On the morning of Sunday the 26^th December 2016 / 8^th January 2017, the Interdisciplinary Research Group of the National Technical University of Athens visited the Patriarchate.

The Interdisciplinary Research Group, headed by the Professor of the National Technical University of Athens, Mrs Antonia Moropoulou, consisted by Professor Emeritus of the NTUA School of Civil Engineering, Mr Pavlos Marinos, Associate Professor of the Section of Geotechnical Engineering of Civil Engineering School, Mr Michael Kavvadas, Assistant Professor of the Section of Structural Engineering of Civil Engineering School, Mr Charalambos Mouzakis, with the participation of Dr. Kyriakos Lampropoulos, Special Teaching Staff of the Section of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. Ekaterini Delegou, Special Teaching Staff of the Section of Materials Science and Engineering, and NTUA PhD Candidate, Mrs Elisavet Tsilimantou, Rural and Surveying Engineer.

The above mentioned NTUA Interdisciplinary Research Group elaborated these days an on-site visit for the interdisciplinary documentation and evaluation of the current situation of the underground system in the Rotunda at the All-Holy Church of Resurrection.

It is noted that during the Steering Committee and Project’s Owner Committee meeting on Friday 3^rd/16^th December 2016, NTUA Professor, Mrs Antonia Moropoulou, had presented to the Leaders of the Three Communities, the serious problems that have been identified and burden the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule with rising humidity phenomena due to the drainage of rain water, as well as the waste water sewage system without appropriate facilities. In parallel, serious corrosion and decay problems have been identified on the metal pillars that have been placed for the last fifty years, supporting the underground tunnels, due to the continuous underground archaeological excavations.

A scientific group from the Section of Topography of the NTUA School of Rural and Surveying Engineering is expected today, for the completion of the Geometric Documentation, consisting by Professor Andreas Georgopoulos, Associate Professor Georgios Pantazis, Associate Professor Evangelia Lamprou, Mrs Sofia Soile, Laboratory Technical Staff, and Mrs Sevasti Tapinaki, Laboratory Technical Staff.

The Interdisciplinary Research Group of the National Technical University of Athens has been systematically present to scientifically support the ongoing works of the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule, which is expected to be completed with the delivery of the project on the 22^nd March 2017.

Also present during the visit were the Architect of the Technical Bureau of the All-Holy Church of Resurrection, Dr. Theodosios Mitropoulos, the technical collaborator of the Interdisciplinary Research Group for the support of the project’s PC Lab, Mr Ioannis Mountrichas, three undergraduate students of the NTUA School of Chemical Engineering, Mrs Aikaterini Galata, Mrs Mirto Kalofonou and Mrs Panayiota Stamatoyianni, who have undertaken to elaborate a relevant laboratory term project in the Direction of “Materials”, the personnel of the Conservation Laboratory of the project, Mr Theodoros Mavridis, Mr Michael Troullinos, Mrs Konstantina Karathanou, Mr Ioannis Andritsopoulos, Mr Georgios Palamaris, Mrs Amalia Troullinou and Mrs Argiro Troullinou, as well as the Restorers Team, consisted by the Team Leader, Mr Vasilis Zafeiris, Mr Christos Theodorakis, Mr Athanasios Karydis, Mr Petros Chaloftis and Mr Georgios Anastasiadis.

They were welcomed by His Beatituted, Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the presence of the Elder Secretary-General, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, and the Assistant Dragoman, Archimandrite Mathew.   

In the framework of this meeting, His Beatitude welcomed the fact that the NTUA Interdisciplinary Research Group accelerates the proper arrangement of the sewage and drainage underground system, with the design of the necessary interventions to regulate the humidity and support the Holy Aedicule underground system, in order to ensure the sustainability of the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule.

His Beatitude underlined that the Leaders of the Three Communities have taken into account the above mentioned serious problems, presented during the Steering Committee and the Project’s Owner Committee on the 3^rd/16^th of December 2016, and the need for the documentation and evaluation of the conditions of the underground system at the Rotunda, to ensure the sustainability of the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule, which will be completed in March 2017. His Beatitude underlined that the cooperation between the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the National Technical University has created new scientific findings in the Protection of Monuments in the international scientific arena and is becoming a strategic alliance.

Professor of NTUA, Mrs. Antonia Moropoulou, responding to His Beatitude, as the Chief Scientific Supervisor of the project of the restoration of the Holy Aedicule, highlighted that the Interdisciplinary Group and colleagues from the National Technical University of Athens, as well as the Greek crew working on the project, feel the honor and responsibility of the confidence of His Beatitude, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Leaders of the Three Communities, and are working to respond to it.

From the Secretariat-General

httpv://youtu.be/zxdUbPLeTeY

By Anna Koulouris

Every day of the year, pilgrims from around the world can be seen filling shrines of the Holy Land, stepping in, touching and venerating the sites where Jesus Christ once was physically present.

