Monday, April 28, 2014

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"The St. Joseph church"
NazarethNorth District of Israel


Wednesday, ‎December ‎25, ‎2013

Fifth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip


"The St. Joseph church"
NazarethNorth District of Israel




Sculpture of St. Joseph, in front of St.Joseph Church, near to Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, in northern 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.

In side the St.Joseph Church, near to Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, in northern Israel:
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.

Grotto, inside the St. Joseph Church:
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.

Christmas Crib, inside the St. Joseph Church, near to Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, in northern Israel:
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

Sculpture of St. Joseph, inside the St. Joseph Church, near to Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, in northern 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.

These steps to grotto where water cisterns carved into the rock by the early dwellers of Nazareth possibly the Holy Family,inside the St. Joseph Church, Nazareth, in northern Israel:
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.

A well and the remains of what is claimed to be the workshop of Joseph the Carpenter, inside the St. Joseph Church, Nazaret, Northern Isreal:
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.

St. Joseph's church is multi-leveled because it is built over a site which has been venerated for 2000 years, with numerous churches or buildings. St. Joseph Church, Nazaret, Isreal:
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.

Chapel in Church of St Joseph, Nazaret, Northern Isreal:
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.

Chapel in Church of St Joseph, Nazaret, Northern Isreal:
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.

A well inside the St. Joseph Church, Nazaret, Northern Isreal:
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.

Outside the church:
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.

Sculpture of St. Joseph, inside the St. Joseph Church, near to Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth, in northern Israel:

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.


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