Tuesday, February 28, 2012


MARILYN'S  CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE ITINERARY 

DAY ONE Friday NOVEMBER 5 – Arrival- Nazareth and Cana

Pick up Group at Sheikh Hussein Bridge 

Lunch – Village of Naim @Sahara Restaurant – Voucher
Foot of Givat Moreh - Miracle:  Luke 7:11-17  - Jesus brings back to life Widow’s son

Nazareth Church of the Annunciation
Luke 1:26-38  and Matthew, 1:18-21, Luke 4:15-13 (Mt. Precious, just outside Nazareth) –walk UP the path for best view. Mt Precipice is reached by car following the signs of "Mt Precipice" on the highway that bypasses Nazareth towards Jewish Nazereth Illit.

Cana Church MASS and Wedding Vows – fixed time
John 2:1-11 (First Miracle – water to wine),  John 4:46 (Second Miracle – Cure of the Nobleman’s son)

Overnight – Tiberias Royal Plaza - One of the four Jewish holy cities (along with Hebron, Jerusalem and Safed – established in 19 CE).


DAY TWO Saturday November 6 Sea of Galilee and Mt. Tabor

Wake up calls/breakfast – Remind all of modest dress

Mount of Beatitudes
Matthew 5: 1-13 – can read all the way through chapter 7.

Capernaum-Home Town of Jesus Capernaum - from Hebrew:  Kefar (village) + Nachum (a name of the  prophet from the old testament). Josephus, War  3.519, Matt 4:12-17 (Jesus leaves Nazareth and settles in Capernaum), Mark 1:29-31 (Cure of Simon’s mother-in-law)  Matthew 9:1-8 (Cure of the Paralyzed man), Luke 4:31, Luke 4:23, Mark 2:1 (Matt 9:1), Mark 9:33, Matt 8:5, Luke 5: 12-16 (Cure of the Leper) Luke 7:1-10 (Cure of the centurion’s servant), John 4:46, Matt 11:23, Luke 10:15, John 2:12, John 6: 17, 24, 59.

Tabgha-Matthew 14:13-21

Primacy of Peter- John 2:1.

Boat Ride of Sea of Galilee – Daniel Carmel Boats
Matthew 8:23-27 (Calming of the Sea), Matthew 14:22-23 (Jesus walks on water)

Lunch - @Ein Gev

Yardenit – Optional Baptism $10 to rent robe and towel and use changing room – NO Lockers…need to safe guard valuables. 
Matthew 3: 11-16

Mount Tabor – Church of the Transfiguration
Judges 4: 5-16 (Victory of Barak under order of Judge Deborah, Mark 9:2-8 (Jesus transfiguration) , Luke 9:37-43 (Jesus cures epileptic boy at village of Daburiyah – large Arab village south of Tabor)

Overnight Tiberias –Royal Plaza Hotel

DAY THREE Sunday November 7 -  Jericho and Dead Sea

Wake up calls/breakfast – have guests prepare for swimming at Dead Sea – swim suits/towels/sun screen

Check out Tiberias – Royal Plaza Hotel

Jericho – need to connect with Palestinian Guide.  Book of Joshua 6: 1-27 (Battle of Jericho)  Luke 19:81-10, story of Zacchaeus (name means pure) the short tax collector climbing the sycamore tree to see Jesus pass.

Lunch – Jericho @ Templation

Qumran – National Park pass, wonderful shopping,  get voucher for swimming at Kalya (usually only available if you have lunch at Qumran.)

Kalya- Swimming in Dead Sea – Kalya? Need Voucher or agreement from Qumran – if not eating lunch at Kalya – check with Eli Shalom or Yinon Ben Hod.

Overnight Jerusalem – Dan Panorama

DAY FOUR  Monday November 8 – Jerusalem

Wake Up Calls/Breakfast – Remind Guests of modest clothes and good walking shoes with rubber grip soles- skirt and a shawl for women, no shorts for men.

Drive up via Mount Scopus to….