However, at the Baptism Site on the Jordan River, also known as Qaser al Yahud, eight dilapidated church structures that line the one million square meter stretch of desert alongside the river, have not been touched in nearly 50 years. They are filled with concealed traps, while the land between and surrounding them holds close to 4,000 anti-tank and anti-personal mines. The area is closed off to all.

Mines were first laid in the area of the West Bank before 1967 by the Jordanians, who were trying to protect strategic areas from Israeli encroachment. During the Six-Day War, when the Israelis subsequently pushed the Jordanians to the other side of the river, they packed the Jordan Valley with minefields in order to maintain the new frontier.

The Baptism Site was one of the areas filled with landmines by the Israeli Army, blocking access to the land and churches, which in the past had been refuge points for pilgrims, especially in the early centuries of the Church.

It’s not an uncommon theme in the Holy Land to see sacred spaces intertwined with remnants of war. But besides the obvious danger, this unfortunate fact undermines the nature of the holy places and deprives faithful people from experiencing them fully.

The first churches and monasteries there were built around the year 400 to commemorate the place where Saint John the Forerunner baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, during which the Holy Spirit was manifest. Since this example during the life of Christ, baptism has become a fundamental, living sacrament of the Orthodox Church. According to His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, it’s through baptism that one joins the body of the Church and receives his or her Christian name and identity.

The act of being baptized is referred to as “putting on Christ,” as articulated by Saint Paul the Apostle, meaning that a person is metaphorically clothed with the Holy Spirit:

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye all are one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26).

It is in this way that a Christian understands the importance of the Baptism Site, not only as a site where a historical event took place, but rather, where the Lord Jesus Christ gave instruction, through His example, for a Christian life and ultimately for union with Him.

In addition to the founding of the Christian sacrament, the Baptism Site supports the Old Testament and New Testament connection so greatly acknowledged in Christianity and by religious scholars.

Qaser al Yahud, whose etymology is often misattributed in modern day Arabic, actually means “crossing of the Jews,” or “crossing place of the Jews.” It was the place where the Old Testament Jews, led by the Biblical prophet Moses through the desert, made their final crossing into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua ben Nun.

Whereas in the Old Testament this place on the Jordan River was the entrance of the Jews into the Promised Land, in the New Testament it is Jesus Christ who is considered the entrance to the Promised Land. Typologically speaking, the Church is the spiritual Promised Land in Christ, and Christians enter into their spiritual Promised Land (i.e. the Church) via the waters of the Jordan.

As a proof of this connection, and where physical meets spiritual, several churches and Byzantine ruins can be found on both sides of the Jordan River.

“Our monastery is not built in that particular spot out of the blue,” says Patriarch Theophilos, “It was most likely originally built on a site where the ancient Israelites had set up an altar for prayer.”

The site of Qaser al Yahud also happens to be where the Prophet Elijah went to heaven with his carriage, and his disciple Elisha crossed and succeeded him. It is later, of course, where Saint John baptized Jesus, and also where Saint Mary of Egypt went to spend her life of repentance.

From the surrounding desert came the origins of asceticism and monasticism so revered in Orthodoxy, with the first example of Saint John the Forerunner, who when asked about his identity said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord (John 1:23).”

But Qaser al Yahud, whose winds once carried voices of prophets and whose waters embraced their bodies, now holds beneath its vast stretch of earth thousands of devices designed to kill. It doesn’t seem fitting that this is where the story should lead.

For this reason, with the push of Patriarch Theophilos and with support of the Churches, the HALO Trust, a non-profit humanitarian mine clearance organization based in Scotland and the United States, has stepped in to demine the entire area. It is one of a few projects they have conducted in the West Bank, and one of many around the world.

Over the course of a year, the HALO Trust has obtained approval from the respective Israeli and Palestinian governmental authorities, mine action authorities, as well as the heads of the Greek Orthodox, Franciscan, Armenian, Russian, Coptic, Romanian, Ethiopian, and Syrian Churches, who each have a property on the site.

With this full cooperation as its backdrop, the HALO Trust has now entered the beginning stages of fundraising for the two-year, $4 million endeavor.

There are some challenges on the horizon. The land, bleached and cracked under the summer sun, shows signs of having been flooded during the rainy season. When the river rises, the land shifts, which means that mines have likely also shifted over the course of 50 years. The land, which the HALO Trust mostly demines manually with local workers, is checked meter by meter.

The concealed traps within the church buildings also present uncertainty, since there are no maps of where they’ve been laid or how they’ve been set. Experts will look for metal rods and other conspicuous fragments to decipher where they are and how to dismantle them. The goal is to preserve the buildings as much as possible, while making sure no threats are left inside.

When the HALO Trust raises enough of the proposed budget to begin work, a team of hired locals will be trained to excavate and destroy the mines.

In addition to the benefit of clearing the land, the employment opportunities for local people are a boost to their families and communities.

