The fertile fields of Beit Sahour are believed to be where this biblical scene took place. (The name Beit Sahour means "the house of staying up all night.")
There are two rival locations for the exact site, one run by the Greek Orthodox and the other by the Franciscans. Both sites have been excavated, and there have been churches and monasteries on both sites since the 4th century or earlier.
The Roman Catholics and the Greek Orthodox each have their own Shepherds' Field. The Roman Catholic site features a Franciscan Chapel designed to resemble the shepherds' tent while the Greek Orthodox site features a 5th century church built over a cave.
Pictures outside and inside the chapel follow:
In the Orthodox Shepherd's Field, a site in a small valley with olive trees some of them dating back 2000 years, an underground Church is dedicated to Synaxis of the Mother of God (celebrated December 26th). On the night of Christ's Nativity, this underground church was the cave of the shepherds, who heard the angelic proclamation "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to men" (Luke 2-14). This cave was one of the many churches built by Saint Helena in the year 325 AD. The cave functioned first as a shelter, then as a tomb of the shepherds, and has been treated as such by Christians since the 4th century.
This sight is far more rustic and along the hillside. As you walk down the path, you can enter some caves. Looking from the field is Bethlehem.
On the basis of archaeological evidence, it has been proved that the church dated to early Byzantine period, and that it is the earliest Christian structure built on this site.
Up to 1972, only the underground church was visible and in regular use, but almost none of the mosaics were visible. In that year the spiritual father of the Monastery of Saint Savva, Archimadrite Seraphim, had taken control of this holy shrine, in order to build a new full-size church above the basement church. Excavating the foundations for the new church, there were remains of three different churches of the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries found respectively.
Now the holy site consists of five churches:
1. The Natural Cave Church which dates to the 2nd half of the 4th century
2. The Cave Church, dating to the 5th century
3. The Roof Chapel, which also dated to the 5th century
4. The Basilica, which dates to the 6th century
5. The Monastery Church, which dates to the 7th century
Point of interest: The nearby field of Ruth is traditionally associated with the events of the Old Testament (recounted in the Book of Ruth 1:16).
Stories told and heard at the Shepherd's Field:
Samuel goes to Bethlehem and David is annointed king (1 Samuel 16:1-13), the story of Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1), and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, including the story of the angels and the shepherds.
Remember, only the Gospel of Luke tells the story of the shepherds in the field hearing the announcement of Jesus' birth. The magi are introduced by Matthew. The gospels of Mark and John do not mention the birth of Jesus.
We did some shopping in Bethlehem before boarding the bus to return to our hotel in Jerusalem. It took nearly an hour to go through all the checkpoints required to leave Palestine and return to Israel. The store you see is an example of storefronts in Bethlehem.
As you can imagine, the day was a very full one. So much to see and process in such a short time. Our morning began at the Western Wall where we left our prayers, then to the Dome of the Rock before traveling to the Mount of Olives and walking down to the Garden of Gethsemane. Then it was on to Bethlehem to the Church of the Nativity and Shepherd's Field. An amazing day in so very many ways.
Tomorrowwe will go to Masada, the Dead Sea, Qumran, and En Gedi, (the place of wild goats).
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