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An interior view of the primary entrace to the Church of the Nativity. This doorway which was reduced in height during the Crusades to keep people from riding into the church on horseback.
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Interior of the Church of the Nativity. In 325, Constantine erected a basilica with an octagonal chapel over a series of caves. After his building was destroyed, Justinian 1 (527-565) built a new and larger church extensively altering the plan. Further modifications were made in the Middle Ages, but the present structure is basically the one built by Justinian.
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The focal point of Bethlehem today is the Chruch of the Nativity. The church dates to the reign of Constatine; its construction begain 329 AD, and it was dedicated by Queen Helena on May 31, 339.
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Pilgrims descending a short staircase beneath the main altar enter a small grotto or cave commemorating the place of Jesus’ birth.
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Statues of Jerome, 4th century translator of the Hebrew Bible into Latin (Vulgate), and of St. Catherine, a Christian martyr, grace the cloister adjacent to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
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Although the Church of the Nativity has been renovated seveal times over the centuries, the beautiful mosiac floor of the original church has been preserved.
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The Wise Men’s adoration of the Christ child is depicted in this stained glass window over the entrance to St. Catherine’s Church. Here in Bethlehem’s Basilica of the Nativity pilgrims visit the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
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