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The list of Christian holy places in the Holy Land outlines sites within cities located in the Holy Land that are regarded as having a special religious significance to Christians, usually by association with Jesus or other persons mentioned in the Bible.
The identification of the Christian holy sites became of increased importance especially from around the time of Constantine the Great of the Roman Empire. Interest was also strong during Emperor Charlemagne, as was also the case during the Crusades, when Christian pilgrims often sought out holy places in the Outremer, especially in early 12th century immediately after the capture of Jerusalem. [2]
The search for the Christian holy places was the foundation of 19th-century European Biblical archaeology in Ottoman Syria and later in the British Mandatory Palestine.
The primary holy places are connected to the main events in the life of Jesus. Other holy sites are associated with events from the Old Testament, the lives of Mary, John the Baptist, and the Apostles, with endless more associated with later Christian saints, holy men and women, and local traditions. Different Christian denominations all have their particular sites and preferences. Some were only venerated in a particular period and were replaced in later times, and some have been proposed by archaeologists, but have not gained yet much traction due to a lack of tradition or continuity thereof. That leads to a wide range of places that have been venerated, forgotten, (re)discovered, and so forth. Some local traditions are only regionally accepted, and some holy figures and their related sites are recognised only by national Churches. Therefore, this list will always remain incomplete by definition.
The Holy Land is a loose notion. It covers territories which are mainly part of, or controlled by (from north to south), Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt. Some cities and sites mentioned in the Bible are farther afield.
Judea was a region inhabited mainly by Jews. Today it is split between Israel and the West Bank, the latter parts being contested by Palestine.
Jerusalem was the main city of Judea and the historical capital of the Kingdom of Judah, occupied at the time by Rome. It is the site of some of Jesus' teaching; of the Last Supper from which the Holy Eucharist evolved; of his crucifixion on a nearby hill, Golgotha or Calvary; and of his entombment.
The Jordan River borders several regions from the time of Jesus - Gaulanitis and Galilee, Decapolis, Samaria, Perea and Judea.
The Tetrarchy of Philip, the son of Herod the Great, included parts of today's Golan Heights and covered territories northeast of the Galilee.
Biblical Galilee is nowadays mainly in Israel, with a small part in southern Lebanon. It was inhabited mainly by Jews, but with a substantial number of other communities.
Samaria was a region inhabited mainly by Samaritans, a nation generally hostile to the Jews, and therefore mostly avoided by them. Today it is part of the West Bank in Palestine, currently occupied by Israel.
Jesus visited the region of Sidon and Tyre, where he preached and exorcised a woman's daughter. St Paul sailed for Rome from Sidon (Acts 27:3, 4).
Galilee is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee and the Lower Galilee.
The Jordan River or River Jordan, also known as Nahr Al-Sharieat, is a 251-kilometre-long (156 mi) endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead Sea. The river passes by or through Jordan, Syria, Israel, and the Palestinian territories.
Aenon, distinguished as Aenon near Salim, is the site mentioned by the Gospel of John John 3:23) as one of the places where John was baptising people, after baptizing Jesus in Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan.
The Holy Land is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. Today, the term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern states of Israel and Palestine. Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Baháʼís regard it as holy.
Cana of Galilee is the location of the Wedding at Cana, at which the miracle of turning water into wine took place in the Gospel of John.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Established in the mid-fifth century as one of the oldest patriarchates in Christendom, it is headquartered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and led by the patriarch of Jerusalem, currently Theophilos III. The patriarchate's ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes roughly 200,000 to 500,000 Orthodox Christians across the Holy Land in Palestine, Jordan and Israel.
The New Testament narrative of the life of Jesus refers to several locations in the Holy Land and a Flight into Egypt. In these accounts the principal locations for the ministry of Jesus were Galilee and Judea, with activities also taking place in surrounding areas such as Perea and Samaria. Other places of interest to scholars include locations such as Caesarea Maritima where in 1961 the Pilate stone was discovered as the only archaeological item that mentions the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, by whose order Jesus was crucified.
The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem in Judea, following the Last Supper with his disciples. The Gospel of Luke Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. A chronology of Jesus typically sets the date of the start of his ministry at around AD 27–29 and the end in the range AD 30–36.
Bethany, locally called in Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya, is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of Palestine, bordering East Jerusalem, in the West Bank. The name al-Eizariya refers to the New Testament figure Lazarus of Bethany, who according to the Gospel of John, was raised from the dead by Jesus in the town. The traditional site of the miracle, the Tomb of Lazarus, in the city is a place of pilgrimage.
Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East are a group of Christian mosaics created between the 4th and the 8th centuries in ancient Syria, Palestine and Egypt when the area belonged to the Byzantine Empire. The eastern provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire and its continuation, the Byzantine Empire, inherited a strong artistic tradition from pagan Late Antiquity. The tradition of making mosaics was carried on in the Umayyad era until the end of the 8th century. The great majority of these works of art were later destroyed but archeological excavations unearthed many surviving examples.
Judea or Judaea is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the present day; it originates from Yehudah, a Hebrew name. Yehudah was a son of Jacob, who was later given the name "Israel" and whose sons collectively headed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Yehudah's progeny among the Israelites formed the Tribe of Judah, with whom the Kingdom of Judah is associated. Related nomenclature continued to be used under the rule of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term was applied to an area larger than Judea of earlier periods. In 132 CE, the Roman province of Judaea was merged with Galilee to form the enlarged province of Syria Palaestina.
The timeline of the Palestine region is a timeline of major events in the history of Palestine. For more details on the history of Palestine see History of Palestine. In cases where the year or month is uncertain, it is marked with a slash, for example 636/7 and January/February.
Al-Maghtas, officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage Site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, reputed to be the location of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and venerated as such since at least the Byzantine period. The place has also been referred to as Bethabara and historically Bethany.
Qasr al-Yahud, also known as Al-Maghtas, is the western section of the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist on the Jordan River. It has also been traditionally identified with two episodes from the Hebrew Bible, as one of the possible points through which the Israelites have crossed the Jordan river as they reached the Promised Land, and as the site where prophet Elijah ascended to heaven. "Qasr al-Yahud" is actually an Arabic name given to the nearby Monastery of St John the Baptist, but is also being used for the West Bank section of the baptism site itself.
Yardenit, also known as the Yardenit Baptismal Site, is a baptism site located along the Jordan River in the Galilee region of northern Israel, which is frequented by Christian pilgrims. The site is located south of the river's outlet from the Sea of Galilee, near Kibbutz Kvutzat Kinneret, which owns and manages the site.
The Inn of the Good Samaritan is a national park, museum, ancient archaeological site and former inn administered by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority located near Ma'ale Adumim, halfway between Jerusalem and Jericho, at an elevation of 298 meters above sea level.
The Holy and Ancient Archdiocese of Jerusalem, All Palestine, and All the Near East or the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, is a Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which is part of the wider communion of the Oriental Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Coptic Orthodox Metropolitan Archbishop of Jerusalem, the incumbent being Metropolitan Archbishop Antonious of Jerusalem since 2016. Its jurisdiction covers those Coptic Orthodox Christians living in the Near East; with churches and monasteries in the State of Israel, State of Palestine, the State of Kuwait, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Lebanese Republic, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the Republic of Iraq. The adherents are largely of Coptic Egyptian descent, mainland Coptic migrants and their descendants. The archdiocese is based at St Anthony's Monastery, in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, beside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.