All language subtitles for EN - Betleem, orașul Nașterii Domnului - filmdocumentar

Once upon a time, long ago, there was a man named Jesse in Bethlehem,

and this Jesse had 8 sons,

the youngest of Jesse's sons was called David.

David was a shepherd and tended sheep near Bethlehem.

and this shepherd with brown hair and a beautiful face,

was also unusually strong and valiant.

From a shepherd he became a king.

As a king, he composed, among other things, two wonderful songs:

One, to the one most adorned with beauty than the sons of men,

and the second, to the empress in a golden garment.

And these songs he played as king with the harp in his high tower in Jerusalem.

To whose virgin and infant was King David singing 3000 years ago?

BETHLEHEM, THE CITY OF THE LORD'S BIRTH

looking at the all the way behind mountains

it's already a different country

you know that's Jordan, in the Bible we call it the Moab mountains,

the moabites one of these mountains has the name of Mount Nebo that's where Moses

stood for instance where he gave his last speech, repetition we call it,

he repeated the law to the Israelites, right? it happened on one of these mountains,

you could see even the, beginning of the story of the Israelites

entering the city entering the whole country but one of those people the moabites

is a woman, it's the smallest book in the Old Testament. Her name is Ruth.

Ruth comes here and I love to explain that story here usually cause

that's where she was picking the rest of the Harvest just down here in this Valley

this is when a guy with the name Boaz saw her and asked who's that beautiful lady

and they told them, her husband already dead is from your own family.

So she gets more and more stuff, she was poor from her she was gleaning

taking the rest of the Harvest and I know we spoke a little bit about

olive oil and olives. When I pick my olives I keep some on the tree for the

the poor people you know to come and pick it up. This is the same tradition

you know we still give something for the poor they come gleaning meaning after

you're done with harvesting they come and pick the rest, but this woman

became the wife of this guy Boaz and she has a child with her name Obed.

Obed has a child with her name Jesse and Jesse gets eight children seven of them

when the prophet Samuel came to the city. 1,000 BC he checked him out,

he's like: I don't feel these guys going to be the king of the Land.

There is one more the father said I have one more he's my youngest, he's my shepherd

he's in the fields down here. He was 13 years old and his name was David,

so the King David this is the place where he was, this is where Samuel saw him,

anointed him with oil knowing he's going to become the new king of the land

Bethlehem Ephrata or Bethlehem Judah,

which translated from Hebrew means the house of bread,

is not a holy place only for a billion Christians,

but also for Jews and Muslims .

It is the place where the wife of the patriarch Jacob

and the mother of the patriarch Joseph, Rachel was buried.

The place where the prophet David was born and was anointed king by Samuel.

and then the place where the son...

true God from true God became man.

for us and for our salvation.

could truly be born from the Holy Spirit a divine-human person

There was Christ, this baby who was born

more than 2000 years ago, right in this cave in Bethlehem

How God, the second person of the Holy Trinity,

born of the Father without Mother, He was able to incarnate from a Mother without a Father.

How could this abyss be tamed?

this often frightening presence

that until then spoke to the people through thunder and lightning

so that they had the will to become human.

Although a quiet town that retains a rural atmosphere,

today's Bethlehem located 10Km south of Jerusalem

and with a population of approximately 25,000,

contrasts with the Bethlehem that most of us imagine.

The stone houses built into the slope surround

the crowded markets and oriental bazaars,

where Palestinians trade fruits, vegetables or household items.

While waiting for customers, shopkeepers praise their wares

in a picturesque atmosphere,

and children help their parents with their daily activities.

They sell fresh vegetables and fruits

Agriculture, trade and tourism are the main pillars of the economy of Bethlehem

which is more of a market town

where Bedouins from the nearby Judean desert

trade their products.

In the east, the most important place for a community is the square

around which the life and activities of the city's inhabitants gravitate

the old city is there right? it's funny that... imagine in Europe,

in your city I'm sure the main church is in the middle, right? almost ....

yeah it's always like this, I have been in Europe and the church is in the middle and

everything rotates around: circle bigger circle you know, when you're in the orient

the most important thing for oriental people is the market, it's the fruits and

vegetable market that's the most important so the church is actually the

end of Bethlehem like behind the church you're already in a different city right?

so the church is not in the center of the city cuz the end at that time was

not the center was at the end East slope of that city

The stone church in the shape of a ship (boat)

is a basilica that impresses with its austerity,

simplicity and its very special grandeur

A was built in the year 335 by the Holy Empress Elena

exactly above the manger where Jesus was born

in the year 529 the emperor Justinian demolishes part of the church

and builds again.

