The place where Jesus Christ was baptized. Israel-Jordan dispute
Our first stop is the Jordan River, the site of the Baptism of the Lord. The place where every pilgrim strives to go.
Jordan. How much this word means for every Christian. After all, this is the place of the baptism of Jesus Christ, the place of the beginning of his ministry to people. It was here, 12 centuries before the Epiphany, that Joshua led the people of Israel and here Israel first entered the Promised Land. In this place the prophets Elijah and Elisha crossed the Jordan, and from here the Venerable Mary of Egypt left the Jordan.
And every pilgrim visiting the Holy Land strives for this place. Strive to plunge into the Sacred Waters and retain in your soul the feeling that it was here that Jesus Christ himself was baptized. It was here that “...Jesus Christ, with his Divine flesh, sanctified the entire Jordan River...When John the Baptist baptized people, they cast their sins into the water, and the Lord took upon himself the SIN of the WORLD...and then redeemed it with his Divine blood on the Cross.”
When I talked, upon my arrival from Israel, about visiting the Jordan and its muddy waters, I often saw the puzzled look of people who had been there before. What muddy waters, what wooden steps and wooden railings? The water is clean and almost transparent, and the steps are stone.
A little internet search and everything falls into place. Indeed, earlier the place for bathing pilgrims was a little to the north. In the upper reaches of the Jordan River, near Lake Gennesaret (Tiberias). Here the water was clear and slightly greenish, with many fish swimming in it.
There is an interesting video fragment kindly provided by a parishioner of our church, Gatalova M.A., who previously visited this place with Archpriest Sergius Ashitok. The priest in his vestments stands in the clear, slightly greenish waters, holding on to a metal fence, but looking for something in the water - probably fish. And as one of her “little-churched” acquaintances said, a huge fish, similar to a catfish, about a meter long, scared her so much that she ran out of the water screaming, scaring all the other people.
The place of the Baptism of the Lord is not known for certain, but according to Christian tradition it is generally accepted that it is located approximately 8 km from Jericho and 5 km from the confluence of the Jordan into the Dead Sea
The description of the Jordan by Abbot Daniel is interesting: “The Jordan River flows quickly, the banks on that side are steep at first, and then flat. The water in the river is very muddy, but tasty, and you will not get enough when you drink this water. With it there are no diseases and dirty tricks in the human stomach.
We were lucky to be close to the true place of the Baptism of Jesus Christ.
We plunged into the Jordan in the south, in the place that is closest to the original place of the Savior's baptism. Now this place is located literally a hundred meters from us on land, since the river has changed its course slightly over time. And the water is just as cloudy. But from the story of nun Emilia, if you let it sit, the water becomes clear, tasty and healthy. Many sisters of the Gornensky Monastery drink it in the morning.
But this was again a slight digression from the main narrative. Let's return to the description of what happened to us.
Already at the entrance to the place of Baptism, the golden dome of the temple is visible from afar, but it turns out to be on the territory of another state - Jordan
A narrow strip of river, just a few meters separates us from the Jordan. The Jordan is a border river in this place.
In the middle is a neutral stripe. And again, reminders from the nun Emilia accompanying us - “don’t forget that the state border of Israel and Jordan passes through the water... there is a border guard on the other side and... they have machine guns... don’t make noise, don’t shout... they won’t understand your jokes... and bad things can happen...”
And we rush to the locker rooms. It's time to change into special shirts.
Women change clothes. And Father, Father Sergius, is already waiting for us to pray and read the Gospel.
And while there is a little time until all the women change clothes, we can probably take a few photos for the priest.
But in reality it was somewhat different. It was the pilgrims who asked Father Sergius to take several photographs of “a freelance photographer and your humble servant.”
But the assistants of the “freelance photographer” are also not sleeping... and now the photo of Father Sergius with a huge camera and... the photos of the “freelance photographer” are ready for the photo chronicle.
Everyone is ready, everyone has changed into special “baptismal” shirts. We go down to the place of Baptism. On the wooden platform, the priest begins the prayer reading and reading of the Gospel (see link).
... you can enter the waters of the Holy Place... Holy waters of the Jordan...
We have touched the origins of the sacrament of Baptism. The waters of the Holy Jordan are all around us.
What's in everyone's soul? What feelings overwhelm us? How to describe all this?
What makes us plunge again and again into the muddy waters of the Jordan? Why, after leaving the water, do we again strive for the river? And once again feel the holiness of the waters of the Jordan.
But it's time to finish. We are not the only ones who want to touch the Shrine.
Buses with new groups of pilgrims have already arrived, and they are already waiting for their opportunity to plunge into the Holy waters of the Jordan.
.
A little with regret, but joyful and happy, the pilgrims rush to the locker room.
