The Hagia Maria Sion or Dormition Abbey is the Catholic sanctuary in Jerusalem that commemorates the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven at the end of her earthly life, also known by the Orthodox Churches as the Dormition (falling asleep) of the Theotokos.

“The slopes and trees of Nazareth are here in Judah’s hills, a sight familiar, as is she whom I have come to see. “With Child, as I, we share a single joy, in laughter and in tears; in silent wonder.

A “bird’s eye view” of the Latin Catholic Church in the Holy Land, including the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

There has been much excellent academic study of the history of Christianity in the land of its birth. It could fill a whole library. In recent years, however, all that fine work has been eclipsed by the myth, created by the so-called "Palestinian narrative," of Palestinian Christianity.

The Orthodox churches count among them some of the oldest churches in Christianity.  Because they almost all originated in the east they are usually known as the "eastern" churches.

Since there are a number of passages in the Koran stating that God has given the Holy Land to the Sons of Israel, there can be no religious justification for radical Islamic opposition to the Jewish presence in this land.

Flanked by high Golan, Against the Syrian dawn, You mirror Galilean hills, And mingle with the Jordan As it bides with you awhile. Still lapping Caesar’s quayAnd green Kinneret’s plain, Your waters carry Ephraim again, recalling Simon and his friends.

Nigh pristine still, these ancient stones arrest the sons of Abraham, and bid them weep, for they have lost their calling: the house they held aloft is swept away as once its builder’s nation was, and grief is here enshrined.

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View videos showing the highlights of Pope Benedict's visit in Israel.

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