It is the only church of those built by Empress Elena

that was not demolished according to Tradition

because when the Persians came and destroyed all the churches in the Holy Land,

entering this church of the Nativity,

they saw painted on the walls

the Magi who brought gifts to the baby Jesus.

And they asked who they were that they were dressed in the clothes of our ancestors.

they are your ancestors who brought gifts to the baby Jesus;

because the Magi came from Persia.

And supposedly that's why they left the church standing

because there were magi here.

So the church is 1700 years old.

It was recently renovated before the pandemic.

You will see inside, superb mosaics

from the Byzantine period were discovered .

The entrance to the church is through a rather low door

that forces you to bend down, called the gate of humility.

Reconfigured in this way between the 15th and 16th centuries

when a market was operating in front of the church,

because the animals were entering and defiling the Holy Place,

the locals took measures,

and thus the size of the entrance door was reduced.

Christians wanted to do something against the animals coming in, a donkey's coming in

a horse is coming in. this is nonsense this is a church what can we do?

what can we do? simple we thought let's make the door smaller so we made

the door smaller no horse could get in nothing could get in and it's security

for the church. Today everybody says, this is the Gate of humble the Gate of humility

you need to bow to the place where Jesus was born, it's an amazing

idea you bow to Jesus but really ... why they made it smaller is more

security for the church, so in early Christianity, people used to believe

outside and there is a room for baptism and then you could go in that room

for baptism is not for baptism anymore you're Orthodox, I'm Orthodox and we know

that this room is for let's say women who are unclean let's say if it's your

period or if you just have a child you're not allowed into the church

you have a chair you sit there you could be part of the Liturgy so that still exist,

but only for orthodox you know... Catholics don't care about this anymore

Luther, Protestants also it's not part of the laws, Church laws. This is mainly

Orthodox laws because we kept the old tradition which is actually Jewish

tradition, you need to understand that the early Christians were Jewish people

Jesus himself was a Jew and many of their tradition stayed in the church

especially in the Orthodoxy because we're seen as the oldest church or

we kept the oldest laws till now, right? so you still sense this in this church till today

Over time the church was consolidated and enlarged,

so that the complex covers about 12,000 m2.

The church is divided into 3 compartments.

Catholic, Armenian and Orthodox.

Although the Orthodox, through the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem,

are the ones who hold the administrative responsibility

over the grotto of the Nativity,

any action or change

requires the consent of the leaders of the 3 Christian communities.

Inside the church, the mosaic of the church of St. Elena is preserved.

Discovered following an earthquake in 1927,

this floor mosaic

made of very thin pieces

and in natural colors is called royal mosaic.

The gold and silver plated mosaic on the walls

is from the Crusader period in 1160. The paintings

on 13 of the church's 44 columns

date from the same time period.

The Iconostasis, which was carved in Wallachia (RO)

It is a donation of the ruler Şerban Cantacuzino

Big secret! How was born now, more than 2 millennia

the King of the world in this exact place.

How God humbled Himself to be born of a Virgin.

How He took human flesh and in His body He dwelt...

which is Uncontainable.

How He, who is before time, descended into time.

Mysteriously and beyond comprehension,

at the fullness of time, a virgin from a humble house of Nazareth

received in her womb from the Spirit

the One who would fundamentally rewrite

the destiny of man and the world.

Because Octavian Augustus, the first emperor of Rome,

had ordered a census,

the Righteous Joseph together with the Virgin Mary

had to leave Nazareth,

where they lived and had a home, towards Jerusalem.

It's just that they couldn't find a place to shelter in Jerusalem

, so they went to Bethlehem.

A peaceful settlement in those times,

about which the prophet Micah had said 800 years before:

"and you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, although you are small among the thousands of Judah,"

"from you will come the Ruler over Israel"

"and his origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity."

What must have been in the soul of this young woman who,

far from her home, almost alone

without specialized help, without any midwife, was going to give birth.

