The Chapel of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Israel

Martin Gray

[Click on the picture to enlarge.]

The Chapel of the Nativity at Bethlehem. Situated in the Judean hills 8 kilometers south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is considered the site of the birth of Jesus Christ according to the Gospels of Mathew and Luke. Various New Testament scholars believe parts of these gospels to be later accretions and hold that Jesus was actually born in Nazareth, his childhood home. Christian belief however, has sanctified Bethlehem as Jesus' birthplace for nearly two millennia. The cave site of the Nativity in Bethlehem was 'identified' by St. Justin Martyr, a 2nd century Christian apologist. Archaeological evidence indicates that this cave was a pre-existing sacred site dedicated to Adonis (an ancient Greek vegetation spirit whose death and rebirth represented the cycle of nature). The first church at the site was built by Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, sometime around 326 AD. Later destroyed, the church was rebuilt in much its present form by the Emperor Justinian around 529 AD. The Church of the Nativity is thus one of the oldest Christian churches in existence. During the Crusades it was a much visited place of pilgrimage. Bethlehem was also the home of the shepherd David who became the greatest king of ancient Israel. It was to Bethlehem that God directed the prophet Samuel to go in order find the young David and to anoint him as the one to succeed Saul as king.

The matter of the birth date of Christ is a fascinating subject for consideration, given that the actual date is not mentioned anywhere in the four Gospels. No reference is made to such a Christian festival date until the 4th century when the Philocalian calendar was compiled in Rome in 336 AD. At that time December 25 was set as the birth of Christ. The December 25 date was chosen to counteract and absorb different pagan festivals of the winter solstice (now on December 21 but previously on December 25), especially the Roman festival of December 25, dedicated to Mithras, the God of Light. There are absolutely no authentic scriptures or historical sources that give any indication of the actual date of the birth of Christ, and the time of December 25 is merely a politically expedient contrivance of the early Roman church leaders. It is important to know that many earlier dying-and-rising gods also shared Jesus' birthday on the Winter Solstice, although when the pope announced in 1994 that Jesus was not born on that day, the announcement caused widespread disbelief and astonishment. The church did not elaborate on this matter because the news would have been disagreeable to orthodox Christians who would not want to know that Jesus was 'supposedly' born on the same day as such pagan gods as Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Dionysus, Attis, Orpheus and (some versions of) Serapis, each of whose births happened in caves or other humble places and were attended by wise men bringing expensive and symbolic gifts.

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About Martin Gray

Martin Gray is a photographer and anthropologist specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world whose work has been published by the National Geographic Society. During the past twenty years, he has presented slide shows on the extraordinary beauty and precarious situation of the world's sacred sites to more than one hundred thousand people on four continents. Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries. His award winning website, www.sacredsites.com has received over twenty million visitors since 1998. Sacred Earth is featured in a major Feng Shui journal. Martin's Email: martin@sacredsites.com