Jane Roberts explores a number of Christian pilgrimage sites in the kingdom of Jordan.
Jordan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country; however King Abdullah II is committed to defending the important Christian heritage of his country. He is quoted as saying: “Arab Christians are an integral part of my region’s past, present and future.” There are many Christians involved in Jordanian politics and freedom of worship is fully accepted.
Jerash must be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial cities in the world. It was one of the main cities of the Decapolis called Gerasa. Buried beneath sand for almost 800 years, it was only discovered and restored in the last 70 years since Jordan’s independence.
Hundreds of columns restored from the sand now stand lining the massive 800m Cardo – the main street. You walk along the original stones where the ruts worn by chariots are clearly visible, along with the holes which indicate street drainage. There is an impressive nymphaeum – the public fountain and ruins of a richly-carved gateway of a Temple of Dionysus which was later built upon as a Byzantine church. There is an inscription to Mary and the archangels Michael and Gabriel.
Conquered by Pompey in 63 BC it came under Roman rule. The Emperor Hadrian visited Jerash in AD 129; his splendid triumphal arch impresses visitors at the entrance to the archaeological site. The “Oval Plaza” is strangely reminiscent of Bramante’s Arms of the Church leading up to St Peter’s in Rome.
Umm Qais
An hour’s drive north are the archaeological remains of a city called Umm Qais, famous as the site of the Gadarene swine. Gadara was another of the cities of Decapolis. The north-westerly view from the ruins of the basalt col-umns is into the northern Jordan river valley; Lake Galilee is clearly visible. Classical poets
and philosophers lived here. In Mark 5:1 Jesus went across the sea into the “region of the Gerasenes”. There he met a demon-possessed man who said his name was Legion “for we are many”. Jesus sent the demons into the pigs on a nearby hillside and the herd, “about 2,000 in number”, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned.
Standing amongst the ruins of Umm Qais it is a bit of a mental leap to think of the pigs running all the way to the Sea of Galilee as that is a good 10 miles away – but there is probably a stream at the bottom of the hill there. The text says that “the man was restored to sanity … and was instructed to remain in the Decapolis region to tell of the great things the Lord has done”.
After visiting Jerash you must head 30 minutes west into the hills of Gilead where you will come across the small unassuming village of Anjara. It is said that Jesus, his disciples and the Virgin Mary passed through here during his journeys in the Decapolis just beyond the Sea of Galilee.
On May 6, 2010 the statue of the Blessed Virgin was seen shedding tears of blood. A
nun, ladies from the parish and some school-girls were cleaning up the sanctuary. One noticed that the statue of Our Lady blinked her eyes as if she was alive and then started to cry red tears. The Sister cried out and memb-ers of the parish gathered around. The blood was tested at the Rosary Hospital in Irbid run by the Jerusalem Sisters of the Rosary. They confirmed that the red tears were human blood. Remnants of the blood remain on her face today. The parish celebrates this anniversary every year with a Mass and a procession. Many pilgrims come to visit.
The priests here are very welcoming; they have an excellent restaurant with fresh and lovingly prepared food, which is often used by local Arab Christian groups.
Mount Nebo is from where Moses saw the Promised Land, then died.
“Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab … This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob … I have let you see it with your eyes but you will not cross over into it. And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab as the Lord had said … but to this day no one knows where his grave is” (Deuteronomy 34:1).
The site is dominated by a modern Brazen Serpent cross sculpture which symbolises the bronze serpent taken by Moses into the desert (Numbers 21:9), intertwined with the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
The view west towards Jericho about 20 miles away and the Jordan valley is incredible.
The Christian pilgrim traveller Egeria mentioned a building here in AD 394 so it is known that a church was here since the 4th century to commemorate Moses’s life, which was enlarged in the 5th and 6th centuries.
In 1932 the Franciscans bought the site from the Bedouin people. This came about when a Croatian Franciscan who was in Jericho became friendly with the Emir, who then became King Abdullah I. The first excavations started in 1930s.