Of course, next to her was Joseph the Righteous,

but still an old man.

He was said to be in his 80s, or maybe over.

In that still and clear night

Only the star shone above the cave and a fire flickered in a hearth.

An unusual commotion gripped the entire settlement.

Something out of the ordinary was about to happen.

In the solitude of the night, in an animal stable,

Mary gave birth to Jesus

The light from beyond the heavens descended in a small shelter.

Time and the world froze.

we're in the place where Jesus was born this is the cave in a multi-cave system

and this is the last Cave of the end, people put the animals in the last cave (Mara)

which means people living they have animals, they push the animals

all the way to the end not to the front, not outside the stable is part of the house right?

the stable is in the house I know many people in Europe think

mother Mary was kicked out, no place for you, get out, no, somebody said no place for you, thus

come in to the last Cave of the end and at the end of this last cave,

we put the star as a symbol of where Jesus was born, right? people lived in caves

this is where people used to live and all the way to the end is the stable

where the animals were now Jesus was born there and after his birth his

mother wrapped him a piece of oiling cloth and laid him in a manger just down

here, so birth place and manger place. This is a beautiful cave many people

respect it Greek Orthodox, Armenians and Catholic, they pray here every day

you know as almost nine times a day there is prayer here in this cave

tourists come go steps down and then go steps up from the other side. This is the

visit to the place which is Jesus was born since the church was built on top

of the cave system, Jesus born underneath, the church in this Cave System where

Jesus was born. One thing that people keep forgetting in the Christmas story,

that mother Mary is a Jewish person and if she's a Jewish person having a child

just like in Christianity she's seen as unclean, I mean mother Mary is clean but

in the eyes of the Jewish people around her, she was seen as unclean and maybe

that's why she couldn't have a child where the people are, and that's why she

went to the last Cave of the end in this table so if you really think of it, it's

the best place where Jesus was born. Best place for her, it was safe, secured,

people lived in caves. You know people live in a cave, if you have money you're wealthy

family you build a room on top of the cave, down will be the lower room and up

will be the upper room, you make a hole and the Heat of the animals will come to you,

so we read a sentence in the Bible Jesus had his last supper in the upper

room, now you know there is a lower room and people who don't have money sleep in

the same cave with the animals but you push the animals to the end,

so no, people took care of mother Mary and the Bible is clear, the Bible says:

the time came for her to have a baby, she gave birth wrapped in swelling cloth,

she laid them in a manger, so no place for her, in the end, is connected with the time

she's having a child, it's not connected with the time they arrived because when they arrived

they stayed, they lived, she eat, she slept everything is fine, there is place,

but when she was having a child, no place, right? this is the understanding

because Jewish tradition. Judaism is a very tough religion, so many laws and regulations

and many are about the purity of women because a woman is not

pure if she's having a child, if she had a baby girl: 80 days, baby boy: 40 days

we know from the Bible abuna, that at the age of 40 days, Jesus was sent to the

temple right? so 40 days they stayed here.

The first to learn of the coming of the long-awaited Messiah

were some shepherds, humble locals, who spent the night under the open sky,

near the village of Beit Sahur, at a distance of about 2 km from Bethlehem,

a valley known today as the field of shepherds

is the place where the angel - announced the birth of the Lord.

It was given to them to hear the heavenly song

"Glory to God in the highest"

"And on earth peace between men and good will"

Today, on the place where the angels announced the birth of the Savior,

there are 2 churches: one Catholic and one Orthodox ,

and some grottoes used as shelter by shepherds,

but also by Christians of the first centuries.

But who were these locals?

To whom did the angel bring the greatest news of all time?

They were shepherds tending the sheep that were to be sacrificed at the temple,

at the Jewish Passover.

Because no grass grows in Jerusalem,

the only place where sheep can be raised

is precisely this valley in Beit Sahur,

a short distance from the Holy City.

Jerusalem is a beautiful city. It has nothing, no water, no green valleys

The greenest Valley of Jerusalem is here. Bethlehem is the fruit basket of Jerusalem.

Bethlehem is the water source of Jerusalem. We send them water all the time, right?

