Baby Jesus and his birth in Bethlehem in Jerusalem around two and a half thousand years ago, is a much-celebrated event throughout the world. We know it as Christmas day, which falls on 25th December of each calendar year. When was Jesus born? This date for his birthday was said to co...
The history of art supports Aslan’s point, because if we took paintings at face value, we would believe that Jesus was born in a miniature Roman villa, and the Annunciation took place in a fifteenth-century Dutch parlor. Also, Mary was blond and Bethlehem looks like an Italian seaport. C...
A famous variation of theSynaxis of the Mother of Godis found in an icon at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The image is usually cropped to show the mouth of the cave and the holy family inside, and is widely shared at this time of year. The full image shows that the rest...
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. Duri...
Crucifix, a model of the Christian cross, upon which is a depiction of the crucified Jesus. For several centuries after Constantine, Christian devotion to the cross centred in its indication of the victory of Christ over the powers of evil and death. Ind