Once the Churches take back their properties and land, they hope to revive the entire area to be an oasis for locals and the more than 300,000 pilgrims who visit a small, shared and open piece of the Baptism Site each year. They will finally be able to provide refuge and refreshment to visitors, as they once did long ago.

Part of HALO’s mission is to leave areas they’ve demined better off than they were before. When owners are handed back their land, they’re able to reclaim their livelihoods. For example, a recently cleared area near Bethlehem, a town called Hussan, has been handed back to the original landowners – or rather, the landowners’ now grown children. They were taught by experts, provided by the HALO Trust, how to cultivate the land to grow the most diverse and wage-yielding crops.

Anyone who wishes to make a contribution to the clearance of the Baptism Site can do so through The HALO Trust official website:

https://www.halotrust.org/baptismsite/

This article is published in the Palestine-Israel Journal October 2015 issue entitled “Religion and the Conflict.”

Given the state of world affairs, it’s hard to imagine that one of the oldest and most successful examples of a religious institution thriving peacefully amid political turmoil lies in the heart of the world’s most notorious conflict, especially when that institution is part and parcel to the very land in question.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the oldest continuous and only local religious institution in the Holy Land. Autocephalous (self-governing) in administration, it does not orient itself toward an outside authority in the way that the Catholic presence in Jerusalem refers to the Vatican, for example. The Orthodox Church’s Patriarch, who as a bishop is the direct successor of the Apostle James, is recognized by the local governmental authorities of its jurisdiction, and represents all Christians of the Holy Land. Even the ecclesiastical courts are recognized by both Jordanian and Israeli law.

Finding Equilibrium in the Political Realm.

The approach of the Church of Jerusalem to remain an apolitical entity, an idea which is rooted in theology but applied at every practical level, has contributed to its own long-lasting survival and growth in the Holy Land throughout ages of invasion, war, and entry into modernity. Herein lie some important lessons for the various religions, governments and social spheres that constitute the region. One of the biggest questions facing all of them is to what extent and how exactly religion fits at once with politics into the Holy Land, which by definition invites both a religious and political atmosphere.

What makes the case of the Patriarchate such an intriguing one for any person or entity seeking to strike the right balance between religion and politics, free speech and respect of beliefs, is that it is based in a city that is primarily important because of its significance to religious groups yet politically crucial to most of the world. If the delicate dance between religion and politics can work here, in this diverse, tense place where religion is the raison d’être, it can work anywhere.

After the State of Israel, the Patriarchate is the nation’s largest landholder, even owning the land upon which the Knesset building stands today. Many local Palestinian Christians speak or are familiar with the Greek language, which is a remnant of Palestine’s Byzantine past, and almost every clergyman speaks Arabic.

While, over time, other groups came to stake their claims on the Holy Land, the influence of the Greek Orthodox (or more accurately, the Rum Orthodox, referring to the Christianized and Hellenized Roman Empire), did not diminish. Even amid destruction and loss of life, including the Persian invasion, centuries of Arab-Muslim rule, and the brutal Crusader period, among others, the Church endured and maintained a high status by the governing authorities of the time.

For example, the acknowledgment of the Patriarchate’s authority through its classification as a “millet” (a separate legal court for a confessional community) by the Ottomans, allowed it to continue to actually own all its public properties, maintaining the Patriarch as the titleholder and administrator of all lands registered in his name as well as under the name of the Orthodox community. This explains the Patriarchate’s control of the Orthodox communities’ public properties in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and also its ability to register lands as waqf to this day. The Status Quo law, implemented during Ottoman times is still followed, continuing to guarantee the rightful authority of the Greek Orthodox Church over most of the Christian holy places, as well as protecting other rights involving property ownership and its legal status.

Historical Ties with Muslim-Majority Nations

Until today, the Patriarchate actually gives legitimacy to the historical claims that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have over the Muslim holy places – claims which stem from the Covenant of Omar. This covenant was the agreement made between Patriarch Sophronios and Caliph Omar ibn al Khattab during the Muslim invasion of Jerusalem in 637 AD. Their agreement has been the foundation upon which legal agreements between the Patriarchate and the governments of its jurisdictional authority have been made since.

The legal jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem includes lands today that are within the borders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Gulf State of Qatar; all majority Muslim regions. While bordering countries are also Muslim majority and are unequivocally experiencing Christian and other minority persecution, the Patriarchate enjoys a great respect from the local and regional civil authorities, and indeed maintains a very special relationship with the Islamic world, including Arab, Ottoman and other Muslim cultures.