So this is where we believe these Shepherds were here preparing the sheeps.

to be sacrificed in the temple, behind this hill is already the Temple Mount,

Because East Bethlehem and East Jerusalem they are neighbors, there's only this hill

behind it, it is the Temple Mount, so if you think about it,

sentence that I really like, that the angel didn't appear to any Shepherds

it appeared to these specific Shepherds preparing the sheeps

to be sacrificed in the temple telling them, the person person who's going to

sacrifice himself for you is born today as if the angel is telling them

you don't need your job anymore, just go to Bethlehem, your savior is born.

why is losing your job a good thing? because these were seen as unclean people

these were seen as the lowest people. they were not allowed to go to the temple

they were not allowed to do anything, you know, so Shepherds is not a good job

A Shepherd by itself is a good thing, because every family has a Shepherd

one of their sons is a Shepherd, when David was here he was the shepherd

being a Shepherd is not a poor thing a Shepherd is a wealthy man because every

sheep cost $500 and if somebody is running around with 200 sheeps he's running

around with $100,000. He's not a poor person but these specific worker Shepherds

were poor people and were seen as low people so he's telling them you

are the ones who preparing the sacrifices but now the big sacrifice is born

you don't need it anymore because after Jesus, no more sacrification

he is the big sacrifice, he died for us on the cross. This is exactly what

the Bible of John is trying to tell us that Jesus died exactly on the same second

that the high priest started sacrificing in the temple on the same

second Jesus died when sacrifices happened right 3:00 p.m. on Friday

It was not only the shepherds who welcomed the birth of the Messiah.

In a very short time, the wise men from the east also appeared and

brought gifts to the baby: gold, myrrh and frankincence.

Gifts that are preserved and can be seen today

at the monastery of Saint Paul in Mount Athos.

These mysterious figures,

scholars, who dealt with astronomy among other things,

appear only in the Gospel according to Matthew.

Tradition says there were three.

Melchior from Persia, Baltazar from Arabia and Gaspar from India.

Together foreshadowing the heathen nations,

which Christendom was to encompass.

Some star-guided loners.

Who make a very long journey, probably on camels,

to come to worship the Sun of Righteousness.

No angel came to the Magi, they had no revelation.

They read the signs long before the Savior was born.

These people were more alert, more attentive to the message from above,

more prepared to welcome the coming of the Savior

than the religious authorities of the place.

Herod, whose palace and tomb

are in the immediate vicinity of Bethlehem,

and who believed in prophecies and signs,

thought that the one to be born might be a danger

to the throne which he would not in any way relinquish .

Then he gave a fearful command.

That of killing all the babies from 2 years old and below

that were found in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Tradition says that about 14,000 babies were killed.

This crime happened one year after the birth of the Savior.

Something unimaginable, even for those cruel times.

A river of blood and immense mourning invaded those houses.

Most of the bones of these infant martyrs

are in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Right next to the Basilica of the Nativity, at a distance of 300 meters,

there is a limestone cave managed by the Franciscan monks,

where it is said that

the Savior, the Mother of God and Saint Joseph stayed

when they received the news from the angel

that they must to go all to Egypt,

to escape from King Herod's soldiers.

Tradition says that the Mother of God fell a drop of milk

on the rock of the grotto while she was nursing,

which suddenly turned white from red

In the cave sheltered by the Roman Catholic church of St. Catherine,

which is located immediately after exiting the grotto of the birth of the Lord ,

blessed Jerome lived in the 4th century.

The one who first translated the entire Bible

from the Hebrew language into the Latin language called "Vulgate".

St Jerome is a saint from the 4th century, he translated the Bible. It took him

34 years. Imagine a guy translating, I don't know anybody in my life that spent

34 years reading the Bible, I don't know anybody who read the Bible more

than San Jerome. You know, one of his main sentences, he said: your pilgrimage to the

Holy Land (as Romanians) is your Fifth Gospel

he see it as you're fulfilling your religion, there are the four Gospels and

he's saying the fifth one is your pilgrimage to the Holy Land

The location of this event, of the birth of the Lord,

in a cave located east of the city,

is mentioned for the first time

by Saint Justin the Martyr and the Philosopher, between the years 155 and 160.

Today, the place where our Lord and God

took human flesh, is framed by a star,

installed in 1717 and given to the church in Bethlehem

by Nicolae Mavrocordat, the ruler of Wallachia.

