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"Yardenit"
Baptismal Site

Jordan River, Galilee Region of Northern Israel

Thursday, ‎December ‎26, ‎2013

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

My Holy Land Trip

"Yardenit"

Baptismal Site

Baptism ceremonies held at the site:

Yardenit (Hebrew: ירדנית), also known as the Yardenit Baptismal Site, is a baptism site located along the Jordan River in the Galilee region of northern Israel, which is frequented by Christian pilgrim.

The site is located south of the river's outlet from the Sea of Galilee, near Kibbutz Kvutzat Kinneret, which owns and manages the site.

According to Christian tradition, the baptism of Jesus (Matthew, 3: 13-17) actually took place in Qasr el Yahud, north of the Dead Sea and east of Jericho. For centuries, Qasr al Yahud was the most important baptism site for pilgrims, and monasteries and guest houses were established near it. After the Six-Day WarQasr el Yahud became a frontier area, located on the border between the state of Israel and Jordan. As a result, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism decided to establish this site in 1981 as a replacement site. As a result, "Yardenit" became the only regulated baptism site on the Israeli side of the river, until the reopening of Qasr el Yahud site in 2011.

The way to Beth Yerah located on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee:

The site currently averages 400,000 visitors each year representing all faiths

The Jordan River is the major river of ancient Israel. Its source begins at Banias in the foothills of Mount Hermon, it then runs south along a crack in the earth's surface called the Syro-African fault, where two tectonic plates meet.

It is derived from the Hebrew words (Yarden from the verb root word Yarod, meaning to descend).

The source of water for the Jordan River is the Sea of Galilee (Kineret). It is bordered with trees and shrubs, such as, Apple of Sodom, Tamarisk, Rhododendron, and Angus Castus. It contains twenty-two species of fish. The Jordan River is more than thirteen miles in length and a bridge, which connects Damascus to Galilee, crosses it. The river floods occur from February to May. The Jordan River ends in the Dead Sea.

The way to Beth Yerah located on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee:

Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptize by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5-6).

Jesus Christ traveled south to Jordan River to meet John the Baptist who was baptizing in the Jordan River all who would come and repent of their sins. Jesus Christ was then baptized in the Bethany across the Jordan River (John 1.28).

Natural water no longer flows along most of the Jordan river. The northern part of the river, between the Sea of Galilee and the meeting of the Jordan and Yarmukh, where the Yardenit Baptismal Site is located, is the only place where it is still possible to be baptized in the flowing water of the Jordan River.

Yardenit, the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River, southern shore of the Sea of Galilee:

Today Pilgrims to the Holy Land visit the Baptismal Site (Yardenit) and are baptized in the waters of the Jordan.

The Yardenit Baptismal Site is located at the southern exit of the Sea of Galilee, just behind the gate of the Dam that is used on rainy winters to lower the level of the lake. The baptism site has a large parking lot, convenient dressing rooms, stairway to walk down into the waters, a restaurant and a shop.

The Google Map is centered on the Yardenit Baptismal Site. 

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River, southern shore of the Sea of Galilee:

According to Christian tradition, the baptism of Jesus (Matthew, 3: 13-17) actually took place in Qasr el Yahud, north of the Dead Sea and east of Jericho.

For centuries, Qasr al Yahud was the most important baptism site for pilgrims, and monasteries and guest houses were established near it.

After the Six-Day War Qasr el Yahud became a frontier area, located on the border between the state of Israel and Jordan. As a result, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism decided to establish Yardenit in 1981 as a replacement site. As a result, "Yardenit" became the only regulated baptism site on the Israeli side of the river, until the reopening of Qasr el Yahud site in 2010. 

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River, southern shore of the Sea of Galilee:

The Yardenit Baptismal Site currently averages 400,000 visitors each year representing all faiths.

Qasr el Yahud or Kasser Al Yahud or the (Castle of the Jews) is baptism site in the Jordan River Valley in Israel. It is the traditional spot where the New Testament narrative of the baptism of Jesus took place (Matthew, 3: 13-17).

According to tradition, it is also the place where the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and Elijah the Prophet ascended to heaven.

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River, southern shore of the Sea of Galilee:

The site includes marble steps that descend into the Jordan River as well as ruins of Byzantine and Crusader churches.

It reopened on about July 24, 2010 after being closed for 44 years. The restoration project was approved before the millennium celebrations but was delayed due to the Intifada and flooding in the region in 2003.

It is administered by the Israeli Civil Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

Wall of the Life - the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

An Anonymous Pilgrim (4th Century) and Theodosius (6^th Century) An anonymous pilgrim, who arrived from Bordeaux in 333, and another pilgrim named Theodosius in 530 (as well as others) described the baptism site of Jesus, indicating that the place where Christ was baptized was five miles from the Dead Sea. They also mentioned the small hill that lies to the East of the river as being near the site of the baptism, as well as being the place from which Elijah ascended to Heaven.

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

Theodosius also described the church of John the Baptist, which was built on vaults & arcs during the reign of the Emperor Anestasius (A.D. 491- 518) to prevent any damage that might be caused by the flooding of the river. Recent archeological excavations have uncovered remains of the piers over which the church was built on the eastern bank of the river. Theodosius mentions a marble column implanted in the middle of the river bearing the sign of the Cross (as an indication of where Christ's baptism took place).

Prayers written in different languages,the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

Antoninus of Piacenza wrote in 570 that the site of Jesus' baptism was opposite the monastery of Saint John adding that marble steps led to the bank of the river where Jesus was baptized. 

Prayers written in different languages,the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

At the end of the third century and the beginning of the fourth, the famous Church historian Eusebius mentioned certain Gospel sites in his geographic dictionary, Onomasticon. He mentioned that many of the brothers in Christ, who were desirous of rebirth, were baptized in the Jordan River or submerged in the flow of the living river in imitation of Christ who was baptized in this same place. 

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

Jesus' Name believers claim the development of baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is a post-Apostolic interpolation and corruption. Some claim that the "Trinitarian" clause in Matthew 28:19 was added to Matthew's text in the 2nd/3rd century. They cite as evidence that no record exists in the New Testament of someone being baptized with the Trinitarian formula.

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

Other adherents of the Jesus Name doctrine believe the authenticity of Matthew 28:19 but believe that the command is correctly fulfilled by baptizing in the name of Jesus. Such adherents are generally Oneness Pentecostals who believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not to be regarded as distinct persons in the Godhead, and that the name "Jesus" is the supreme revelatory name of the one God who is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of his public ministry. This event is recorded in the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. John's gospel does not directly describe Jesus' baptism.

The place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jordan River:

Most modern scholars view the fact that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist as an historical event to which a high degree of certainty can be assigned. Along with the crucifixion of Jesus, most scholars view it as one of the two historically certain facts about him, and often use it as the starting points for the study of the historical Jesus.

The Olive tree planted by The Global Links, Group from Nigeria, in honor of the friendship and support between Nigeria and the Yerdenit, The baptismal site on The Jordan River on September, 2013:

The baptism is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being the Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. Most Christian denominations view the baptism of Jesus as an important event and a basis for the Christian rite of baptism (see also Acts 19:1-7). In Eastern Christianity, Jesus' baptism is commemorated on 6 January, the feast of Epiphany. 

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Churches and some other Western denominations, it is recalled on a day within the following week, the feast of the baptism of the Lord. In Roman Catholicism, the baptism of Jesus is one of the Luminous Mysteries sometimes added to the Rosary. It is a Trinitarian feast in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.