Although Qatar and the Arabian Gulf share a history with Christianity (histories of local saints and ancient Christian mosaics are until today being uncovered in their desert regions) it wasn’t until 1997 that Archimandrite Theophilos (now Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem) had traveled to Qatar in order to fulfill the pastoral needs of the country’s Christian expatriates. Due to his diplomatic relations with the former emir Sheikh Hamad ibn Al Thani, and the help of the former American ambassador to Qatar, an agreement was made for a plot of land upon which the construction of a church building was permitted. Saint Isaac and Saint George’s Church is the first modern-day Church in Qatar, and one of the only in the entire Gulf region. According to Archbishop Makarios, who has been leading the Christian flock in Qatar for two decades, it is an example of how to be united as Christians and have symbiosis between Christians and Muslims in that part of the world. He performs Divine Liturgy in Arabic, Greek, Serbian, Russian and English for a cultural mosaic of believers.

As a result of the pastoral concern of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and its respectful, ever-strengthening relationship with the authorities of Qatar, five other Christian denominations were also given the approval to build houses of worship. The area of Abu Hamour, where the designated land for church buildings is located, has transformed from an empty stretch of desert into a bustling, well-known area of Doha that serves as a beacon of tolerance and respect, and has helped catapult Qatar into a league of its own in the Islamic world.

These are a few examples of success stories for the Church in terms of religion finding its equilibrium with the political realm and with other religions, including religions that do not make a distinction between religious and civil law. Interestingly, while the Church maintains a role that is purely spiritual in its mission, it is precisely the significance of the millennia-old spiritual establishment that makes it a political heavyweight in Jerusalem.

Fearing the “Other” Is Regressive and Fruitless

An examination of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem could also provide some important answers for societies who fear the “other,” proving that banning of religious symbols in France, outlawing minarets in Switzerland, executing Muslims who convert to Christianity in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations, are all regressive and fruitless approaches.

According to the Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, there are two reasons why the Patriarchate has thrived here through the ages. The first, and theological answer, he says, is based on the words of Jesus Christ, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it,” (Matt. 16:18).

The second, according to his own experience as a member of the monastic order of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher, is the fact that the Patriarchate has never deviated from its purely spiritual mission of guarding the holy places as places of active worship, open to all people regardless of race or creed. In one of the Holy Land’s most powerful examples, Jews, Muslims and people from various other religions and ethnic backgrounds can be found at any given time visiting the Church of Holy Sepulcher.

This example can be applied to the world’s comparable disputes about common space: there is room for everyone. It is the sanctity of the holy places over which Orthodox Christians have claims because it is their sanctity that gives them value. More important than asserting physical claims of exclusivity is knowledge of one’s own identity, and consequently one’s own values. Upon achieving this, keeping out “the other” is a waste of time.

In a world so often at war over territory, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem offers an enlightened view. For example, one persistent subject of concern regarding the conflict here is the political status of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a city that’s most important attribute is being a place of sacredness to millions of people who align with one of the Abrahamic faiths. By definition that means that one particular piece of land often carries significant meaning for more than one religion. It is for this reason that the Church values people’s claims to the sacredness of the holy places, as opposed to exclusive land claims. According to the Church, the holiness of a particular place is not at all dependent upon our presence there, so anyone should be allowed to share in its sanctity.

But not every individual in a diverse city like Jerusalem respects the sacred sites of other religions, or their respective followers. The Patriarchate has experienced numerous and increasing incidents of violence against their Brotherhood or vandalism of holy shrines.

Its official position points again to the words of Jesus Christ, expressed by Saint John the Evangelist, that God is love, and “anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and anyone who is a murderer has no eternal life abiding in him,” (1 John 3:15). In terms of taking legal or punitive action against perpetrators, the Church leaves the full responsibility to police and other public safety officials.

Cultural Evolution of Humankind Founded on Theocracy

In a time when blasphemous content can spark acts of vengeance, such as the violent January 2015 incident in Paris where writers at the Charlie Hebdo magazine were shot in retaliation for an offensive expression of the prophet Muhammad, the Church offers a powerful example from a religious institution. It recognizes its spiritual role exclusively, consciously declines political involvement of any kind (not including humanitarian aid), and condemns all forms of violence. This is what helped the institution and the Christian presence in the Holy Land maintain itself through the ages. Today this approach is largely responsible for the Patriarchate’s remarkable good relations with all the governing authorities of its jurisdiction, which have historically been at war with each other.

While separating religion and politics is at the heart of the Patriarchate’s mission, one particular piece of advice from Patriarch Theophilos is that no metaphoric wall should be erected when separating “church” (i.e. religion) and state. He urges all leaders of nations not to disregard the role of religion in any national context or framework because of the fact that religion has determined, shaped and formed cultural identity over the course of human history. While the idea of separating church and state seems a very logical one, and has been a successful standard for most modern-day democracies, implementing such separation is not a “black or white” process.

In the words of Patriarch Theophilos, it is important to understand that the cultural evolution and development of mankind has its fountain in theocracy. The breakthrough person – the one who actually challenged this theocratic history and human inclination – is Jesus Christ, who famously said to those who provoked him on the subject, render unto Caesar what is due to Caesar, and to God what is due unto God. That idea is what the Patriarchate of Jerusalem credits itself as doing. Without rejecting or renouncing religion, keeping at the forefront of our collective consciousness the idea of respecting the other seems to be the key to thriving in a place like the Holy Land and in conflict. Patriarch Theophilos admits that every real stumbling block of peaceful coexistence and reconciliation in the region has been religious fundamentalism.