Mount of Olives:  Acts 1: 9-12,

Ascension Chapel – Mosque and Church – Ring doorbell, entrance fee.
Luke 24:50-51



Pater Noster:     Luke 11:1-4  named for the “Our Father” prayer taught to Jesus to his Disciples   Opening hours:            Monday-Saturday 8:30-11:45, 3-5; closed Sunday

Use observation point  just south of the stairs down to Dominus Flavit

Walk down Palm Sunday Road (Luke 19:37-40)   (Note:  The road is very steep and narrow, so wear good walking shoes with a good rubber grip.)

Dominus Flavit Luke 19:37-42, Chapel (Roman Catholic/Franciscan) “The Lord Wept”  Architect of the Holy Land Franciscan Monk Antonio Barluzzi (1954)

Garden of Gethsemane  Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:1-2

Church of all Nations  Matthew 14:32-42

Lunch - Nafoura (Christian Quarter – go inside Jaffa Gate- take first Left)

St. Peter In Gallicantu – Voucher- Matthew 26:31-35, Mark 14:30 [Gallus cantat, meaning “at the cock’s crow.”]

Room of the Last Supper:[Upper Room, Coenaculum or Coenacle]  Mark 14:15, Luke 22:12, Acts 1:14 (Holy Spirit appears on Pentacost)

King David’s Tomb

Dormition Abbey

Communion at Garden Tomb (02) 627-2745  Time must be booked and confirmed. Hours:  Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to noon and 14:00 to 17:30. 

Overnight – Dan Panorama Hotel

DAY FIVE Tuesday November 9 – Jerusalem

Wake up Calls/Breakfast

Start at Lion’s Gate: 

Walk Via Dolorosa

Church of St. Anne and Bethesda Pool (John 5:2-18- healing the paralyzed man)): Hours:  Mon-Sat 8am-noon and 2-5pm (until 6pm in summer); closed Sunday

End up at Holy Sepulchre

Meet bus at Mamila

Bethlehem (Nisan Shop) Need to make connection

Lunch at Nisan in Bethlehem – MASS at Chapel of St. Jerome’s Cave (fixed time)

Ein Kerem -Church of St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22 and Josephus - Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and he is later executed.) and Church of the Visitation (Magnificat Luke 1: 46-55 – song sang by Mary when congratulated by Elizabeth, mother of John) 

Overnight Dan Panorama

DAY SIX Wednesday November 10  - Departure

Check out Dan Panorama

Drive to Airport 


Appendix


Sheikh Hussein Bridge (Irbid-Beit Shean) -Hours of Operation of the Passenger Terminal:
Sunday to Thursday: 06:30 – 21:00 Friday and Saturday: 08:00 – 20:00.  Passengers come out from building on left of parking lot – sliding door.  Bathrooms, small snack bar and money charging service (reputedly bad rate of exchange.)

Church of the Annunciation: 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.  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.

Capernaum:  Mathew 4:13, 18:22; Mark 1:21; - Capernaum was the center of Jesus activities in the Galilee and his town during that time. Jesus taught in the local synagogue. It was also the home town of the apostles Peter, James, Andrew and John, and the tax collector Matthew.

The town of Capernaum stretched for two-thirds of a mile along the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its harbor for fishing boats extended for over half a mile.
Capernaum existed for more than a thousand years, from the second century B.C. until the eleventh century A.D.
Fishing was the town’s major industry. Many residents were also engaged in such supporting enterprises as tying fishing nets and repairing boats. In addition to fishing, agriculture thrived in the fertile basaltic soil of the region.
Capernaum was the major center of trade and commerce in Galilee. The international trade route from Egypt through Palestine to Syria and Mesopotamia, passed near Capernaum. Located only three miles west of the eastern border ofGalilee at the Jordan River, the town became a port of entry and customs checkpoint. A collector of customs frompassing caravans, Matthew would also collect fees for fish caught in the lake, levied by Herod Antipas who, in effect, owned the lake.
Roman military personnel were stationed at Capernaum under the command of a centurion. Recent excavations indicate that a military garrison was quartered east of the town. These mercenary troops enjoyed a complete bath installation and other excellent facilities. This would have been the residence of the centurion who built the synagogue in which Jesus taught (Matt 8:1-13; Luke 7:1-10). This garrison served Harod Antipas, the governor of Galilee, under Roman authority.
Historical and Biblical Significance

