The Holy Land

Place of pilgrimage for Nicholas

Detail map Holyland — Click for larger map

As a young man planning to become a monk, Nicholas traveled to the Holy Land to walk in the way of Jesus, venerate the holy places, and contemplate his vocation. Such a pilgrimage in that time would go by ship to Cesarea, then make a five-day journey by land to Jerusalem, generally done on foot, perhaps joining a caravan. It is believed that he lived for a time in a cave where the St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church now stands in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem. His travels and education would have deepened his wisdom and helped to shape him into the man who would come to have greatly respected spiritual authority rooted in his actions of love and justice. These pictures show some of the scenes Nicholas may have experienced during this time.

A farm in the hill country of Judah Photo: C Rasmussen Holy Land Photos Used by permission	The Jordan River south of the Sea of Galilee Photo: C Rasmussen Holy Land Photos Used by permission
Lion's Gate or St Stephen's Gate, the stoning of Stephen may have been near Photo: C Rasmussen Holy Land Photos Used by permission	Ancient olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemene Photo: C Rasmussen Holy Land Photos Used by permission
Tomb with rolling stone from the Roman Period (before AD 135) Photo: C Rasmussen Holy Land Photos Used by permission	A new vineyard in the hill country of Judah Photo: C Rasmussen Holy Land Photos Used by permission

Shrine in the cave at Beit Jala — St Nicholas Cave, where it is said he lived when in the Holy Land
St Nicholas Orthodox Church, Beit Jala
*Photo: JMR/Anglican World Used by permission*

St. Nicholas Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

More information

Saint Nicholas Bishop of Myra: The Life and Times of the Original Father Christmas by D. L. Cann, Novalis/Twenty-Third Publications, 2002
Describes the culture and places of the Graeco-Roman Empire that was home to St Nicholas
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