Current location - Education and Training Encyclopedia - University rankings - Where is Bethlehem? What does it mean?
Where is Bethlehem? What does it mean?
Bethlehem is of extraordinary significance to Christianity. It is said that this place is not only the birthplace of Jesus, the founder of Christianity, but also another holy place after the Resurrection Church in Jerusalem. The most famous Christian monument in this city is the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square in the center of the city. It is located on the site of the Star Cave in Bethlehem where Jesus was born in a manger, and the right to use it mainly belongs to Christian sects such as Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodox Church and Armenian Orthodox Church. The Church of the Nativity was built in the 4th century AD and destroyed by the Samaritan uprising in 529 AD. The present Christmas Church was rebuilt on the basis of the original site, and the original architectural style was partially maintained. In the past 1000 years, the rebuilt Christmas church was looted and scarred by the war. But with the passage of time, several small churches and monasteries have been added around the church, and the scale of the building has gradually expanded.

Bethlehem Star Cave is the most religious and historic part of the Church of the Nativity. According to legend, Jesus was born in a mud manger in this underground cave, which is13m long and 3m wide. Later, the clay manger was replaced by a silver manger, and later, the silver manger was replaced by a marble altar, which was inlaid with a hollowed-out 14 silver star of Bethlehem to indicate the specific place where Jesus was born, and was engraved with the Latin inscription: The Virgin Mary is Christ Jesus in this life. 15 silver oil lamps, belonging to various Christian factions and lit at different times, hung above the altar, reflecting this small but sacred corner and influencing 10 billion Christians day and night.

In addition, there are other Christian holy places in Bethlehem, such as the breast cave where Jesus lived before taking refuge in Egypt, St. Catherine's Church, the courtyard of the Crusaders, the graves of innocent babies and the fields of the shepherds who first embraced Jesus.

1967 After the third Middle East war broke out, Israel occupied Bethlehem. 1On Christmas Eve, 1995, according to the interim self-government agreement reached between Palestine and Israel, Bethlehem returned to the embrace of the Palestinians. This year coincides with the birth of Jesus in 2000, and Bethlehem has become the center of the Millennium celebrations in the world. Since the end of 1999, Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodox Church and other major Christian schools have held grand Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem according to their respective traditions. Many national leaders of eastern Christian sects also gathered here, which brought unprecedented festivals and peaceful atmosphere to Bethlehem.