Education Combats Fundamentalism and Develops Respect

One of the most effective ways to combat fundamentalist ideology and to manifest mutual respect is through education. The Patriarchal schools, which are the oldest schools in the Holy Land and were the only schools in the Ottoman Empire, are extremely valuable in surviving and even surmounting the challenges facing the region. Their number-one objective is to provide young people with knowledge of their identity. More than 8,500 Muslim and Christian students are enrolled, and 800 employed (with a special emphasis on providing dignified employment for women in traditional society) in the 18 schools throughout the Patriarchate’s jurisdiction. Classes focus on general education, not including religion, due to the fact that the majority of students are Muslim. Currently, the Patriarchal schools rank second and third place among all schools in Jordan. The hope is that through comprehensive education, a generation of well-informed, critically thinking, confident individuals who have learned to grow together, will be prepared for the world that awaits them.

While globalized society, especially in the Middle East, continues to face dilemmas that are being articulated in the form of a choice between secular or religious rule, it’s important to remember that there need not be a choice at all. In one of the most conflicted and diverse regions of the world, a shining example of how to maneuver between religion and politics, seems to lie in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. As a longtime survivor of conflict and promoter of peace, its lesson is to make respect for the other a priority and keep the focus on one’s own mission.

Anna Koulouris

for 

PALESTINE – ISRAEL  JOURNAL.

The Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan River/Qasr-el-Yahud (PART I)

By Dr Theodosios Mitropoulos, architect

Topography of the area of the Monastery and of the baptismal site (In Arab: El – Maghtas), (images 1,2)

Historical Elements

The history of this Holy Monastery begins in very ancient times, prior to the 4^th c. AD. The present-day monastery, which was built in later times, has a rectangular ground plan measuring 37,74 m. x 36,93 m. and occupies an area of approximately 1.343 m^2. The perimeter walls, specifically their uppermost portion, terminate at battlements, which lend the monument the form of a Medieval castle. This is in all likelihood why its Arabian name is Qasr el Yahud [The castle of the Jews] (see image 13).

The place-name of the monastery is recorded in the 4^th c. on the renowned Madaba map as “THE BAPTISM OF ST JOHN”, on the exact location where according to Jewish and Christian tradition was the site of the crossing of the Jordan river (Bethabara, “place of crossing”) by the tribes of Israel who set out to reach the Promised Land. In the days of the Lord, Bethabara was the name not only of the site but of the entire area where communication took place between those inhabiting the opposite bank of the river (see image 3), where there must have been stations for the receipt of custom, sheds for goods, and a bridge connecting the inhabitants of the area (Perea and Judea). This is the conclusion drawn by most Palestiniologists, due to the discovery of coins from the years of the Maccabees on the opposite shore of the river.

 [Beth-Abara. According to KJV version of John, the place was called “Bethabara”. In Hebrew this may mean “the house of the crossing” of the river of Jordan. There were many crossings along the river, and a probable place will be closer to the Sea of Galilee.

Beth-Abara is referred in the old testament in conjunction with the Jordan river, so it is very likely to be the same site. In the story of the victory of Judge Gideon over the Midians (Judges 7: 24): “And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill-country of Ephraim, saying: ‘Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.’ So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan”].

In this precise area, where the Lord was baptized by John the Baptist (The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is described in Matthew (3:13-17), told briefly in Mark (1:9-11), mentioned in Luke (3:21-22), and implied in John (1:29-34). In these texts John performs an important ritual: announcing that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah), a small church must have been founded before the 4^th c. Obviously since then the area has been established as a site of veneration in remembrance of the Baptism.

The Madaba Mosaic Map (see image 4) was composed based on the Onomastikon by Eusebius, as well as on knowledge of the Holy Pilgrimage Sites and locations, which were recorded on the map with great precision in terms of their toponymy and survey. On this precise map, the ancient Monastery is depicted on the exact site of the present-day Monastery of John the Baptist. (Theodosius also described the Church of John the Baptist built there by the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I. He said this square-shaped church was built on high arches to allow flood waters to pass underneath. Archaeologists believe they have uncovered remains of the piers on which the church was built).

The ancient topography of the location of the Lord’s Baptism is identified with Evangelic information which report that Jesus Christ, after his baptism in the Jordan river, was“…led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”. This same event is also the Christian tradition on the Church of Jerusalem which dates to the 4^th c. and has been preserved on the Madaba Map.

Further strong evidence is provided by Origen who in 220 AD studied the Holy Lands and was the first after the Evangelists to refer to the site where the Baptist baptized people and the Lord was baptized by him.

