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Church of Gabriel
A Holy Site in
At the edges of the hill, over
which the old village once rose, to the northeast there is still an abundant
spring known as "Mary's spring" ('ain sitti Mariam). We can suppose
that the Virgin, like every other woman of Nazareth, often came to this spring
for household water. The water springs from the rock about 30 meters from the
church; a duct carries it into the church and then to the monumental
fountain on the road to Tiberias.
In addition to being a sanctuary, Gabriel's Church is the parish church of the
Greek Orthodox community, which is the largest of the ArabChristian
congregations in Nazareth with over 14,000 members. It is run by a Greek bishop
who answers to the Patriarch of Jerusalem and it has a lively Orthodox Social
Center that organizes all sorts of community activities.
The existing church dates from 1750 when the Orthodox Greeks obtained a firman
from the Turkish sultan of Constantinople granting them permission to rebuild
the old, ruined church. Previously, all Christian worship was held in the
undergound tunnel where the mouth of the spring is located. With its three,
nearly windowless naves and square bell tower that is topped by a luminous
cross, it represents the typical image of the old Eastern rite churches
scattered throughout the Galilee. In the X11 century the Russian pilgrim,
Daniel, wrote about a round church: "As we left the city, heading east, we
came to a remarkable, deep well with very cold water; one can go down into it by
steps. A round church, dedicated to St. Gabriel covers the well."
In 1767 the carved and gilded wooden iconostasis was put into the church. It was
a gift of a Greek merchant on pilgrimage to Nazareth, and according to the
inscription in Arabic and Greek, it was made by Andrew di Maistu. Fine icons
from the school of Jerusalem depict the Savior Enthroned, the Virgin and Child,
St. John the Baptist with angel wings; St. George on horseback, and other images
of the saints most venerated by Christians in Palestine. Recently, all the walls
were redecorated by two Romanian artists, Michel and Gabriel Marosan. The
painted scenes, mainly from the Old and New Testaments, are lively and colorful,
so that they blend well with the rest of the building.
MARY'S WELL
This place preserves the memory of
the Annunciation, which according to ancient eastern tradition, as substantiated
by the Protevangelium of James (an apocryphal text dating from the 11 century
A.D.): "[Mary]came with a pitcher to fetch water. And she heard a voice:
Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou
among women". The angel's greeting (Luke 1:28) is embellished by the
enthusiastic words of Elizabeth (Luke 1:42) as in the traditional Hail
Mary prayer.
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