The birthplace of God,

which is framed by this star in 14 rays

representing the tribes, and which is the Romanian danie,

this silver star.

The birthplace of the Savior attracts millions of pilgrims

from all over the world.

Seen from a distance, they appear weary, sometimes disoriented,

with prayers spoken and explanations received in fast forward.

And yet you can feel not only compassion for them,

but especially a gentle admiration when you understand

how many thousands and tens of thousands of km they traveled to worship

in the place where man's salvation began.

many people as we can see here, many people coming from all over the world to

see exactly the birth place where Jesus was born and to touch the place and to

pray and to ... maybe to ask ... Jesus Christ about health about love about

peace for all over the world and some of them are not Christian some of them are

Muslims and some of them are not believers at all but when touch the place,

they pray from their hearts Jesus actually shines in their minds and hearts

and this is exactly what we try to do is to let Jesus born in our hearts

and this is what I teach for people all over the world not only in Bethlehem

Issa, is a Palestinian Christian and serving priest

in the Church of the Nativity,

who together with the other priests shepherds

the small but fervent community of about 4000 Orthodox Christians in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is a Christian City but nowadays people of Christians are

leaving the countries because of the difficulties and the problems and the

occupations and so this is sometimes it makes problems for the Christians to

live under such difficult circumstances so many people are leaving

outside the country especially the Christians and my turn as a priest here

I have to take care of the Christians who stay in Bethlehem as to keep

them stay in Bethlehem because the church of nativity without the Christian

is nothing and you know I call them the Living Stones they are the Living Stones

not the stone itself it's stay here many years like 2,000 years and still exist.

but the people and the faithful people

are not here so they are moving and going around so that's in my opinion

that's why the Greek Orthodox the Catholics and the Armenian are

staying here as to pray together as to keep the Palestinian the bethlehemite

people, the Christians exist in Bethlehem as to show the church is alive

it's difficult sometimes, it's a big challenge

As much as we Christians would like

to think that talking about Bethlehem means

talking only about the birthplace of the Son of God

and a few other holy places,

we have to admit that Bethlehem means more than that.

Bethlehem cannot be extracted from the reality of the present context.

The spirit of the place is alien to the soul of any Christian.

Only a few steps away, opposite the Church of the Nativity,

a muezzin announces the start of the service.

It's like a crossfire.

A mosque joins the crescent moon in the cloudy sky.

Most of the Christian Palestinians

say they have Muslim friends

and that the Palestinian Authority treats

the city's Christian heritage with respect.

Even though Palestinian Muslims present Bethlehem

as an oasis of interfaith tolerance,

Christians feel increasingly alone in this place.

The concept of Islam is for the world to live in peace and safety.

Islam has commanded us to forgive and be equal among all of us.

the prophet calls us to brotherhood in every gathering.

Christians in our country have the right to live in peace,

we must take care of them, protect them and respect them.

as our prophet commanded us, may

the prayers and peace of God be upon him.

We also have to ensure the peace and quiet

of tourists coming from abroad.

We Muslims in Palestine live in peace with

Muslims, Christians and Jews.

I mean the Jewish religion or the religions of the Book.

which Almighty God,

Glory be to Him, mentioned in the Holy Qur'an.

We live together, rejoice with them

and grieve for their pain.

We all live in peace, understanding

and solidarity here in Bethlehem.

And yet...

The city of David and the Redeemer cannot find peace.

This Holy land was under

Muslim, Egyptian and Ottoman occupation

and then was administered,

one by one, by the United Nations (UN), Jordan and Israel,

moreover, as the entire Palestinian territory.

But even so, the city continues its story.

For decades, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

has not ended because of one unanswered reason.