According to the tradition of our Orthodox Church, when St Helena came to the Holy Lands in order to build the All-Holy Church of the Resurrection, she also built a sublime church and guesthouse in honour of the Holy Trinity or John the Baptist, on the Baptismal site (Migne Patr. Vol. 146, p. 113). Subsequent to this event is the construction during the 6^th c. AD of two large guesthouses for the pilgrims and the Illuminators, namely monks-catechizers assigned to baptize pilgrims in the Jordan river. Further significant information is mentioned in the Itinerarium Burdigalense [Bordeaux Itinerary] in 333 AD: “Inde ad Jordanem, ubi Dominus a Johanne baptizatus est, millia V. Ibi est locus super flumen monticulus in illa ripa ubi raptus est Helias in celum”. Finally, we should not forget that between 358-360 AD, Basil the Great as well as the then known teacher Eubulus, visited Jerusalem, and were both baptized in the Jordan river, at the then customary baptismal site, by Maximus, Archbishop of Jerusalem.

It is however true that there were other baptismal sites, as recently found by archaeologists, on the opposite bank, where traces have been discovered of an Early Christian Basilica (see image 5), next to baptismal pools especially set for this purpose. (The extensive excavations along the stream bed have uncovered a string of ancient churches and baptismal pools with some remains dating back 1,800 to 2,000 years to the Roman era during or just after Jesus’ lifetime. The churches date back to the Byzantine period, beginning in the fourth century when Christianity first took hold in the region… Yizhar Hirschfeld).

Water for these baptisms probably flowed from the Ain el Kharrar spring, noted on the mosaic map under the name “Ainon” or “Saphsapha”, and poured into the Jordan river, covering a distance shorter than 2 kilometers, exactly opposite the monastery of John the Baptist. (A seventh century pilgrim to the area, John Moschus, noted Jesus’ baptism on the Jordan’s east bank took place near a site called Saphsapha, meaning “Willow.” The same Saphsapha site is noted on the ancient Madaba map in the area of today’s Wadi el-Kharrar excavations). In the area where the spring is found, a peculiar construction is shown on the historic mosaic map. (In 570, for example, the Christian traveler Antonin de Plaisance described a site two miles east of the Jordan River as “the place where the Lord was baptized … and the spring where St. John used to baptize).

Only rightly then does Cyril of Jerusalem preaches that “Water is the beginning of everything and the Jordan river is the beginning of the Gospels”, while the Holy Chrysostom assures that “The beginning of the conquest of earth and the conquest of the Kingdom of Heaven is the Jordan river”.

According to historical sources, the monastery of John the Baptist was ruined during the invasion of the Persians, its monks and other residents slaughtered. Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos (1143-1180 AD) will reconstruct the ruined Monastery which will be preserved until the time of the Crusaders before it succumbs once again to destruction by earthquake.

The earthquakes of 1166, 1168, 1170, as reported by William of Tyre, will cause great destructions, e.g. abandonment of the H. Monastery which, according to information by Ioannis Fokas, will be constructed from its foundations by Manuel the Purple-Born.

The Monastery of John the Baptist will be inhabited by monks until the early 15^th century, but after that, successive Arab raids in the region will bring about its dereliction and abandonment. The Monastery will become a refuge for bandits, which will lead the Turkish Government to blow it up. Benjamin Ioannides (The Proskynetarion of the Holy Land, p. 318) reports that among the ruins an ancient icon was salvaged, with the inscription “Here is the lamb of God and we have found the desired one”.

The historical Monastery of John the Baptist before its last destruction by earthquake in 1927

The truth for the detailed construction history of the monument will be revealed once reparation works begin and the archeologist’s spade brings to light more recent elements about its indeed complex and obscure history. It is true that the H. Monastery of the Baptist lies in an area plagued since ancient times by powerful earthquakes, the epicenter of which is found in the Dead Sea. The seismological study of professor Arvanitakis, accomplished during the 19^th c., with references on the seismicity of this area of Palestine, is very interesting in this respect because it includes not only the dates of the earthquakes but also their intensity and destructive outcomes (see relevant article on earthquakes in the Patriarchate’s News Gate: https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/gr/2012/01/21/5192 ) (see image 6).

Studying the ground plan of the present-day edifice, we can see that it is comprised of five barrel-vaulted areas, where the thickness of the load bearing walls reaches 2 meters. The arrangement of these areas is extended from the east to the west, whilst it has been found that each area belongs to a different construction phase. This specific arrangement, as well as the building style of the underground semicircular arches is reminiscent of the style of the underground areas of the adjacent Monastery of St Gerasimus. From this it may be inferred that these constructions must belong to the same time period.

In 2003, the undersigned was instructed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem to conduct an architectural survey of the monument. During this process, Laser measuring instruments were used, with very good results in the final designing of the plans. The survey (site measurements) which lasted for 15 days was conducted in the presence of Israeli military authorities, as the monument falls today within the Israel-Jordan border, an area mined and barred to the public (see image 7).

