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Church in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Shepherds' Field Chapel (Arabic: كنيسة حقل الرعاة; Hebrew: כנסיית שדה הרועים)[citation needed], or the Sanctuary of Gloria in excelsis Deo,[1] is a Roman Catholic religious building in Beit Sahour, southeast of Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine.[2][3] The chapel commemorates the annunciation of Jesus' birth to the shepherds,[4] said to have taken place in Beit Sahour.[5]
Shepherds' Field Chapel | |
---|---|
Sanctuary Gloria in excelsis Deo | |
![]() The chapel in 2010 | |
31°42′26.3″N 35°13′48.4″E | |
Location | Bethlehem |
Country | State of Palestine |
Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Antonio Barluzzi |
Completed | 1953 |
Specifications | |
Number of domes | 1 |
The Palestinian village of Beit Sahour, next to Bethlehem, has been identified by Latin Church tradition as the site of the Annunciation to the shepherds – that is, the place where the announcement of Jesus’ birth to shepherds by angels took place.[6] The area close to the church is also identified as the "Valley of Boaz", mentioned in the Old Testament, in Ruth 2:2, as the place where Ruth gleaned grain for herself and Naomi.[7]
In 1858, the remains of a monastery built around 400 A.D. were discovered, on what was called the "Khirbet Siyar al-Ghanem" – the "Ruins of the Sheep Enclosure" or "Ruins of the Sheepfold").[8] The French official responsible for the excavations claimed to have found the three “shepherds’ tombs” mentioned by a pilgrim who visited Beit Sahour around the year 680. Between 1889 and 1906, the Franciscans succeeded in buying the land.[citation needed]
Franciscan archaeologist Virgilio Canio Corbo excavated the site and found caves with evidence of human habitation during the Herodian and later Roman period, as well as ancient oil presses.[9] Corbo used his findings as arguments in favour of the hypothesis that a small community inhabited the site at the time of Jesus' birth.[9] Murphy-O'Connor concludes that the site was occupied during the first century by nomadic shepherds.[3]
Over the Roman-period remnants, a Byzantine monastery was built at the end of the 4th century, which went through a second, rebuilding and expansion phase in the 6th.[3] The monastery was destroyed by the Persians in 614 and was not reoccupied afterwards.[3] The remains were destroyed in the 8th century by Muslims who chiseled off the Christian signs from several stones.[9]
The Shepherds' Field Chapel was built by the Franciscans in 1953.[7] It is not far from the Greek Orthodox Der El Rawat Chapel, commemorating the same event.[10] The Catholic chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima.[11]
The chapel was designed by architect Antonio Barluzzi.[9] A grotto rises up behind the chapel.[12]
It has five apses that mimic the structure of a nomadic tent in gray. The words of the angel to the shepherds are inscribed gold. An image depicting the birth of Jesus can be seen in the place.[13]
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