Excursion № 23.

Journey to Galilee: Nazareth, the place of the Annunciation, Cana of Galilee, the Lake of Galilee, Tabha, Capernaum, the sacred river Jordan (Yardenit)

Galilee (Hebrew הַגָּלִיל, һа-Galil, "region, district, district", Arab al-Jalil) is the name of the geographical and historical region in the north of the State of Israel. The territory of Galilee is limited to the west by the Mediterranean Sea, to the south by the Jezreel Valley and to the east by the Jordan Valley. Repeatedly mentioned in the Bible and includes many holy places, as well as archaeological parks and cultural attractions. 20 cities of Galilee, King Solomon gave the Tyrian (Lebanese) Prince Hiram (3 Kings 9:11).

Pagan Galilee (Latin Galileae gentium, Greek Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν) is mentioned in the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9: 2).

By the time of Jesus Christ, the Galileans had an adverb from the inhabitants of Judea (Mark 14:70). Most of the apostles were Galileans (Acts 1:11). The main Galilean cities were Bethsaida (the birthplace of the Apostle Andrew, Peter and Philip - John 1:44), Canal of Galilee (Nathanael's birthplace - John 21: 2), and Nazareth (the birthplace of Jesus Christ - Matthew 2:23; :eleven). The Jews of Jesus Christ worshiped the Galilean (Matthew 26:69, John 7:41). According to Matthew, after the resurrection, both the angel and Jesus, sent the apostles to Galilee (Matthew 28: 7-16). In the era of the apostle Paul, there were churches in Galilee (Acts 9:31).
 
Nazareth (Hebrew נָצְרַת, Natsrat, Arab an-Nasyra, al-Greek Ναζαρὲθ, Latin Nazareth) - a city in the north of Israel in the Galilee, with a population of 73 thousand people, among whom 30% are Christians . In the Christian tradition, the city is the third after Jerusalem and Bethlehem in importance. According to the Gospel text, the destiny and youth of Jesus Christ were held here. Also, the city of Nazareth is associated with the event of the Annunciation. In the modern city is the largest in the Middle East Catholic Church of the Annunciation, built in 1969 about the project of the Italian architect Giovanni Muzio on the site of a church that still exists the IV century. Also in the city there is the Church of the Annunciation above the source of the Blessed Virgin in Nazareth, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of the Archangel Gabriel over the source of the Blessed Virgin.

A tradition based on the canonical Gospel The Annunciation by the archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin is described in the New Testament as the only evangelist-apostle Luke. This place is associated with the Catholic basilica of the Annunciation.

"An angel came to her and said:" Rejoice, O most gracious! " The Lord is with thee; Blessed are you between wives. She, seeing him, was embarrassed by his words and wondered what kind of greeting it would be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God; and, behold, you will conceive in your womb, and you will bear the Son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and his kingdom will have no end. (Luke 1: 28-33).

The canonical Gospel of Luke does not report the Annunciation at the well. Nevertheless, on the site of the Orthodox church of the archangel Gabriel over the source of the Virgin arose, based on the apocryphal Proto-Gospel of Jacob, which reads:

"Having taken a jug, I followed the water; and heard: Rejoice, blessed! The Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women. And she began to gape, to know where this voice came from. Frightened, she returned home, put the pitcher and, taking the purple, began to spin it. "

It is on this basis in the Orthodox tradition that the revered image of "The Annunciation at the Well (Well)" is formed, and the temple also appeared on this site.

Thus in Nazareth, beginning with the first centuries of Christianity, there were two stable traditions of honoring the place of the Annunciation:

the first Annunciation to the Theotokos from the Archangel at the Well (Apocryphal Proto-Gospel of Jacob) - the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation on the source of the Blessed Virgin Mary

the second Annunciation from the archangel Gabriel (the canonical Gospel of Luke) and the Incarnation after the Mother of God returned to Joseph's house, where she heard from Gabriel the Archangel: "Behold, you will conceive in the womb and bear a Son, and you will call Him a name: Jesus" -the Catholic basilica of the Annunciation.

 

Kana of Galilee is a Bible-known settlement in Galilee, where there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and where Jesus performed his first miracle: turning water into wine. Cana of Galilee is mentioned several times in the Gospel of John. It is best known as the place where the marriage took place in Cana of Galilee and where Jesus performed his first miracle: turning water into wine (John 2: 1).

Later, Jesus once again stayed at Cana of Galilee and during his stay there he performed a miracle of healing with a word. A certain nobleman from Capernaum came to him, whose son was seriously ill. The following states:

"The nobleman said to him: Lord, come before my son dies. Jesus says to him: go, your son is well. He believed the word Jesus told him and went. On the way, his servants met him and said: your son is well. He asked them: at what time did it feel easier for him? They said to him: yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. From this, the father found out that it was the hour at which Jesus told him: your son is healthy, and he and the whole house believed him". - (John 4:46)

It is also stated that the disciple of Christ Nathanael was from Cana of Galilee (John 21: 2). Nathanael is identified by most biblical scholars with the Apostle Bartholomew. The local lore location of Cana is located on the site of the famous Arab village of Kafr Kana, in the eastern vicinity of Nazareth. There is a Greek Orthodox monastery with a church of St. George and the Franciscan Catholic monastery.

