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"The Church of the Beatitudes "
Tabgha, Israel

Thursday, ‎December ‎26, ‎2013

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

My Holy Land Trip

"The Church of the Beatitudes "

In the Bible

The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham. The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven

The Church of the Beatitudes is located near the site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount,  Israel:

The Church of the Beatitudes is a Roman Catholic Church located by the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha and Capernaum and built on the traditional site of Jesus' delivery of the Sermon on the Mount; pilgrims are known to have commemorated this site since at least the 4th century. In her itinerary of the Holy Land, after describing the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, the pilgrim Egeria (c.381) writes, "Near there on a mountain is the cave to which the Savior climbed and spoke the Beatitudes." The current church sits near the ruins of a small Byzantine era church dating to the late 4th century, which contains a rock-cut cistern beneath it and the remains of a small monastery to its southeast. Part of the original mosaic floor has also been recovered and is now on display in Capernaum. Both Popes Paul VI and John Paul II celebrated Mass at the church during their pastoral visits to the Holy Land.

Monte Delle Beatitudini - The Church of the Beatitudes is located near the site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount,  Israel:

The modern church was built between 1936 and 1938 near the site of the fourth century Byzantine ruins. The floor plan is octagonal, the eight sides representing the eight Beatitudes. The church is Byzantine in style with a marble veneer casing the lower walls and gold mosaic in the dome. In front of the church are mosaic symbols on the pavement representing Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, Faith, Hope, and Charity.

The way to Monte Delle Beatitudini - Mount of Beatitudes:

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor describes the selection of the site thus; "It was perhaps inevitable that this well-watered area with its shade trees on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Byzantine pilgrims ate their picnics, should have been identified as the location of two episodes involving the consumption of food, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the conferral on Peter of the responsibility of leadership after a fish breakfast. Then it became convenient to localize the Sermon of the Mount on the small hill nearby." (The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700, p. 277) Regardless of whether this is the very spot, the Church of the Beatitudes stands in the general area and in a very similar setting to where Jesus would have stood as he delivered his famous sermon. As Murphy-O'Connor puts it, "from here one can see virtually all the places in which Jesus lived and worked" (p. 280).The Mount of Beatitudes, believed to be the setting for Jesus’ most famous discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, is one of the most beautifully serene places in the Holy Land.

A view of the Sea of Galilee from the Church of Beatitudes:

Overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it offers an enchanting vista of the northern part of the lake and across to the cliffs of the Golan Heights on the other side.

Within sight are the scenes of many of the events of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, including the town of Capernaum 3km away, where he made his home. Just below is Sower’s Cove, where it is believed Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9) from a boat moored in the bay.

The exact site of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28) is unknown. Pilgrims commemorate the event at the eight-sided Church of the Beatitudes, built on the slope of the mount and accessible by a side road branching off the Tiberias-Rosh Pina highway.

The Mount of Beatitudes is also understood to be the place where Jesus met his apostles after his Resurrection and commissioned them to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:16-20).

The spacious slope of the Mount of Beatitudes (also known as Mount Eremos, a Greek word meaning solitary or uninhabited) would have provided ample space for a large crowd to gather to hear Jesus.

The 4th-century pilgrim Egeria records a tradition that may go back to the Jewish-Christians of Capernaum. She tells of a cave in the hillside at the Seven Springs, near Tabgha, “upon which the Lord ascended when he taught the Beatitudes”.

Church of the Beatitudes, located near the site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount,  3km away from Capernaum, Israel:

Archaeologist Bargil Pixner says: “The terrace above this still existing cave, called Mughara Ayub, must be considered the traditional place of the Sermon on the Mount. The hill crest of Eremos indeed offers a magnificent view over the entire lake and the surrounding villages. The cragginess of this hill meant it was left uncultivated and enabled Jesus to gather large crowds around him without causing damage to the farmers.”

A Byzantine church was erected nearby in the 4th century, and it was used until the 7th century. Its ruins have been discovered downhill from the present church

The Church of the Beatitudes, an elegant octagonal building with colonnaded cloisters, blends into the slope rather than dominating it. It was built in 1938 for a Franciscan order of nuns, to a design by Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi — and partly financed by the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

The eight sides of the light and airy church represent the eight beatitudes, and these are also shown in Latin in the upper windows.

The centrally placed altar is surmounted by a slender arch of alabaster and onyx. Around it, the seven virtues (justice, charity, prudence, faith, fortitude, hope and temperance) are depicted by symbols in the mosaic floor.

In the landscaped garden, three altars are provided for group worship. 

