Basilica of Annunciation in Wikipedia
The Church of the Annunciation (Hebrew: כנסיית הבשורה,
Arabic: كنيسة البشارة, Greek: Εκκλησία του Ευαγγελισμού της
Θεοτόκου), sometimes also referred to as the Basilica of the
Annunciation is a church in Nazareth, in modern-day northern
Israel.
History
The church was established at the site where, according to
Roman Catholic tradition, the Annunciation took place. Greek
Orthodox tradition holds that this event occurred while Mary
was drawing water from a local spring in Nazareth, and the
Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation was erected at
that alternate site.
The current church is a two-story building constructed in
1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era and then
Crusader-era church. Inside, the lower level contains the
Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to
be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary. Under
Roman Catholic canon law, the church enjoys the status of a
minor basilica.[1] A historically significant site,
considered sacred within some circles of Christianity,
particularly Catholicism, the basilica attracts many
Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian visitors
every year.
The first shrine was probably built sometime in the middle
of the 4th century, comprising an altar in the cave in which
Mary had lived. A larger structure was commissioned by
Emperor Constantine I, who had directed his mother, Saint
Helena, to found churches commemorating important events in
Jesus Christ's life. The Church of the Annunciation was
founded around the same time as the Church of the Nativity
(the birthplace) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the
tomb). Some version of it was known to have still been in
existence around 570 AD, but it was destroyed in the 7th
century after the Muslim conquest of Palestine.[citation
needed]...
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