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"The St. Joseph church"
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
"The St. Joseph church"
Nazareth, North District of Israel
Fifth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem
My Holy Land Trip
"The
St. Joseph church"
Nazareth, North District of Israel
The St. Joseph church
is built where, according to tradition, used to be the carpentry workshop of
Joseph, father of Jesus. Some of the traditions also claim this was Joseph's
house.
This Franciscan
church was established in 1914 over the ruins of more ancient churches and is
located in the Basilica of Annunciation area. In the crypt (the lower level of
the church) there’s an ancient water pit, mosaics, caves and barns from ancient
Nazareth that has survived since the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C. One of the
cave, according to tradition, was used as Joseph's workshop.
The church also
reflects the Jewish roots of Christianity: in the past, the Christian prayers
has accepted the Jewish bathe commandment and built ritual baths in the church
to do so.
From the account of
the pilgrim Arculfo (670 BC), we know that at Nazareth "two large churches
were built: one in the middle of the city, founded over two arches, the place
where the house in which our Savior grew up was built and the other on the site
off the house where the angel Gabriel came to Blessed Mary and, finding her
alone, spoke to her." In the 17th century, Father Francesco Quaresmi
describes a place "that the locals call Joseph’s House and Workshop where,
for a time, there was a beautiful church dedicated to Saint Joseph." The
apocryphal "Story of Joseph the Carpenter" narrates the death and
interment of Jesus’ foster father, describing how Jesus himself helped and
comforted him at the moment that he passed out of this life. We also know that
some of Jesus’ relatives remained at Nazareth, according to the history of the
Judaeo-Christian Hegesippus (II cent. AD), reported in the Ecclesiastical
History of Eusebius of Caesarea: "Of the Lord’s family, there remain the
nephews of Judah, the brother according to the flesh, who were denounced as
belonging to the lineage of David. It can be supposed that these
"relatives of the Lord" played a not inconsiderable part in the
conservation of the Christian memory of Nazareth.
When his mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with
child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous
man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such
was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your
wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been
conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he
will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what
the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with
child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God
is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her
until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
According to
Christian tradition, in addition to the basilica of the Annunciation, the
Church of Saint Joseph is also in Nazareth. The sanctuary is called the Church
of the Nutrition because Jesus lived and grew up here until he was an adult,
learning his father’s trade.
"O Joseph, you
just and holy man, intercede for us with the Lord Jesus. You, the Spouse of
the Virgin Mary, beg her maternal tenderness for everyone who prays to her, the
Mother of our Savior." Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444), Franciscan
The St. Joseph church
is built where, according to tradition, used to be the carpentry workshop of
Joseph, father of Jesus. Some of the traditions also claim this was Joseph's
house.
This Franciscan
church was established in 1914 over the ruins of more ancient churches and is
located in the Basilica of Annunciation area. In the crypt (the lower level of
the church) there’s an ancient water pit, mosaics, caves and barns from ancient
Nazareth that has survived since the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C. One of the
cave, according to tradition, was used as Joseph's workshop.
The church also
reflects the Jewish roots of Christianity: in the past, the Christian prayers
has accepted the Jewish bathe commandment and built ritual baths in the church
to do so.
This is a baptismal pool, but because of the mosaic floor, it is not from the time of Jesus, but might be from as early as the 1st century. St. Joseph Church, Nazaret, Northern Isreal:
The church is built
in a Neo Romanski style, based on the foundations of the ancient Crusader
church. It has 3 long halls ending with 3 enceintes on the east, built over Crusaders’
remains. The stairs are leading to the lower floor, where there’s crypt holding archaeological remains from the Nazareth village times as well as the cave used
as Joseph's workshop.
In 1950 the apses
were decorated by an Italian artist. The main picture shows the holy family and
an additional one is of Joseph only. Around the podium there’s an additional
picture of the holy family. The windows decorations tell the story of the place
as well.
The Crusaders built
this church on the 12th century over earlier remains of another church from the
Byzantine Times. This church was not commemorating the house of Joseph. This
was probably a later tradition.