Before the devastating earthquake of 1927 the Monastery was a magnificent two-storey building, as shown in a rare photograph from the late 19^th c. (see image 8).

On the first floor and at the center of the ground plan of the complex stood the Katholikon of the Monastery, a cross-domed church. Of note was the imposing entrance to the Church, between external piers which decorated the western façade of the monument and supported a vast triangular pediment which lent the monument a strictly classical baroque style.

In the north and south wing of the complex, on the first floor, lie the Hegoumen’s Quarters and the guesthouse, whilst at the southwest corner of the Church, to the right of the central door, stood a double, peculiarly low, bell tower. The dome of the church was shaped after a melon (melonen cupel) while the cylindrical drum bore 10 or 12 windows. Discerned are the battlements which decorated the high perimeter walls and which in their majority have survived to this day.

Almost the entire northern façade of the Monastery, facing towards Jordan, was protected by an immense inclined embankment which in all likelihood was meant to protect the Monastery from projectiles or to reinforce the northern wall against earthquakes. It appears that, because of the 1927 devastating earthquake, the first floor including the Katholikon, the Hegoumen’s Quarters and the guesthouse were completely ruined. An unsuccessful effort followed to reconstruct the Hegoumen’s Quarters and guesthouses with the use of reinforced concrete of very low quality, with the now well-known results (see image 11).

It appears that the idea of the construction of the church above the ground is abandoned, whilst the underground church is still used to this day. At the same time, on the wide roof terrace a dome of small dimensions will be constructed in order to illuminate the sunless underground areas of the ground floor (see image 12). In due time, the webpage of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem will present new elements on the progress of renovation and reparation works carried out at the Monastery.

Dr Theodosios Mitropoulos, Architect of the Church of the Resurrection

HOLY MONASTERY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

GROUND FLOOR

CHART OF DESTRUCTIONS AND REPARATIONS AT THE HOLY CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION, JERUSALEM

(By Dr Theodosios Mitropoulos, Architect)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

John 1: 28-34

”These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God..”

Matthew 3: 13-17

” Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ”

Mark 1:9-11

”At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke (3:21-22)

”When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

“Conference calls on religious leaders to pursue peace”.

By  Jonah Mandel, Jerusalem Post correspondent.
03- 30- 2011 05:16

“God survived nationalism, socialism, communism, Nazism and secularism. Now He’s back!”

KIEV – A new forum for interfaith dialogue was launched on Tuesday in Kiev, with the announcement of the annual International Inter-Confessional Forum.

This initiative came at the end of a two-day gathering of more than 300 religious and civic leaders for the World Religions and Civil Society United against Hatred and Extremism.

The event, organized by Oleksandr Feldman, a member of the Ukrainian parliament was part of the efforts of his Institute of Human Rights and Prevention of Extremism and Xenophobia.

Along with the religious and spiritual revival the world is currently experiencing, the accordant rise in the status of religious leaders should give them a more active role in leading the efforts of ending animosity between peoples in conflict, argued some of the prominent speakers.

“Peacemaking is usually a deed in the hands of secular political leadership, and religious forces are now viewed as the nemeses of such efforts,” former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg told the plenum attendants. “It must be asked how you reconcile a nemesis into a friend, and how to reconcile between secular forces that make peace and religious leaders.

“The number one survivor of the 20th century is God, who survived nationalism, socialism, communism, Nazism in the most secular, man-made era – but now in the 21st century, God is back,” he added.

A similar sentiment was expressed by the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr.

“A number of illusions existed in the beginning of the 20th century… but they became nonviable,” he said. “That century was of the crises of religion, when we were prosecuted. This century sees interest in religion, that’s why we’re here to find answers.”

Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem Theophilos III – making his first visit to Ukraine for the conference – said that “we have always heard that religion is part of root of violence, and cannot escape the fact that some adherents of the three faiths have cloaked their violence with religion.”

He noted that it was the duty of the religious leadership to condemn such violence and educate people about peaceful existence, while stressing the religious sources encouraging peace.

“Coexistence implies partnership,” and that alone, he said.

“But symbiosis means merging,” which is the more appropriate attitude, he said.

Theophilus later rejected the notion that interfaith dialogue should be halted in the wake of the recent terror attacks against Jews in Israel, as announced by Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger. Both of them are members of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land.

“It would be wrong to not talk. Dialogue helps people understand, confront the difficulties,” he told the Post.

Feldman, who is also the the Chairman of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee and hosted the Post at the event, stressed the need to begin educational processes with children, who unlike their parents, still possess open minds.

“Education is the key to creating tolerance,” Feldman  said.

“The children of today need guidance in religious tolerance and sensitivities. If we start with the young, we have hope for the future.”

He also noted the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa as evidence of the need for leaders of all faiths to come together in addressing hatred and intolerance – and rejected the idea of freezing dialogue between faiths in the Holy Land.

