Tag Archive for Church

| October 25, 2019
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Incredible Byzantine church of Marble, mosaics & glass windows discovered

It is unknown to whom the 1,500 yr-old structure near Jerusalem is dedicated to, but its size & rich trappings of the most complete collection of Byzantine glass windows and lanterns ever found in one excavation site leads archaeologists to believe it was a popular pilgrimage site, until it was abandoned in the 9th century CE.

By Ynet, Agencies

 

Israeli archaeologists this week revealed the elaborately decorated Byzantine church dedicated to an anonymous martyr that was recently uncovered near Jerusalem.

The Israel Antiquities Authority showcased some of the finds from the nearly 1,500-year-old structure, whose compound covers around one third of an acre, after three years of excavations. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| April 7, 2016
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Palestinian Christians outraged over Hamas destruction of unearthed church ruins in Gaza

 

West Bank Palestinian Christian cleric asks, “How are the Wakf officials in Gaza different from ISIS when they bulldoze antiquities and a religious and cultural treasure?”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Palestinian Christians on Wednesday expressed anger over the way the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have handled the ancient ruins of a Byzantine church that were uncovered in Gaza City last week.

They said that bulldozers removed the antiquities and continued with their work without supervision. They accused the two big Palestinian parties of seeking to obliterate Christian history and identity in the Holy Land.

Kids removing sand covering carving from ancient ruins, which archaeologists say may be part of a Byzantine church or cathedral dating from around 1,500 years ago, were found in Gaza City April 4, 2016.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| January 2, 2016
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Archaeological dig in central Israel unearths 2700 yr-old farm with 1,500 yr-old Byzantine church

 

 view video“Among other things, the rapid spread of Christianity at that time is apparent, as evidenced by the many impressive rural churches,” said the excavation director.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD

 

A community excavation overseen by the Antiquities Authority in the center of the country has unearthed a rare and well-preserved 2,700-year-old farmhouse and 1,500-year-old church featuring colorful mosaics and numerous Greek inscriptions, the authority announced on Wednesday.

The findings were discovered during an excavation in Rosh Ha’ayin initiated by the Construction Ministry in coordination with the city’s municipality prior to building new neighborhoods in the area.

“So far, scores of teenagers from preparatory programs and youth villages have participated in the excavation, as part of the Israel Antiquities Authority policy of increasing public awareness of our cultural heritage,” the authority said in a statement. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| June 19, 2015
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Outraged Netanyahu Instructs Shin Bet to Investigate Possible Arson of Historic Church

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the church torching is a heinous crime & an “attack on us all…Freedom of worship is one of Israel’s cornerstones,” the prime minister said. “Hatred & intolerance have no place in our society.”

By i24news

 

A fire broke out Wednesday night at a major Catholic pilgrimage church on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in what police have determined was arson. Police were investigating whether the arson was a hate crime on the part of extremist Jews.

5th century church set on fire in suspected hate crime, June 2015 – Ynet/Avihu Shapira

A member of the Roman Catholic Benedictine order, which manages the site, said one of the buildings within the compound was completely destroyed in the blaze but the church itself was not damaged. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| June 11, 2015
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1,500 yr-old church unearthed near Israel’s main highway

Byzantine Empire period church discovered during road work aimed at linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

By i24news

 

A 1,500-year-old church was discovered during work to broaden Israel’s main highway, which links Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, archaeologists said Wednesday.

Ancient church discovered in Israel in June 2015 – Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

The church stems from when the Byzantine Empire ruled over what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories between 324 and 638 after Christ. The Byzantine Empire, spreading Christianity, was the mostly Greek-speaking continuation of the eastern parts of the Roman Empire during late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
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Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: , ,
| November 26, 2014
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Palestinian Muslims Regularly Attack Jerusalem Church

Staff of Living Bread International Church are subjected to constant vandalism, thief, intimidation & even physical attacks after church refused to sell & leave East Jerusalem.

By Israel Today Staff

 

A church in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Musrara has for months been facing regular attacks by local Arab Muslims over its refusal to sell the property and move out.

Living Bread International Church in Jerusalem

Living Bread International Church has ministry centers in Jerusalem, Gaza and Jericho. It has a 20-year lease on the Jerusalem location, but was recently told by a gang of Arab residents that it must vacate the premises, which is situated near the Old City. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| October 27, 2014
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Church in east Jerusalem victim to constant Arab attacks, theft and harassment

 

Pastor of Living Bread Int’l Church reported to police that church employees are regularly beaten up or harassed, property vandalized & stolen.

A land dispute between a Christian church and Arab residents of an east Jerusalem neighborhood has devolved into chronic violence, theft, and harassment against the church’s employees, including two disabled orphans living there, its pastor said Sunday.

Vandals at the Living Bread International Church in east Jerusalem on October 16.

Vandals at the Living Bread International Church in east Jerusalem on October 16. – Photo: KAREN DUNHAM

According to Karen Dunham, pastor and director of Living Bread International Church – a non-denominational institution with offices in Jerusalem, Gaza and Jericho – the church has been housed in Musrara, for seven years, with 20 years remaining on its lease. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| January 22, 2014
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Byzantine period church unearthed near the Haredi community

 

Archeological findings reveal beautifully preserved 1,500-year old mosaic and 5 written engravings in the impressive 22-meter long basilica building partitioned by white marble columns.