The Crusader Church
was built in a style that was common in France in the 12th century: it had 3
arched enceintes and was divided to one big hall and 2 wings in a cross shape.
The crypt on the lower level of the church was not changed during Crusader
time.
After the Arabic
occupation in the 13th century, the place was left in ruins for hundreds of
years. In 1754 it was purchased by the Franciscans and they have built a chapel
for St. Joseph. Later on, the Franciscans have managed to purchase the area
surrounding the church as well. In 1908, archaeological excavations were done
there by Father Prof. Veo, who discovered the remains of the Byzantine Church
from the 5th or 6th century.
He published his
findings in the book "Nazareth and its Two Entrances", written in
French. The foundations for building the church on this specific spot was the
cave in the crypt, which was used as a residency cave on earlier times.
A fond tradition asserts that the Church of St Joseph
in Nazareth is built over the
carpentry workshop of the husband of the Virgin Mary.
The
church (also known as the Church of the Nutrition and the Church of Joseph’s
Workshop) is a solid and unpretentious building. It stands
very much in the shadow of the soaring cupola of the Annunciation on its southern side
— just as St Joseph himself lived in the shadow of Jesus and Mary.
But
there is no evidence that the cave over which the church is built was
Joseph’s workshop. Even if this is the site of the Holy Family’s home, the cave
is unlikely to have been a carpentry workshop in the modern sense.
The Gospels use the Greek word tekton, meaning builder or artisan, to
describe Joseph. He most likely worked with both stone and wood, since stone
was the common building material in the area.
Joseph’s work may
have taken him away from his home. A likely place of employment was the Roman
city of Sephora’s or Tzippori, which was being rebuilt
by Herod Antipas at the time the
Holy Family arrived from Egypt. The building site was a 50-minute walk from
Nazareth.
Steps to St. Joseph Church, Nazaret, Northern Isreal:
The
Church of St Joseph was built in 1914 on the remains of a Crusader church and over a cave system.
The first mention of the site occurs in the work of a 17th-century Italian
writer and Orientalist, Franciscus Quaresmius, who described it as “the house
and workshop of Joseph”.
The
apse of the church has three noteworthy paintings: The Holy Family, The Dream of Joseph, and The Death of Joseph in the Arms of Jesus and
Mary.
A
stairway in the church descends to a crypt where caverns can be seen
through a grille in the floor. Seven further steps lead to a 2-meter square
basin or pit with a black-and-white mosaic floor. This is believed to have been
a pre-Constantine Christian baptistery, perhaps used as early as the 1st
century.
Beside
the basin, a flight of rough steps leads down to a narrow passage which, after
turning 180 degrees, opens into an underground chamber 2 meters high.
Off
this are openings to grain silos and water cisterns, cut into the
soft limestone rock by early dwellers. Such underground repositories were
typical of ancient Nazareth.
Prayer
Guide: Let us pray to
the God of the patriarchs and the prophets who fulfilled his ancient promise in
the incarnation of his Son born of the action of the Holy Spirit on the Virgin
Mary and confided to the tender care of Joseph. All: Hear us, O Lord.
1. For the Church,
that by the intercession of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Virgin, adoptive father
of the Lord and patron of the universal church, it may sense the presence of
the Spirit that precedes it and accompanies it along the route. Let us pray:
2. For the governors
of nations, that they may base their civil responsibilities on respect for the
family, the basic unit of civil and religious society. Let us pray:
3. For all the
workers of the world, that by the example of Jesus the divine worker and by the
intercession of St. Joseph, they may discover their vocation in the plan of God
and promote the common good. Let us pray:
4. For the family,
the domestic church, that it may inspire those near and far to confidence in
Providence and promote the gift of life. Let us pray:
Guide: O faithful God
who has guided the destiny of the world throughout the generations and in St.
Joseph gave the Church a sign of your paternity, watch over us and over all the
families of the world so that through the joys and trials of life we always
recognize your will and cooperate with the work of redemption. Through the Christ,
Our Lord.
All: Amen.
