Beit Jala, near Bethlehem Palestine
Jerusalem Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
This ancient church, the oldest in Bethlehem, was on the verge of collapse before being completely rebuilt in the 1920s. Ruins of an old floor and cave with Byzantine mosaic murals confirmed its antiquity. Tradition teaches that St Nicolas stayed four years in this cave (over which the church was built) when he visited Bethlehem during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, ca AD 330. He is Beit Jala's patron saint.
A monastery was built on the site as early as AD 200; it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. The last monastery was built by Russian Karj monks during the Ottoman period. It was torn down in 1921 and the new church finished in 1925.
The pilgrimage to the church on December 19th, his feast day, is a highlight of the Greek Orthodox season of Nativity Lent. The Archbishop says Saint Nicholas' Feast Day prepares us for Christmas.
Cave of St. Nicolas beneath church
Icon: St. Nicholas, Father of Beit Jala
St Nicolas icons in the church
Cave of St. Nicolas beneath church
Icon: St. Nicholas, Father of Beit Jala
St Nicolas icons in the church