By Matan Tzuri

 

An archeology excavation mission being conducted in southern Israel revealed an impressive and yet unknown church covered with a breathtaking Byzantine mosaic.

The Byzantine mosaic (Photo: IAA)

The Byzantine mosaic – Photo: IAA

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) discovery Wednesday near the Haredi community of Aluma near Kiryat Gat took place in wake of the prior discovery of the ruins of the infrastructure of what is believed to be an ancient city.

Archeologists believe the church served as a main altar for Christian ritual sacrifice roughly 1,500 years ago. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| February 18, 2013
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Dershowitz: Papacy contender is an anti-Semite

James Carroll, distinguished columnist for the Boston Globe, who is himself a Catholic, has characterized Rodriguez Maradiaga’s “crackpot” mindset: “When the church has a problem — here is the oldest move of all — blame the Jews.”

By JTA

 

In a letter to the editor of the Miami Herald, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said that one of the leading candidates to replace Pope Benedict XVI is an anti-Semite.

Alan Dershowitz, professor of law, Harvard University – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

Responding to a list published last week after the resignation of Benedict, which identified Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras as a possible successor to the current pope, Dershowitz wrote:  “He has blamed the Jews for the scandal surrounding the sexual misconduct of priests toward young parishioners! Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| January 7, 2013
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Bishop Fellay, head of Society of St. Pius X calls Jews ‘enemies’ of the Church

The society’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, in a 1985 letter to Pope John Paul II identified the enemies of the faith as “Jews, Communists & Freemasons.”

Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications imposed on the Society’s 4 bishops. One of the bishops Richard Williamson, denied the Nazis used gas chambers & asserted that no more than 200,000-300,000 Jews died during  World War II.

 

 

By JTA

 

TORONTO  — Jews are “enemies of the Church,” the head of a radical Catholic sect said in Canada.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, made the remark during a Dec. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| November 3, 2012
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Church of Holy Sepulcher owes NIS 9m. after years of refusing to pay water bill

Church threatens to shut its doors because Jerusalem water company took legal recourse to freezes the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s bank account.

By REUTERS

 

Jesus may have walked on water and turned it into wine but the hefty water bill for one of the holiest sites of Christendom is proving a headache for the church.

Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters

Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, said to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, is struggling with a NIS 9 million ($2.3 million) unpaid bill owed to the Jerusalem water company.

This week the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has extensive and valuable property holdings in the Holy Land and maintains a headquarters in the ancient church, had its bank account frozen, said an official at water company Hagihon.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| August 19, 2012
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Canada Church Regrets Previously Asking Arabs to Recognize Israel as Jewish State

The United Church of Canada (UCC) decided to boycott Israeli products exported from communities in Judea & Samaria.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

 

The United Church of Canada (UCC) has voted to boycott products exported by Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

The vote was one of thirteen resolutions, which single out “Israeli settlements” as the primary obstacle to peace in the region, that the UCC adopted on Friday at its 41st general council meeting in Ottawa.

The UCC also called on Israel to suspend “settlement” expansion, and express regret for previously asking the “Palestinians” to acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 8, 2012
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Australia’s top Catholic Archbishop says Jews are ‘intellectually and morally inferior’.

Australia’s most senior-ranked Catholic official has risked an international backlash by claiming that Jews are ‘intellectually and morally inferior’.

Cardinal George Pell said ‘the little Jewish people’ were shepherds who lacked intellectual development during a debate with atheist Richard Dawkins.
He went on to claim that Germans had suffered more than the Jews during  the horrors of the holocaust in the Second World War.
Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior-ranked Catholic

Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior-ranked Catholic

(Scroll down for video)

The remarks came during a televised debate with Dawkins on Australian TV in which the pair became locked in a heated discussion on religion and evolution.

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Category: Jewish News | Tags: ,
| May 4, 2012
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Methodists reject motion to divest from Israel

General conference of United Methodist Church votes against divesting from three companies that trade with Israel.

Methodist Church - Photo by REUTERS

Methodist Church - Photo by REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON – The general conference of the United Methodist Church voted not to divest from three companies that trade with Israel.

Two-thirds of the approximately 1,000 delegates to the conference voted Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., against a motion to divest from Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions and Hewlett-Packard.

Divestment advocates claim that products manufactured by these companies are used to repress Palestinians.

The conference passed motions opposing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, recommending the boycott of products manufactured in settlements, and investment in the Palestinian economy.

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Category: Jewish News | Tags:
| May 4, 2012
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Electricity pole sparks tension between Vatican and Jerusalem municipality

Six weeks ago, Franciscan monks discovered a huge, unsightly pylon in front of the impressive church overlooking the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

An electricity pylon erected in front of the Church of All Nations in East Jerusalem is sparking tensions between Israel and the Vatican. The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land submitted on Wednesday an administrative appeal against the Jerusalem municipality and the Israel Electric Corp, claiming that the municipality approved the action illegally.

The offending pylon near the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane.

The offending pylon near the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane. - Photo by Michal Fattal

Six weeks ago Franciscan monks discovered a huge, unsightly pylon in front of the impressive church overlooking the Garden of Gethsemane.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
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