Near the Church of Beatitudes, located near the site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount,  3km away from Capernaum, Israel:

It is possible that this is the actual site of the Sermon on the Mount, but it is not terribly likely. There is no specific evidence for identification of the site before the 4th century, but it is reasonable to place the Sermon here since Jesus was based in Capernaum not far away.

Jerome Murphy O'Connor attributes the selection of the site to pilgrims' own experiences in the area:

Regardless of whether this is the very spot, the Church of the Beatitudes stands in the right general area and in a very similar setting to where Jesus would have stood as he delivered his famous sermon. As Murphy-O'Connor puts it, from here "one can see virtually all the places in which Jesus lived and worked" (p.280).

Near the Church of Beatitudes, located near the site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount,  3km away from Capernaum, Israel:

Pilgrims are known to have commemorated the Sermon on the Mount near here since the 4th century. After describing the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, the Spanish pilgrim Egeria (c.381) wrote, "Near there on a mountain is the cave to which the Savior climbed and spoke the Beatitudes."

Ruins of a small church dated to the late 4th century have been discovered downhill from the present church. It has a rock-cut cistern beneath it and the remains of a little monastery to its south and southeast. Part of the mosaic floor was recovered and is now on display in Capernaum. The present church was built in 1938.

Designed by the architect A. Barluzzi, the Catholic church on the Mount of Beatitudes is Byzantine in style. Its octagonal shape represents the eight beatitudes. It has a marble veneer casing the lower walls and gold mosaic in the dome.

The chief attraction here, though, is the setting. The cool and quiet gardens overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the landscape where Jesus conducted his ministry make an excellent place to contemplate some of the best-known Christian teachings.

Mount Beatitudes, where the people stood to hear Jesus, while Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, 3km away from Capernaum, Karn Hattin, Israel:

Sermon on Mount

The so-called "Sermon on the Mount" is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6.  The alleged discrepancy between Matthew's version being on a hill and Luke's being on a level place is easily reconciled with observation of many level places on the Galilean hillsides.  Scripture gives no indication of the exact location of this event, but the Byzantines built a church to commemorate it at the bottom of the hill.  Some of Napoleon's men placed it on the nearby Arbel mountain.

Central Location

The suggestion of this hill for the location of the Sermon on the Mount is a good one.  Once known as Mt. Eremos, this hill is located between Capernaum and Tabgha and is just above the "Cove of the Sower."  This spacious hillside provides much room for crowds to gather, as evidenced by preparation for 100,000 Catholics to observe mass nearby with the Pope's visit in March 2000 (it rained and fewer came, but the space was available). 

Mount Beatitudes, where the people stood to hear Jesus, while Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, 3km away from Capernaum, Karn Hattin, Israel:

The Mt. of Beatitudes overlooks the four-mile long Plain of Gennesaret, an area famed for its fertility.  Josephus said this plain was the location of "nature's crowning achievement."  Several times the New Testament records that Jesus was in this area including when he healed the multitudes here and faced Pharisaic condemnation for ritual impurity (Mark 6-7).

This name is given to the place where Our Savior delivered the "Sermon on the Mount", beginning with the Beatitudes. The scene of this discourse is traditionally located on Karn Hattin (or Kurun Hattîn), the Horns of Hattin, a mountain which receives its name from the little village at its northern base and from the two cones or horns which crown its summit. Karn Hattin is in Galilee in easy distance of Nazareth, Cana, and Mt. Tabor to the southwest, of Tiberias and Lake Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee) to the east, and of Capharnaum to the northeast, in the center, therefore, of much of the ministry of Jesus. It lies 1, 816 feet above the lake and 1,135 feet above the sea level (according to Baedeker, Palestine and Syria, Leipzig, 1898, pp. 285, 288, which has the high authority of Socin and Benzinger). 

Near the Church of Beatitudes, located near the site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount,  3km away from Capernaum, Israel:

This mountain, rising above the hills that skirt the lake, is the only height to the west that can be seen from its shores. It consists of a low ridge about one-quarter of a mile long extending east and west, and rising at each extremity into a cone or horn. The horn, which is the taller, is only sixty feet above the ridge. Between the horns lies an uneven platform which could easily accommodate the crowd that followed Jesus; but it is believed that the spot on which the discourse was given is lower down, on a level place on the southern side of the mountain, corresponding with St. Luke's description (topou pedinou), vi. 17, which may mean a level place, as well as a "plain". From the eastern slope of the hill there is a beautiful view, to the east, of the lake with the Jôlan (Gaulanitis) mountains beyond, to the south, the plateau of Ard el-Hamma and Mt. Tabor, and to the north the snowy height of Mt. Hermon. 