“Only good can come out of dialogue between our communities,” he said. “Stopping to talk will solve nothing and will only be viewed by the terrorists as an achievement in disrupting all the successes our communities have already achieved.”

The event did not only address the volatile Middle East, but other areas in the world with religiously-motivated violence. It also focused on Ukraine, which besides the many ethnic minorities it is home to, contains a division even in the most mainstream religion of its Orthodox Church.

Asked whether the Israeli and Ukrainian cases bear any relevance to one another, directorgeneral of the Ukrainian Jewish Community Eduard Dolinsky answered yes.

“The Ukrainians can definitely learn from the Middle East,” he said. “Look at what can happen when the sides cannot reach agreements”.

By Jonah Mandel, “Jerusalem Post” correspondent.

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“Merry Orthodox Christmas”

While Christians in the West celebrate Christmas on December 25, Orthodox Christians keep the Feast of Christ’s Nativity on January 7. Here the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, the 141st bishop of Jerusalem in a succession that stretches back unbroken, by tradition, to James, the Brother of Jesus, reflects on the meaning of Christmas in the land where Jesus was born.

Every year Christians from the Holy Land as well as pilgrims from the world over gather in Bethlehem for the Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ. Here, in one of the oldest church buildings in the world in continuous use, the faithful come to celebrate their belief that God entered human history in the person of Jesus. For Christians, hope has a face: the face of the infant Jesus. Because, Christians say, in the face of this person we see the very face of God.

For Orthodox Christians, the life of faith is not built simply on principles for living a good life, though such principles are certainly important. For us, the life of faith is grounded first and foremost in this historical event, in which God took on our human life in all its fullness so that we, in our turn, might be drawn into the fullness of God’s own divine life.

The first church to be built on the traditional site of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem was begun by the Empress Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great, in the year 327. Beneath the church is the grotto of the Nativity. Here for 1700 years the faithful have venerated the place of Jesus’ birth. In the year 565, the Emperor Justinian I, who also built the great church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, rebuilt the Church of the Nativity, and over the centuries there have been many alterations and repairs to the building. When the Persians invaded the Holy Land in the early 7th century, the Church of the Nativity was one of the few Christian holy sites not to be destroyed. It remains a unique architectural masterpiece of the early Christian era.

Here, in this ancient and holy place, Orthodox Christians will gather to welcome the birth of their Savior today. One of the most famous features of the church is the low door at its entrance, through which everyone, from princes and presidents to shopkeepers and students, must enter bent over in adoration and humility.

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been a constant witness to this truth of faith and of history for 2000 years. We endeavor to ensure that the holy sites of this Holy Land remain places of pilgrimage and religious observance for all people of good will, for we understand the power of place and of history to make God real for us. We understand that God transcends all material things and all human constructs; but we also understand that the presence and knowledge of God are mediated to us by holy places. We all know of those “thin” places where heaven and earth seem to touch, and time and eternity meet. The grotto of the Nativity is just such a place.

There has been a Christian presence in the Holy Land since the time of Jesus and the apostles, and in this region we have come to know something of the power of place and history both for good and for ill. But for us Orthodox in the Holy Land, whatever the political or economic circumstances in which we find ourselves, Christmas is a yearly reminder that hope has a face, the face of a newborn child who is greeted by shepherds and worshipped by Wise Men.

At Christmas we Orthodox sing, “Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One…for our sake the eternal God was born as a little Child!” These words describe a wonderful paradox. For not only does a Virgin give birth – itself a sign to us of an inexpressible example of divine-human co-operation – but “the eternal God is born as a little Child.” While a Western mind may stop to ask how such a thing might be possible, the Orthodox mind allows itself to be embraced by mystery. For what better hope could there be than God himself breaking into human history.

Our sacred history lies at the heart of our identity as Christians in the Holy Land. We live in the places where that sacred history unfolded, and here Jews and Muslims, as well as Christians, are living witnesses to it in all its complexity. But at the heart of that complexity remains the person of Jesus, who is the face of hope.

Hope is not optimism. Hope does not turn its eyes away from the truth of life in all its beauty and in all its danger. In the face of the life of the world as it is, hope insists that there is a different way for the human family to live altogether, a way that was originally intended for us, and a way in which we could walk again if we were but willing to do so. The birth of this Child has made that hope a genuine possibility for the human family, and it is the responsibility of faithful people to be co-creators with God of a new future for creation that ensures the well-being of all the unique creatures of God.

For Christians in the Holy Land, the life of faith is not a decoration to an existence of other accomplishments. The life of faith is a journey into union with the One who is our Life and our Hope, our Light and our true Wisdom. January 7 in Bethlehem we shall gather once again to proclaim this Hope to all the world: “Make ready, O Bethlehem, for paradise is opened!”.

By His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, 141st Patriarch of Jerusalem, January 6, 2010