Whose land is this?

and two nations are here, there are lots of conflicts, you know, land is Curse so

people want more land so the whole thing and situation here is all about land and

this has been the story since ever, you know, for thousands of years people are

fighting in this country so I don't know maybe peace will come and everybody

could live better. Islam or and Judaism are different than Christianity

all right? let me explain this for you just give me one minute, you know,

Islam and Judaism two religions they give importance

for places, Christianity doesn't I will tell you this is the Church of the

Nativity where Jesus was born very important, right? it's beautiful it's

crazy important but if you understand the faith of Christianity is just a

stone. it's just a stone it's where He was born

is He still there? He's everywhere, he's here, he's in Jerusalem he's in Romania

I go to Romania to live there I find my Jesus Christ there, all right? he's everywhere

he's not in the stones here, he's also here but he's also there but if you are a

Muslim you have to go to Mecca to pray, in Al Hajj period you want to

pray in the holy sites because you get more points there is more points

if you pray in the Holy sites all right, if you're a Jew you have to go to the

Temple Mount and pray there or down at the Western Wall if you don't, you're not

a Jew, if you don't go to Mecca for Al Hajj you're not a Muslim like there is

some cases, if you're ill you couldn't, that's fine but if you really can and you

didn't go this is one of the five pillars of Islam. all right?

Christianity, you go to heaven even if you never visited here.

To understand something from Palestine

you need to know a little history,

even if you know a lot of history, you still run the risk of not understanding anything.

It's complicated...

After any statement always follows .. but ...

and so on, and so on.

You forget to wonder or look for answers,

stunned by the light that floats over Bethlehem.

To understand the people, their places and their traditions,

you have to step into their home.

Despite their tumultuous history and endless conflicts,

Palestinians are generous, hospitable and communicative.

Indeed, Palestinian hospitality

is very similar to our Romanian hospitality.

The guide invited us to his home and put

the best food on the table.

The best thing here is the olive oil we say we have the best olive oil in the

whole world and I know that every Greek and Spaniard and Italian and maybe

Romanian say the same thing but we really have very good olive oil because

the wind of the Mediterranean Sea hits the heat of the Judean desert

and sea this is very good for oil and for wine. So the way we eat the olive oil

is we break the bread, dip it in the oil and then in the "isop"(zatar).

The second best thing is the hummus we say we have the best hummus there's a big

fight between Israelis and Palestinians who has the best hummus and the best hummus is

actually in Lebanon and not here, but you know we like to fight with the Israelis

on everything so why not on hummus if you've never been in Lebanon then this

would be the best hummus you would have.

The guide introduced us to the wonderful family:

Orthodox Christian Arabs of three generations

People who, despite the difficulties, remain warm and open.

this is my grandmother and this is my grandfather my grandmother was born in

Colombia and she's not Colombian. Christians of the Holy Land fled the

country there was only 1% left, most of us are not here. She had 10 children her

most famous sentence was: "I have only 10 children because my husband died early"

this is my great grandmother and she's wearing a veil on her hair and she's a

Christian woman. All Christian women had Veil just like mother Mary as a

Jewish even had a veil on her and the dress she's wearing tells you which city

which area she's from that's the tradition of this country

It's a complete paradox,

the Holy Land is visited by hundreds of millions of Christians

from all over the world, but Christians born in the very place of birth

are a category on the verge of extinction.

Although in Bethlehem there is a special law

that requires the mayor and most of the councilors to be Christians,

today not even 20% of the 25,000 inhabitants are Christians.

Although the population is predominantly Muslim,

the city is home to the oldest Christian community in the world.

In the immediate vicinity of the Church of the Nativity of the Lord

is the Syrian church which counts a little over 100 believers.

settled in Bethlehem immediately after the First World War.

for the Syrian Orthodox Community is a new community to this country almost

120 years old, they ran away from, the whole story of ... you know the Ottomans

against the Armenians and the Syrian Orthodox and they ended up coming

here, we love that they come here because they revived the old language of

the land because this is the land where Jesus was and when Jesus spoke, he spoke

Aramaic and the Syrian Orthodox pray in Aramaic,

if you come here on a Sunday Mass you hear them praying in Aramaic.

It's a typical Orthodox church so you have an iconostasis

but this time the iconostasis is a veil, this is the original,

actually because when if you want to understand the iconostasis

actually bringing this from the Jewish people the Jewish people in their Temple,

there was a veil Catholics and Protestants say when Jesus died on the

cross the veil turned down there is no separation between God and his children

we also say no separation but Orthodox people like to have the

veil but if you come on a Sunday mass to pray, the veil will be open, everybody

could link himself and see Heaven. It's a division between heaven and earth.

Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.