They have recently restored the church with the help of the very supportive Jordanian government. The beautiful mosaics were cleverly hidden underneath plainer mosaics many centuries ago and only discovered in 1976.
Now they are clearly displayed with modern walkways and excellent lighting. The main mosaic shows hunting and pastoral scenes with African animals.
Many Muslims visit the site every year as the Prophet Musa is regarded as one of the five most prominent prophets.
Pope Francis visited in 2014. Pope John Paul II also visited in 2000.
This is the site where a spring is still bubbling up and is the place were Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist (John 1:28).Pottery shards, coins and oil lamps from the 1st century have been discovered here. As well as accounts of early travelers there is no doubt that this area is the wilderness where John the Baptist lived. There are writings from Theodosius in AD 530 and many others describing the site.
The region is still a military-controlled zone, since the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty of 1994. Since that date the area has been surveyed consistently by archaeologists and restored to the astonishing area it is today.
In 2008 the Jordanian government and the Baptism Site Commission donated land near the Baptism site where different Christian denominations can build new churches. It is planned that there will be 12 new churches in all with residence for monks and priests and some with guesthouses for pilgrims.
The Russian and Greek Orthodox churches are already built and occupied; the Catholic Church was started in 2009 and is well on its way to completion.
Three young enthusiastic Argentinian priests live there, overseeing the project and hosting many Masses, conferences and events for the Catholic community in Jordan.
It is still in the building phase but it is possible to visit and to have Mass in their quiet and peaceful part of the Jordan river where you have the opportunity to renew your baptismal vows if you would like to.
At the entrance to the area of the Baptism site is the place where it is said that Elijah ascended to heaven in the 9th century BC in a chariot of fire.
Near here there is also a cave where John the Baptist lived – there are reeds all around and it feels as if it could have been a habitat for bees, where the Baptist could have lived on wild honey and locusts.
In the distance you can see the hilltop fortress of Machaerus. It is the site of King Herod’s palace where Salome danced and John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. It is Bedouin-owned land and has not been excavated so there is not much to see, but maybe one day soon visits will be allowed.
The village of Madaba, about half an hour from the Baptism site, is deep in Moabite country and is a centre for the Catholic church. In 1967 the Vatican recognised the Church of the Beheading of St John the Baptist as belonging to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
It has a 3,000-year old well down in the depths of its lower floors.
It is here that the story of Ruth the Moabite is remembered and they have set up an exhibition of “Ruth’s Tent”. Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of David by her marriage to Boaz.
Madaba is most well-known for the Madaba map mosaic which dates back to the year 542. It was rediscovered in 1884 and has been restored and conserved particularly since 1965. It shows Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. In 2010 excavations near Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem show that there was a road running straight through the centre of Jerusalem as shown in the map.
In Amman the most important place to visit is Fr Mario’s Italian restaurant project and dressmaking projects in St Joseph’s church in Jabal Amman. There is a very inclusive bustling atmosphere all the time at this church, full of locals who are all enthusiastically welcomed by the ever-generous Fr Mario.
His charity teaches skills and gives temporary employment to Iraqi refugees who have no status in Jordan but will be moved on to Canada or Australia eventually, maybe after many years.
His team teach them how to make Italian pizzas, pasta and most delicious ice cream. They learn to serve customers and of course there is much Italian wine and beer.
The Iraqi ladies are taught dressmaking by talented Italian ladies. There are plenty of very sophisticated designs in their shop upstairs where there were so many things I wanted to buy. I bought a pretty laptop bag for my daughter.
Petra, the amazing Nabatean capital with its Siq entrance and incredible rock formations needs no introduction, except to say that there are ruins of a 5th century church with fine mosaics where it is possible to say a Mass – if you carry all the Mass kit with you.
Equally there are fantastic Dead Sea hotel resorts where you can relax in luxury after the exhausting pilgrimage, with wonderful sunset views over the Dead Sea.
Jane Roberts is director of Journeys of Faith | Footsteps of the Faith | Christian Spiritual Journeys
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