Holy Land: A fifth Gospel that begins in Jordan

By Andrea Tornielli – Jordan

When we think or speak about the Holy Land, we naturally refer to the historical places of Jesus’ life in Palestine and Israel: Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Jerusalem.

But there is another country where Christian memories are scattered and which is worth making a destination for pilgrimages: Jordan.

It is the land Moses crossed, leading the Jewish people towards the Promised Land, where several biblical and Gospel episodes took place. It is the land from which Moses, before dying, was able to see the land of Canaan.

It is the land where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, where the Nazarene met His first apostles, Andrew and Peter, where He healed and performed miracles.

In a difficult context—it would suffice to think of the countries with which it borders, namely Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Palestine—Jordan stands out for its stability and for the peaceful coexistence of different religious traditions.

Christians are a minority, 4 percent of the population, yet they feel like full-fledged citizens of the country. They run schools and hospitals and, in the case of Latin-rite Catholics, they represent the largest part of the diocese led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

It is a destination for travellers because of its resorts on the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, and above all for the extraordinary beauty of Petra—the ancient Nabataean city carved into the rock and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Jordan is now seeking to increasingly highlight its Christian heritage.

Aqaba and Petra

The church of Aqaba, dating back to the 3rd century, is presented as the oldest building in the world intentionally constructed for Christian worship. The church was discovered by archaeologists in 1998.

It is likely that its peripheral position within the Roman Empire saved it from destruction during the Great Persecution, which broke out a few years after the church was built, in 303, with the edict of Emperor Diocletian.

Its remains were discovered in the Jordanian coastal city overlooking the Red Sea in June 1998 by a team of archaeologists.

The church’s uniqueness was immediately evident due to its architectural style, which challenged the prevailing view among historians that the first Christian places of worship in Jordan dated only to the late 4th century.

The author of this article was part of a group of visitors who were allowed, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, to celebrate Mass among those ruins, which are protected by a canopy open on the sides, in the centre of a square.

The fact that Christians are permitted to worship so publicly testifies to the vocation of a predominantly Muslim country where different faiths coexist.

The magnificent city of Petra also preserves Christian memories, in particular a Byzantine church with mosaics from the 5th–6th centuries depicting scenes of life and nature, showing the transition from pagan decorations to Christian motifs. It contains one of the largest baptisteries of antiquity, created from a pre-existing cistern.

An adjacent basilica chapel is also called the “blue church” because of the bluish granite of Egyptian origin. It was built on a previous Nabataean place of worship and later destroyed by fires and earthquakes.

Mount Nebo

It is a peak of great beauty, offering a unique panorama of the region. From here one can admire the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert, the Jordan Valley, and the mountains of Judea and Samaria.

On clear days, Jerusalem and the road leading to the Holy City can be seen. The discovery and excavations of this site came about thanks to the Custody of the Holy Land, particularly to Brother Girolamo Mihaic, who in 1932 managed to purchase the land.

Excavation campaigns conducted in the 1930s and then in the early 1960s—interrupted due to military conflicts and later resumed in the 1970s by Father Michele Piccirillo—brought to light a unique heritage.

The site is mentioned both by the pilgrim Egeria, a trailblazer in the Holy Land at the end of the 4th century, and by Peter the Iberian, later a Monophysite bishop of Gaza. The excavations revealed treasures, in particular Byzantine mosaics preserved in their entirety.

Today it is possible to distinguish the remains of the first basilica dating to 430 AD, the monastic buildings constructed in subsequent years, the new grand basilica of 500 AD ending in a structure with three apses, an ancient baptistery, then the 6th-century basilica and the chapel of the Theotokos (Mother of God).

Over the centuries, the structures suffered collapses due to earthquakes. Since 2016, pilgrims have been welcomed in a basilica that was carefully reconstructed with wood, which allows the ancient to stand out without the modern overshadowing it.

Machaerus

On this mountain stood a Hasmonean fortress built in 90 BC by King Alexander Jannaeus. The military stronghold was destroyed by the Romans, and in 30 BC Herod the Great began building a palace-fortress there to spend the winter.

From here too, one enjoys a unique panorama. The remains found indicate a palace that penetrated into the heart of the mountain and was surrounded by a village dedicated to servants.

From this place, Herod the Great used to travel to receive treatment at the Dead Sea. According to tradition, John the Baptist was imprisoned within these walls, and here Herod Antipas consented to Salome’s wish and ordered his beheading.

The fortress was destroyed by King Aretas IV in 37 AD and definitively razed to the ground by the Romans in 71 AD.

The Baptism of Jesus

The most significant evangelical site is certainly where the baptism of Jesus took place: the “Bethany beyond the Jordan” mentioned in the Gospel of John, known in the early centuries of the Christian era as Bethabara and today called Al-Maghtas, which in Arabic means “baptism” or “immersion.”

It also appears on the famous Madaba Map (another must-see site in Jordan), a mosaic map from the 6th century. Important archaeological evidence confirms this identification.

Between the late 5th and early 6th centuries, the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus had the first temple dedicated to John the Baptist built. The construction is described by pilgrims of that time.

Later, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity was built here, a church at least 27 meters long and over 15 meters wide. Excavations around the area have uncovered hermit caves, chapels, mosaics, marble floors, and a large cross-shaped baptistery.

Not far away, remains linked to the memory of the prophet Elijah have also been found. In 2015, the area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Here too, the choice to preserve the site without invasive interventions is striking, as explained by Rustom Mkhjian, director of the Baptism Site: only light wooden structures cover some of the places.

Pizzaballa: An ‘Eighth Sacrament’

“The Holy Land,” according to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, “is a fifth Gospel. I also like to call it a kind of eighth sacrament, because it allows you to make experience of an encounter with Jesus, physically, where you can touch. Everyone can be perfectly Christian without going to the Holy Land, but if you go to the Holy Land, your Christian faith becomes stronger and more concrete.”

From Jordan, the Cardinal makes this appeal to intensify pilgrimages—an invitation to touch with one’s own hands the stones that bear witness to the life of Jesus and to encounter the “living stones” represented by today’s Christian communities.

“I encourage everyone to come to the Holy Land,” said the Patriarch, “so they too can have this wonderful experience of encounter with Jesus Christ and His humanity.”