Church of the Annunciation

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Basic information
Church of the Annunciation
Church seen from the street
Location	Nazareth, Israel
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Year consecrated	1969
Ecclesiastical status	Minor Basilica
Architectural description
Year completed	1750
Specifications

This article refers to the basilica in Nazareth. For information on the church associated with the Blagoveschenskaya Tower in Russia, see Kremlin towers or Cathedral of the Annunciation.

The Church of the Annunciation (Hebrew: כנסיית הבשורה‎, Arabic: كنيسة البشارة‎, Greek: Εκκλησία του Ευαγγελισμού της Θεοτόκου), sometimes also referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation is a church in Nazareth, in modern-day northern Israel. The church was established at the site where, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the Annunciation took place. In other words, it is believed to be the location where Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a virgin, was visited by the Archangel Gabriel and told that she had been selected to be the mother of Jesus. Greek Orthodox tradition holds that this event occurred while Mary was drawing water from a local spring in Nazareth, and St. Gabriel's Church was erected at that alternate site.

The current church is a two-story building constructed in 1967 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era and then Crusader-era church. Inside, the lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary.

Under Roman Catholic canon law, the church enjoys the status of a minor basilica.

A historically significant site, considered sacred within some circles of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, the basilica attracts many Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian visitors every year.

1 History
- 1.1 Light a candle at the church online
2 References
3 Bibliography
4 Other reading

[edit] History

Catholic Mass in the Grotto of the Annunciation (lower level of the church).

Japanese mosaic of Madonna and Child, in the upper level chapel of the church.

The first shrine was probably built sometime in the middle of the 4th century, comprising an altar in the cave in which Mary had lived. A larger structure was commissioned by Emperor Constantine I, who had directed his mother, Saint Helena, to found churches commemorating important events in Jesus Christ's life. The Church of the Annunciation was founded around the same time as the Church of the Nativity (the birthplace) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the tomb). Some version of it was known to have still been in existence around 570 AD, but it was destroyed in the 7th century after the Muslim conquest of Palestine.

The second church was built over the ruins of the Byzantine era church during the Crusades, following the conquest of Nazareth by Tancred in 1102.^[1] The Crusader era church was never fully completed. Five Romanesque capitals carved by artists from northern France, and discovered during excavations in 1909, had not yet been installed in 1187 when news of Saladin's victory in the Battle of Hittin reached the city.^[1] See: Saladin granted permission to Franciscan priests to remain in Nazareth so as to oversee services at the church.^[1] In 1260, Baybars and his Mamluk army destroyed the church during their attack on Nazareth.^[1] A small number of Franciscans managed to stay in Nazareth until the fall of Acre in 1291. In the three centuries that followed, the Franciscans were in and out of Nazareth, depending on the local political situation, which was constantly in flux. Franciscan accounts of this period document their expulsion in 1363, their return in 1468 and a massacre of some of their members in 1542. Local Christian families with Franciscan support helped take care of the church as well during this period.^[2]

Emir Fakr ad-Din granted the Franciscans permission to return in 1620, at which time they constructed a small structure to enclose the holy grotto that is venerated as the house of Mary.^[2] In 1730, Dhaher al-Omar permitted construction of a new church, which became a central gathering place for Nazareth Latin community. The church was enlarged in 1877, and then completely demolished in 1954 to allow for the construction of a new basilica, which was completed in 1969.^[2] Used by the Latin parish, it remains under the control of the Franciscans. It is the largest Christian sanctuary in the Middle East, and was dedicated in 1964 by Pope Paul VI.

The church is a source of pride for inhabitants of Nazareth regardless of religious affiliation, and many civic events not connected with its religious function take place in its vicinity.

In March 2006, Lenten prayer services were disrupted by an Israeli Jew and his Christian wife and daughter, who set off firecrackers inside the church. ^[3] The attack caused only minor damage, but sparked a riot that injured two dozen people, including 13 police officers.^[3] The following day, thousands of Arab citizens of Israel marched through the streets of Nazareth to demand better protection for holy sites, accusing the government of failing to prevent the attack, and rejecting the official claim that the attack was driven by personal distress, and not politically motivated.^[3] At a judicial hearing for the couple, the father, Haim Eliahu Habibi apologized for the incident saying that they had meant no harm and held no hate towards Muslims or Christians, but had merely sought to draw attention to a child custody issue, as their three children had recently been placed in foster care by the state.^[4] Mr. Habibi and his wife first achieved notoriety in 2003 when they threatened to blow themselves up inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.^[4]

Front door of the church, depicting major events in Jesus' life.

[edit] Light a candle at the church online

A newly launched website gives millions of Christians across the world the opportunity to pray and light their own personal candles at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, via the Internet. The site, Mirezo.com, was officially launched during the recent Feast of the Annunciation in 2007. Once a user enters their personal prayer online, they can then watch over the Internet as a priest lights a candle in their name, and reads out their prayer.