THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY IN BETHLEHEM

Dr G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville

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Early Christian Period After 529

The present church was built by the Emperor Justinian after the destruction of 529.  Its nave has four arcades of eleven pillars each, in place of Constantine’s ten in each arcade.  The octagonal sanctuary was replaced, being enlarged to three apses.  The altar was repositioned in a new eastern apse; on either side were new apsidal ‘choirs’ for monks.  This feature is also found in other ancient Palestinian churches.
Wall Mosaics

I. Tree of Jesse, with Prophets and a Sibyl, now erased
II. Genealogy of Jesus Christ according to St. Luke; 
above, Provincial Councils of Ancyra (314), Antioch (272), Sardis (347), Gangra (IVc), Laodicaea (IVc), Carthage (254)

 III. Genealogy of Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew; above, Councils of Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431, Constantinople (680), Nicaea (787)
IV. Doubting of Thomas; the Ascension
V. Fragment of an interlaced pattern (N); inscription recording
restoration, 1169 (S)
VI. The Triumphal entry into Jerusalem
 
If you would like to compare this plan with the plan of the Constantinian church on the Early Christian Period to 529 page Click Here
 
(Hint: If you open the other page in a new window, you can switch between the windows for easy comparison)
1. Courtyard; 2. Armenian monastery; 3. Armenian courtyard; 4. Narthex; 5. Font; 6. Cloister; 7. Chapel of St. Jerome; 8. Altar of St. Eusebius; 9. Sts Paula and Eustochium; 10. St. Jerome; 11. Altar of the Virgin; 12. Tombs of the Holy Innocents; 13. Altar of St. Joseph; 14. Cistern; 15. Grotto of the Nativity; 16. Manger; 17. Altar of the Magi; 18. Burial grottoes; 19. Altar of the Circumcision; 20. Main altar; 21. Cistern; 22. Star of the Nativitiy; 23. Altar of Kings; 24. Church of St. Catherine; 25. Sacristy and chapel of St. George; 26. Bell tower

Only a century after Justinian had rebuilt the church, Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote the following lyrical description of it:

I would go with a heart filled
With all the fervour of holy love
To the little town of Bethlehem
Where the King of all things was born.    

With my heart dancing I would enter
Those most sacred halls,
The four most admirable arcades
And the elegant three-fold apse.   

Gazing at the numerous pillars
Gleaming with gold, a work
Decorated with marvellous art,
I would dispel the clouds of care.  

I would gaze at the coffered ceiling
With its brilliant stars of gold:
From these marvels of works of art
The grace of the heavens shines forth.  

Sophronius, Anacreontica;
translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville

It was this same Patriarch who was obliged to hand over Palestine to Caliph Omar at the head of the Arab armies in 638.  Cordial relations were established between the two men and the church’s sanctity was respected by Omar.  Muslims were conceded the right to pray in the south aisle, a right that has been maintained to the present day.  

A few years earlier, in 614, the church had a narrower escape.  A Sassanian army from Persia had invaded the Holy Land and proceeded to destroy all the churches.  However, they desisted at Bethlehem because they recognised the images of their ancestors, the Magi, above the entrance to the Church of the Nativity.  This account makes sense by virtue of the fact that the Magi were traditionally represented in early Christian art as Zoroastrian priests, evident in the Nativity mosaic from Sta. Maria Maggiore (below) and on the wall mosaics of the church of St. Apollinare Nuovo and St. Vitale in Ravenna, dating from the time of Justinian (c. 550).
From contemporary representations of Nativity scenes like this and the existing building fabric, 
Dr. A.G. Walls has reconstructed the original appearance of the west façade of the church.

The present baptismal font is contemporary with Justinian’s church, and bears a 6th century inscription.  It originally stood on the north side of the altar and was moved to its present position in the south aisle following a change in liturgical practice.

 

A description of the church by an eleventh century Spanish pilgrim, the priest Jacinthus, has survived in the Archives of the Diocese of León in Spain:

 

The city of Bethlehem is in ruins, although there are still a few houses … I entered the court outside the church, where I counted thirty columns … In the church I gazed at its beauty.  It shone very brightly with marble … A glorious building: it has no better! … In the sanctuary are three tribunes marvellously decorated with gold and jewels.  There is one altar in the choir … and under it is the Lord’s Manger.

Going down from the choir, on the left of the steps … is the well where the star fell which led the Magi.  From here, to where it pleased the Lord to be born, is a pace and one half.   From here … it is three paces to the Manger … There is an altar over where it pleased the Lord to be born.

In the church are forty-four pillars, another four in the tribunes, and six in the choir.  The ceiling of the church is painted and carved; the roof is of lead. What can I say of the floor?   No palace in the world has a floor equal in beauty.

[Jacinthus; freely abbreviated from late Visigothic Latin by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville]  

Last modified 27/12/2004