Emperor Justinian built the present structure in the early sixth century.

The first permanent structure was one of three churches built by Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century, after Christianity achieved the status of a recognized religion in the Roman Empire. Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem had issued this request when he traveled to Nicea to take part in the first ecumenical council in 325.

In 326 Constantine's mother, Helen, traveled to the Holy Land and investigated the sites most important in the life of Christ.

Helen was shown a cave outside the city of Bethlehem, where early traditions of the Christian community had localized the place of Jesus' birth. The Gospel of Luke reports that Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room in the inn. The Gospel of Matthew mentions a house where Joseph and Mary were staying when the Magi arrived. However, the second-century Palestinian writer Justin Martyr noted that this manger was located in a cave.

The focus of the church of Constantine was an octagonal structure with an opening looking down into the cave. To its west was a large basilica and then an atrium lined with columns that opened in the direction of the town of Bethlehem.

Justinian's sixth-century renovations included an enlarged basilica and the addition of three apses where the octagonal structure once stood. Access to the grotto was made easier by stairways so that worshippers could meditate there on the meaning of the incarnation.

One of the first views of Bethlehem for many visitors is the familiar site of the facade at the entryway to the Church of the Nativity.

Three stages of the doorway are evident today. The upper lintel gives a faint reminder of the three-meter-wide Justinian entrance, which was flanked by two other doors. Traces of the north door emerge from behind the eighteenth-century buttressing while the south door is lost behind the wall of the Armenian monastery. The lower pointed arch comes from Crusader times when the wall needed strengthening and when architectural styles stretched heavenward. Finally, the present narrow door, erected in the Ottoman period to prevent the entry of the travelers' horses and camels, compels the visitors to stoop in humility when entering this historic holy structure.

Inside the Church of the Nativity

The Nativity Grotto

The Grotto of the Nativity lies beneath the central part of the transept, which is situated in the eastern part of the Basilica opposite the iconostasis. It can be reached by a circular staircase on either side of the raised platform. An altar was erected over the birthplace of Jesus and a silver star was embedded in the white marble-floor to indicate the spot where Jesus was born with the following inscription: "Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est "(Here the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ). A second altar was built opposite the altar of the Nativity to mark the place where the Infant was laid after He was born, known as the Manger. Opposite the Manger, a third altar was erected dedicated to the three Magi who had come from east to adore the child.

The Nativity Altar and under it the Silver Star in the Grotto of the Nativity

Chronology of the Church of the Nativity