It is one of the oldest churches in the world,

having its roots in the city of Antioch, now Antakya, Turkey.

It was founded by the Holy Apostle Peter in the year 34,

and separated from the Eastern Orthodox Church

after the Chalcedon Synod in the year 451.

The "Saint Nicholas" church in Beyt Jala also belongs

to the Palestinian Christian community .

A small town, very close to Bethlehem.

The church is not included in the pilgrimage circuits,

being dedicated mainly to the Christians of Beyt Jala.

The holy place is, in fact, above the cave

where Saint Hierarch Nicholas struggled and prayed for 4 years,

before attending the First Council of Nicaea.

The current church was built on the ruins

of another church, dedicated to Saint George the Great Martyr,

and houses an icon of Saint Nicholas donated by a Romanian woman.

There is a beautiful history related to this Holy Icon.

A guide from Romania, who was a woman, had come here to the Holy Places many times.

After a while, when she returned to Romania,

she had a dream in which Saint Nicholas was talking to her,

but he seemed a little sad in her dream.

The saint said to him: "Many times you come to the Holy Places,

but you have never come to my house."

And the woman asked him: "Where is your Holy house?"

and the Saint answered him: "My house is in Beyt Jala".

The woman spoke to him again: "But many churches bear your name."

That's right, many churches bear my name,

but the church "Saint Nicholas of Beyt Jala is my house".

He showed him the church in the dream, with its stairs, as well as the cave.

When he next came to the Holy places,

he decided to come to Beyt Jala, to visit the church "Saint Nicholas".

He came to our church, and indeed

the stairs and the cave were exactly as he had seen them in the dream.

Thus, the woman decided to bring

an icon from Romania as a gift for the church.

in gratitude to Saint Nicholas.

The icon of Saint Nicholas was painted in a special way.

Although he had been enthusiastic, the painter was not able to finish the icon

in the 3-4 months he had at his disposal.

Until one day, when St. Nicholas appeared

to him in a dream telling him to paint his face exactly as it looked at the first ecumenical council.

When he woke up in the morning, he began to paint the icon

of Saint Nicholas, which he did in 2-3 days.

After this, he did not want to receive the rest of the money,

but, by painting the icon,

he also wanted to contribute to this gift for the Holy Places.

In 2013, the woman came to us, there were also me and the late priest Nicolae.

I was here when he brought the icon, unique in the world,

which depicts Saint Nicholas angry,

as happened at the Ecumenical Council.

Many miracles happened in the city of Beyt Jala,

under the protection of Saint Nicholas.

Ever since the 4th century,

since the Saint took refuge in this cave,

on top of which Saint Empress Elena built

a church, whose mosaic is preserved,

the holy place became a place of pilgrimage

but also a shelter for the inhabitants of the city

during the wars between Palestinians and Israelis.

The most recent events that we felt the presence of St. Nicholas, the latest has

been in 2002 since the second intifada

during the Liturgy Sunday service there has been

shelling on the town. However none of the shells that,

fell on the church or on the town, exploded or killed anybody.

The people, the worshippers they continued the Liturgy and they left home safely.

another incident happened in 1948 again during the war, heavy shelling

was one day here on the town and by chance one of the priests from the

nearby Catholic Monastery he looked through the window and he saw a huge

figure of St Nicholas on top of the church opening his arms and diverting

the shells that they were falling on the town here.

The presence of St Nicholas has been felt throughout the times here.

Another Orthodox Christian church

is the church of Saint George

in the Muslim neighborhood of Al Hadîr,

where most of the children in Bethlehem are baptized.

As in most of the churches of the Holy Places,

only one monk is here.

There is no mention of communal life or any Christian community.

But even so, the community of Bethlehem, although very small,

has endured for 2000 years,

reminding us of the heritage of monastic spirituality.

Bethlehem, like the entire land of promise, gives us food for thought.

In the heart of the Holy Places you are not only faced with mystery,

but also with uncertainties of all kinds,

with challenges and dilemmas of the ouside man

looking for the way to the inside man.

In the end, being a Christian means accepting the mystery, but

not a mystery that consists in the unknown,

but in the Truth, incomprehensible to the mind :

How the Son of God eternally being,

from the Father without a Mother, is born in time

from a Mother without a Father.

Thanks Basilica Travel.