Ein Kerem
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Ein Kerem (Arabic: عين كارم; Hebrew: עין כרם) (literally, "Spring of the Vineyard") is an artisan village within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, Israel. According to Christian tradition, this is the site where John the Baptist was born and so the village became a site of pilgrimage.
History
Early history
A spring that provides water to the village of Ein Kerem stimulated settlement there from an early time. Pottery has been found nearby dating to the Middle Bronze Age (G. Ernest Wright, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 71 [Oct. 1938], pp. 28f.),Traditional Connection to John the Baptist
According to the Bible, Mary went "into the hill country, to a city of Judah" (Luke 1:39) when she visited he home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Theodosius (530) says that the distance from Jerusalem to the place where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, lived is five miles. The Jerusalem Calendar (dated before 638) mentions the village by name as the place of a festival in memory of Elizabeth celebrated on the twenty-eighth of August: "In the village of Enquarium, in the church of just Elizabet, her memory."There were other traditions: among the Christian sanctuaries of the Arab period (7th-10th centuries), there are two churches of St. John the Baptist of Jerusalem, one on the summit of the Mount of Olives, the other at the foot of the Mount.
Modern history
In the 14th century, an Arab village was founded near the village's fresh-water spring. The villagers preserved the multiple churches, monasteries and sanctuaries of the different Christian denominations.
This village was captured by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and was annexed into the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. Jewish refugees from Romania and Morocco moved into the abandoned homes, though over the years the "country" atmosphere attracted a population of artisans and craftsmen.
In 1961, Hadassah founded its medical center on a nearby hilltop, including the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology.
With the growth of the city of Jerusalem, Ein Kerem is now only minutes away from the city center, and offers tourists and Jerusalemites alike a picturesque rural haven, with multiple restaurants and accommodations.
Sites
Church of St. John the Baptist
There are actually two churches by this name in Ein-Kerem. The Catholic church is the best known. It was built in the second half of the 19th century on the remnants of earlier Byzantine and Crusader churches. It includes an ancient mosaic floor and a cave were John the Baptist was traditionally born.In the Book of the Demonstration, attributed to Eutychius of Alexandria (940), it is written: "The church of Bayt Zakariya in the district of Aelia bears witness to the visit of Mary to her kinswoman Elizabeth" (312). Daniel (1106) writes of the place: "on entering it [the church] there is, to the left, beneath the low altar, a small cavern, in which John the Forerunner was born."
Jack Finegan describes the archaeology of the site: "The church has been in the hand of the Franciscans since 1674. In 1941-1942 they conducted excavations in the area immediately west of the church and the adjoining monastery. In the area were uncovered several rock-cut chambers and graves as well as wine presses with mosaic floors and small chapels with mosaic pavements. The southern rock-cut chamber contained pottery of a type which has been found elsewhere around Jerusalem in association with coins of the Herodian dynasty and belongs therefore to the period from the first century BCE, and it is evidence for a community not only during Roman but also Byzantine and early Arab times. As for St. John's church itself, the present structure may be mainly from the eleventh century (Abel, Geographie II, pp. 295f.) but lower portions of the walls probably still remain from the Byzantine period (fourth-seventh centuries). At the front end of the left aisle is a grotto which must correspond with the small cavern mentioned by Daniel." (The Archaeology of the New Testament [Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1992], page 4).
The second church by this name is Eastern Orthodox, and was built in 1894, also on the remnants of an ancient church.
Sanctuary of the Visitation
Another ancient church at Ein Kerem is located across the village to the southwest from St. John's. The ancient sanctuary there was built against a rock declivity. It is venerated as the pietra del nascondimento, the "stone in which John was concealed," in reference to the Protevangelium of James. The site is also attributed to John the Baptist's parental summer house, where Mary visited them.The modern church was built in 1955, also on top of ancient church remnants. It was designed by Antonio Barluzzi, an Italian architect, who designed many other churches in the Holy Land during the 20th century.
Marble Statue of Aphrodite from Ein Kerem
During the excavations at Ein Kerem, a marble statue of Aphrodite (or Venus) was found in two broken pieces. Presumably, it stood during the Roman period and was toppled during the Byzantine period.
Les Soeurs de Notre-Dame de Sion Monastery
This monastery was founded by the Jewish convert brothers Theodore and Alfonse Retisbon of France, as an orphanage. Alfonse himself lived in the monastery and is buried in its garden. 13 nuns from the order of Les Soeurs de Notre-Dame de Sion (Sisters of Our Lady of Zion) now occupy the site.\"Moscovia\" Monastery
Built by the Russian Orthodox Church at the end of the 19th century, this church (originally "Gorny Monastery") was nicknamed "Moskovia" (Arabic for Moscow) by the local Arab villagers, because of its tented roof similarity to other Russian churches. The monastery has two churches enclosed within a compound wall.St. Vincent
St. Vincent-Ein Kerem is a home for physically or mentally handicapped children. Founded in 1954, St. Vincent-Ein Kerem is a non-profit enterprise under leadership of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.Mary's Spring
The village fresh-water spring is the traditional location where Mary and Elizabeth met. The spring waters are considered holy by the Christian pilgrims who visit the site and fill bottles with its waters.Ein Kerem picture gallery
External links
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