After being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus moved with his mother and brothers to Capernaum, making it the base of His ministry (Matt 4:12-16).
A fourth century synagogue of white limestone stands in Capernaum. The foundation of this synagogue is constructed of black basaltic stone, probably dating to the first century synagogue built by the Roman centurion who was stationed in Capernaum (Luke 7:5). At the request of this centurion, and encouraged by the synagogue elders, Jesus healed the centurion’s servant.

Although Peter was born in Bethsaida (John 1:44), he lived in Capernaum. Apparently his move there was related to his marrying a woman of Capernaum (Mark 1:29-30).
Capernaum forms the southwestern corner of the "evangelical triangle" on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. It was in this region, in Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida, that Jesus performed most of His Galilean miracles. In spite of the miracles Jesus had performed there, Jesus rebuked Capernaum for its lack of repentance (Matt 11:23-24).
In Capernaum, Jesus healed the paralytic who had been lowered through the roof of the house in which Jesus had been teaching (Mark 2:1-12).

It was in Capernaum that the "Beelzebub confrontation" occurred, an event that changed the focus of Jesus’ subsequent ministry.

Tabgha-  “Seven Springs”  - It is the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30-46) and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus (John 21:1-24) in Christianity.  The Monk Bargil Pixner of the Dormition Abbey helped build the current Church.

Primacy of Peter – (Drive out of Tabgha, turn right, park, go down steps on right)  The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, north of the Church of the Multiplication. was built on rocks at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, traditionally considered to be the place where Jesus appeared the fourth time after his resurrection (John 21:1-24), during which, according to Catholic beliefs, Jesus again conferred primacy to Simon Peter.

Jericho - Jericho is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with evidence of settlement dating back to 9000 BC – meaning of the name – RAECH (Fragrance- was major exporter of BALSAM- noted among ancient writers—Theophrastus, Strabo, Pliny—for its medicinal and highly agreeable aromatic qualities.
or YARECH (Lunar).  Jericho is located 258 metres (846 ft) below sea level in an oasis in Wadi Qelt in the Jordan Valley.  The nearby spring of Ein es-Sultan produces 1,000 gallons of water per minute (3.8 m3/min), irrigating some 2,500 acres (10 km2) through multiple channels and feeding into the Jordan River, 6 miles (10 km) away. Annual rainfall is 6.4 inches (160 mm), mostly concentrated between November and February.

Mt. of Olives:  Acts 1, 9-12.  This passage identifies the Mt of Olives as the site of ascension:

"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey".

Chapel of the Ascension, The ruins of the chapel is located in the suburb of A-Tur, on the east side of the main road of the top of Mount of Olives, at 830M above sea level.  It is easily accessible, and you can park close to its entrance.   Near the Ascension chapel is the Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension, which is another traditional site of the ascension. It is located near a tall tower inside the village of A-Tur.The building blends the architectural features of the Crusader style with traits belonging to the Muslim tradition. The chapel rises on the site of an ancient paleo-Christian sanctuary, near the top of the Mount of Olives.  The original building was surrounded by a double portico forming a circle. Destroyed by the Persians in the 614, it was rebuilt by the Crusaders in the form of a small, octagonal temple (twelfth century).  Having come under the control of Muslims, to whom it has belonged since the thirteenth century, the building was converted into a mosque and completely transformed by walling in the arches and roofing over the octagon with a little dome of evident Islamic character.  On a rock inside can be seen a footprint which is identified according to Christian tradition as the print that Jesus (pbuh) left as he ascended to Heaven: "And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven" (Luke, 24: 50-51).