THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY IN BETHLEHEM

Dr G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville

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Shrine and Scandal

Early Christian Period to 529

Early Christian Period 
post 529

Crusader Period

The Grotto

Present Condition

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The Grotto of the Nativity 

The Grotto of the Nativity is entered via a pair of Crusader Gothic doorways on either side of the raised sanctuary.  It forms an irregular oblong vault.  The walls of the grotto are partly of rock, and partly of masonry, and are largely covered with amianthus hangings presented by the President of France, Marshal MacMahon, in 1874.   Altars mark the traditional places of the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Manger.

There are the remains of a splendid medieval mosaic in the alcove above the altar of the Nativity.  The mosaic was severely damaged by hooligans in 1873.   From the existing fragments of the mosaic and from records left by travellers and pilgrims who saw it before it was ruined, a fairly reliable reconstruction is possible.

(reconstruction by A.G. Walls)