The Sea of ​​Galilee, known in ancient and modern Israel as the Sea of ​​Galilee (Hebrew ים כנרת, "Yam Kinneret", Arabic "Bukharat Tabaria", also the Sea of ​​Kinnerere or the Hinnerere, Sea of ​​Galilee, Genisareth Lake, Gennesaret Lake ) Is a freshwater lake in the northeast of Israel. The name Tiberias Lake received from the name of the city of Tiberias (modern Tveria), founded in the 1st century AD. in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The lake is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible in the books of the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament it is referred to as the "Sea of ​​Kinnerere" (Numbers 34:11 and others) or "the Sea of ​​Hinnereth" (Josh 12: 3, etc.) as the area through which the boundary of the land of Israel passes, and as "Hinnaroth" (Rev. 11: 2). The fortified city of Hinneret (Kinneret) is mentioned as being on the lands of the tribe of Naphtali (Josh 19:35).

In the Gospel the lake is referred to as the "Sea of ​​Galilee" (Mark 1:16, etc.), "The Sea of ​​Tiberias" (John 21: 1), "Gennesaret Lake" (Luke 5: 1), simply "lake" (Lk 8: 22-23, Luke 8:33, etc.), or "the sea" (Mark 4: 35-41, Matthew 8:24, Matthew 4:18, and others).

In the New Testament, Gennesaret Lake is associated with many tales of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. On the shores of the lake and in the coastal cities (especially in Capernaum) Jesus spent most of his earthly ministry. It was on the Gennesaret Lake that the apostles Peter and Andrew fished when they were called by Christ to the apostolic ministry.

The length of the lake is up to 23 kilometers in length and 11 kilometers in width. The area of ​​the lake is 165 square meters. kilometers, and the maximum depth reaches 45 meters. The lake is filled with the waters of the Jordan River and the Amud stream, as well as natural precipitation.

Tabha - the Arabic name of the Greek word - heptapicon - means the semicluster; several radon sources in these places flow into the lake. This place is located on the north-west shore of Lake Galilee. Here the German order of the Benedictines in place of the ancient Byzantine church built the Catholic temple of the miracle of the Multiplication of bread and fish (Mark 6: 1-56). Nearby on the Franciscan site is the church of the primacy of St. Peter or "Mensa Christie" - a meal of Christ, built in the 50s of the XX century by the Order of Franciscans (John 21: 15-23).

Capernaum, Kafarnaum (Hebrew כפר נחום, Kfar Nahum, the letter "Naum village") is an ancient city on the north-west coast of the Sea of ​​Galilee, founded in the 5th century BC. In Capernaum, according to the Gospels, the basic preaching work of Jesus Christ took place. Then the city was a fishing village and customs on the way from Caesarea to Damascus. In Capernaum, Jesus found his apostles - Peter, Andrew, the Zebedee brothers John the Theologian, and James and Levi Matthew. In the II century in Capernaum, a community of Jews converted to Christianity was formed. In the next century a church was built in the city, and it became the mainstay of Christianity in the region.

In the ruins of the ancient city today there are: the Greek Orthodox monastery of the 12 apostles and the Catholic monastery of the Franciscans.

Yardenit (Hebrew ירדנית, comes from the diminutive Jordan) is the place of the exit of the Jordan River from Lake Tiberias, as well as the center of baptism, where a symbolic rite of baptism of believers of the Greek Orthodox Church and Catholics takes place. The modern complex was built in 1981, annually it is visited by more than 400 thousand people. In rivers you can see floating catfish, carp, tilapia (fish of Peter the Great), including nutria, which appeared here in the XXI century.

The Gospel of Luke describes the Baptism of the Lord on the Jordan River.

"When all the people were baptized, and Jesus, being baptized, prayed: the sky was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying:" You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased! ". (Luke 3: 21-2)

The excursion begins at the place of accommodation of the tourists in Jerusalem (the address and time of the excursion beginning is indicated in advance by the guide). On the tour you need to have comfortable shoes, drinking water and a hat from the sun. Clothes should be like when visiting temples (men should not visit temples in shorts, women should have clothes with closed shoulders, do not have a neckline, short skirts and shorts, you can wear trousers). To cross the border post between Jerusalem and Beit Shean, tourists need to have a passport with them.
 
The price for all participants of the excursion on our car with departure from Jerusalem is $ 600 (with the number of up to 6 people in the car), and $ 750 (with the number of participants from 7 to 15 people).
 
When you leave for a tour from Tel Aviv and its environs on our car, the price for up to 6 people is $ 650, and from 7 to 15 people - $ 950.

 

If the tourists have a rented car, the price is $ 300 for all participants of the excursion, provided that the excursion begins in Jerusalem.