Mount Beatitudes, where the people stood to hear Jesus, while Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, 3km away from Capernaum, Karn Hattin, Israel:

The tradition that there was a village on the mountain top, if true (the only proof being the remains of a wall which served as defense to a camp), might lend point to the reference in the sermon to the city which was seated on a hill and could not be hid (Matthew 5:14); and the beautiful flowers that abound there might include the unidentified "lilies of the field" (6:28). Bishop Le Camus (Notre Voyage aux Pays Bibliques, II, pp. 220-222) thought he never saw elsewhere and never imagined so lovely a variety and harmony in the beauty of flowers; other travellers are scarcely so enthusiastic, but all agree the spot has a charm of its own. The Horns of Hattin are mentioned by a feeble and late tradition as the site of the second multiplication of loaves. The Jews of the locality point out here also the tomb of Jethro, father-in-law of Moses. During the Crusades the plain below was the scene of the battle in which Saladin dealt the death-blow to French power in Palestine (3-4 July, 1187).

Inside the Church of Beatitudes:

The tradition regarding the scene of the Sermon on the Mount, though usually received with a certain degree of favor by Scriptural scholars, apparently does not go back beyond the crusaders. St. Jerome, the best informed man of his day on points of this nature, knew of no such tradition and merely conjectured that the scene was on Mt. Tabor or some other high mountain of Galilee (Comm. in Ev. S. Matt. in Cap. v). The Gospels, in fact, afford but little help in determining the site. Matthew 5:1, locates the sermon on the mountain (to oros), and Luke 6:12, uses the same expression for the spot from which Our Lord descended before He preached on the "level place", 6:17. The expression most naturally "suggests that the sermon had long been traditionally connected with a mountain and seems to mean the mountain on which the sermon was delivered" (Allen, St. Matthew, New York, 1907).Some scholars even see in the definite article the indication of a particular mountain which the Evangelists suppose known to the reader; but popular curiosity concerning the scene of particular Gospel events is a growth of later date. 

Inside the Church of Beatitudes:

Some interpret it as "the mountain that was at hand". Others refuse to see in the mountain a reference to any particular mountain at all, but interpret the word as meaning "the tableland, the mountainous district". To oros is used in this sense in the Septuagint translation of Genesis 19:17-30, 31:23-25 and 36:8-9, and appears to have the same meaning in Matthew 14:23, Matthew 15:29, Mark 6:46, Luke 9:28 and John 6:3. Possibly the word is to be thus interpreted here also, but St. Luke more probably refers (6:12) to a particular mountain on which Our Lord spent the night in prayer and from which he descended to the level place or tableland to preach the discourse.

Corridor of the Church of Beatitudes:

Some interpret it as "the mountain that was at hand". Others refuse to see in the mountain a reference to any particular mountain at all, but interpret the word as meaning "the tableland, the mountainous district". To oros is used in this sense in the Septuagint translation of Genesis 19:17-30, 31:23-25 and 36:8-9, and appears to have the same meaning in Matthew 14:23, Matthew 15:29, Mark 6:46, Luke 9:28 and John 6:3. Possibly the word is to be thus interpreted here also, but St. Luke more probably refers (6:12) to a particular mountain on which Our Lord spent the night in prayer and from which he descended to the level place or tableland to preach the discourse.

According to another opinion recently put forth by certain critics, the mountain is purely ideal in Matthew, while Luke a plain is the place on which the Beatitudes were spoken. The author of the First Gospel, in the opinion of Loisy (Le Discours sur la Montagne) "desires to have for the publication of the New Law, a setting analogous to that which is described in Exodus (20:18-22) for the Old Law. The mountain of Matthew is the Sinai of the Gospel where Jesus speaks as the prince of the kingdom of God and shows himself greater than Moses . . . to seek an exact geographical determination here is no more expedient than in the case of the mountain of the temptation", which was purely, being represented as high enough to afford a view of all the kingdoms of the world. There is probably an element of truth in this opinion; nearly all the Fathers seek a symbolic meaning in the mountains (v. St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea, loc. cit.) and are probably right in attributing it to Matthew. But his account and that of St. Luke have too matter-of-fact an air to allow us to believe that either intended the mountain to be regarded as purely ideal. Matthew, believed then, that the New Law, just as the Old, was really given on a mountain. We are assuming here, of course, that the Sermon on the Mount was a genuine discourse by Our Lord, not a mere rearrangement of His sayings made by Matthew.