Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation

Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation
Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation
Religion
Affiliation	Eastern Orthodox
Location
Location	Nazareth, Israel
Geographic coordinates	32°42′25.5″N 35°18′5.7″E / 32.707083°N 35.301583°E
Architecture
Completed	1769
Direction of façade	South

The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Gabriel, also known as the (Greek) Orthodox Church of the Annunciation (Greek: Ορθόδοξος Ναός του Ευαγγελισμού), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Nazareth, Israel. It is one of two claimants to the site of the Annunciation - where angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced that she would give birth to Jesus - the other being the Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation.^[1]

Likely first established in Byzantine-era Palaestina Prima, it was rebuilt during the time of the Crusades, and in its current shape in the 18th century under the rule of Zahir al-Umar, the Arab governor of the Galilee.^[2]

Known colloquially among the Greek Orthodox worshippers of Galilee whom it serves as Kniset el-Rûm^[i], or Church of the Romans in the sense of Eastern Romans or Byzantines in Levantine Arabic, the church is located over an underground "spring" (actually the outlet of a 17-metre conduit coming from an uphill spring^[3]), which according to Eastern Orthodox belief is where the Virgin Mary was drawing water at the time of the Annunciation.^[4]^[5] Water from the spring still runs inside a side chapel of the church and also fed the adjacent site of Mary's Well, located 150 yards (140 m) away.^[2]^[6]

^ Slyomovics 2009, p. 16: "Despite the singularity of the miracle of the messianic Annunciation, two churches built in Nazareth each vied to preserve a unique moment in mankind's history at a precise locale that marks when and where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." For Roman Catholics, the divine-human encounter enacted through Gabriel to Mary occurred within the courtyard confines of the Basilica of the Annunciation. ... The Basilica stands in contrast to parallel claims of the Greek Orthodox location of the Annunciation. As with two Annunciation sites in Nazareth, there are also two, if not three, wells associated with the Virgin Mary where Mary, accompanied by the child Jesus, drew water for her everyday needs: one located within the enclosure walls of the Roman Catholic Basilica, and a second, within the Greek Orthodox St. Gabriel Church in the Chapel of the Spring, both sites renowned as tourist and pilgrimage destinations for centuries. Sectarian differences focus on the geography of the Annunciation, less so sustained by core theological divergences. Each church claims to possess the actual geographical feature of Mary's Well, just as each church maintains the association of the Virgin Mary symbolically and mythically with water."
^ ^a ^b Veselin Kesich and Lydia W. Kesich (1985). Treasures of the Holy Land: a visit to the places of Christian origins (Illustrated ed.). St Vladimir's Seminary Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-88141-045-4.
^ Pringle, Denys (1998). The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: L-Z (excluding Tyre) (Illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–143. ISBN 0-521-39037-0.
^ Chad Fife Emmett (1995). Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth. University of Chicago Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-226-20711-0.
^ Frank J. Matera (2001). Strategies for Preaching Paul. Liturgical Press. p. 194. ISBN 0-8146-1966-5.
^ Paul L. Maier (1998). In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church. Kregel Publications. p. 84. ISBN 0-8254-3329-0.

[FOOTNOTESlyomovics200916-1] Slyomovics 2009, p. 16: "Despite the singularity of the miracle of the messianic Annunciation, two churches built in Nazareth each vied to preserve a unique moment in mankind's history at a precise locale that marks when and where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." For Roman Catholics, the divine-human encounter enacted through Gabriel to Mary occurred within the courtyard confines of the Basilica of the Annunciation. ... The Basilica stands in contrast to parallel claims of the Greek Orthodox location of the Annunciation. As with two Annunciation sites in Nazareth, there are also two, if not three, wells associated with the Virgin Mary where Mary, accompanied by the child Jesus, drew water for her everyday needs: one located within the enclosure walls of the Roman Catholic Basilica, and a second, within the Greek Orthodox St. Gabriel Church in the Chapel of the Spring, both sites renowned as tourist and pilgrimage destinations for centuries. Sectarian differences focus on the geography of the Annunciation, less so sustained by core theological divergences. Each church claims to possess the actual geographical feature of Mary's Well, just as each church maintains the association of the Virgin Mary symbolically and mythically with water."

[Kesichp32-2] Veselin Kesich and Lydia W. Kesich (1985). Treasures of the Holy Land: a visit to the places of Christian origins (Illustrated ed.). St Vladimir's Seminary Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-88141-045-4.

[Pringle140-3] Pringle, Denys (1998). The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: L-Z (excluding Tyre) (Illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–143. ISBN 0-521-39037-0.

[Emmett81-4] Chad Fife Emmett (1995). Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth. University of Chicago Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-226-20711-0.

[Matera-5] Frank J. Matera (2001). Strategies for Preaching Paul. Liturgical Press. p. 194. ISBN 0-8146-1966-5.

[Maeir-6] Paul L. Maier (1998). In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church. Kregel Publications. p. 84. ISBN 0-8254-3329-0.

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