In the Church of the Nativity, thousands of touched pilgrims are vibrated by the aura in the atmosphere that inevitably captivates everyone, even the non religious.

Pleasant place

Bethlehem is the only place in the Holy Land which is not connected to the Passion of Jesus and his path leading to his crucifixion. It is a pleasant place radiating a sweet sensation.

As a Greek believer we met in Bethlehem told us: "Here the Christians feel the joy of a new born child's welcoming into the world. The child that was meant to fundamentally change the course of the human race and give substantial meaning to life. Here, in the manger, is where time began".

The overwhelming majority of visitors in Bethlehem are women who wear kerchiefs on their heads, a sign of respect to the sacred place.

The kerchiefs are not of the same colour and create an image of a colourful puzzle in the Church of the Nativity.

The miracle of the Magicians

While being in Bethlehem we did not come across individual tourists, but only organized groups.

The journey to the Holy Land is a quite complicated, because the visitors have to go through repeated safety controls in guard rooms that separate Jerusalem from the West Bank. 

The groups are usually finished with the checking points more quickly than the individual visitors who are thoroughly interrogated and may even be physically examined.

All groups have a leader, who is also responsible for the sightseeing tour in the Church of the Nativity.

Some guides describe rare events which makes it is worthwhile for people to stay near them to enrich their knowledge. That's how we learned about the way the Church of the Nativity was practically saved at the last minute from the Persian desecration in 614.

When the Persian soldiers, under Khosrau (Chosroes), invaded the temple, one of them observed the narthex's mosaic, which depicted the three Persian wizards offering gifts to baby Jesus.

"Stop, this is where our compatriots had worshiped, this may mean something", he said to his companions.

She wasn't blindly searching

The Church of the Nativity was constructed by Saint Helen during the years 327-333 at the exact same place where Christ was born.

This was already a place of worship for the Christians since 130, who accurately knew from their grandfathers' testimonies.

On her missions to the Holy Land, Saint Helen was accompanied by the best archaeologists of the empire, who helped her locate the place of Christ's birth and burial.

Their inquisitions were not too difficult, as the time that had passed since the physical presence of Christ in those places was not that long ago.

Relative safety

The crowds of pilgrims in Bethlehem are totally focused on the shrines and are oblivious to the military tension hovering in the region's atmosphere.

Christians of every colour and race come from all over the world to fulfil a lifetime's purpose, which is to kneel before the place where Christ was born.

Even if battles were taking place beside them, this wouldn't be something that could distract them from their sacred duty.

In any case, there doesn’t seem to be any dangers for the foreign visitors, as no Hebrew nor Palestinian start feuding near the Christian pilgrimages.

On the contrary, the two sides make sure that no foreigner is ever involved in their feuds. Besides, a portion of the Palestinians are Christians and even very respectful ones.

It would be good for someone to choose the right time to visit Bethlehem, as the fights between the Hebrews and the Palestinians are fluctuating.

It is common that periods of tension cause weariness to the opponents and are usually followed by relative peacefulness.

During these calm periods the number of the worshipers to the Holy Land dramatically increases.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com