Let's change clothes. We fold our swim shirts with special feeling. Many advise keeping these shirts very carefully and ask them to put them in the coffin when the time comes (this phrase was often heard in the conversations of pilgrims).
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Baptism of Jesus Christ
At the time when John the Baptist preached on the banks of the Jordan and baptized people, Jesus Christ turned thirty years old. He also came from Nazareth to the Jordan River to John to receive baptism from him.
Jordan River
John considered himself unworthy to baptize Jesus Christ and began to restrain Him, saying: “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
But Jesus answered him: “Leave me now,” that is, do not hold me back now, “because this is how we need to fulfill all righteousness” - to fulfill everything in the Law of God and set an example for people.
Then John obeyed and baptized Jesus Christ.
Epiphany
After the baptism was performed, when Jesus Christ came out of the water, the heavens suddenly opened up (opened) above Him; and John saw the Spirit of God, who in the form of a dove descended on Jesus, and from heaven the voice of God the Father was heard: " This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased".
Then John was finally convinced that Jesus was the expected Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
NOTE: See Gospel of Matthew, ch. 3, 13-17; from Mark, ch. 1, 9-11; from Luke, ch. 3, 21-22; from John, ch. 1, 32-34.
The Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated by the Holy Orthodox Church as one of the great holidays, January 6th(January 19, New Year). The Feast of the Epiphany is also called the Feast of Epiphanies, because during baptism God revealed (showed) Himself to people that He exists Holy Trinity, exactly: God the Father spoke from heaven, incarnate God's Son was baptized and Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove. And also at baptism, for the first time, people could see that in the face of Jesus Christ appeared not just a person, but together and God.
On the eve of the holiday, a fast was established. This day is called Christmas Eve. In memory of the fact that the Savior sanctified water with His baptism, the blessing of water occurs on this holiday. On Christmas Eve, water is blessed in the temple, and on the holiday itself in the river, or in another place where water is taken. The procession for the blessing of water is called Procession of the Cross to the Jordan.
Troparion of the holiday
In the Jordan I am baptized to You. Lord, Trinity worship appears. The voice of your parents testifies to You, naming Your beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, informs your words of affirmation. Christ our God appears, and the world is enlightened, glory to You.
(When You, Lord, were baptized in the Jordan, then the appearance of the Holy Trinity was revealed (on earth with particular clarity): for the voice of the Father testified of You, calling You the beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truth of this word (i.e. . confirmed the testimony of God the Father). Christ, God, who has enlightened the world, glory to You!)
I know your word statement- confirmed the truth of this word; appear- appeared; world of enlightenment- enlightened world.
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As part of the “Three in One” excursion, we visited the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ on the Jordan River. There are actually two of these places - the first is well equipped and with clean water, and the second is with muddy water, but recognized by the Pope. That's what we visited.
Bathing process
Pope John Paul II during his visit to this place - mosaic
The Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea, it often runs along the border of Jordan and Israel, so this is a border area - you need to get to it. But, if you come with a package excursion, then there is nothing to think about. The main thing is what we were warned about: “Don’t take pictures of Jordanian soldiers. They don’t like it!”
I couldn't resist and took one photo. Fortunately, the border guard detachment did not notice this shooting of the soldier.
The bus stops in the parking lot, and the guide and tourists go to the baptism site. If you definitely want to swim in the Jordan from the Jordanian side, you must have clothes. On the Jordanian side, you cannot swim in swimming trunks or a swimsuit, but it is advisable to take a white shirt. In Aqaba, you can buy these for 4 dinars ($5.6), locally the price is already $10 for an ordinary shirt and $20 for a blessed one.
The only store at the baptism site. They sell shirts and various blessed souvenirs there.
Looking ahead, I will say that from the Israeli side you can plunge into the Jordan in swimsuits and swimming trunks. There are no such restrictions.
In Israel, the requirements for bathers are more lenient
Before swimming, we were shown the place where the baptism actually took place. Now the Jordan no longer flows there - the river has shifted a lot in 2000 years. But the original place was found. And the Vatican recognized this.
This is where they say Jesus was baptized 2000 years ago
So, according to the guide, the Jordanian side is more correct.
Descriptions are available at different languages, including in Russian.
This is what this place looked like 2000 years ago.
Swimming area from the Jordanian side.
At first, most of the group really want to swim in sacred place. But as soon as tourists see the water, the noise begins immediately. For some reason, no one knew that the water here was very, very dirty.
The bottom, to put it mildly, is not visible.
“What dirty water this is!” Very religious aunts say at first glance. “And how cold it is here!” And then many decide that they will not swim here.
Panorama of the place.
Men take the initiative from women. They are more determined and begin to prove that the water is not so cold. Among the men in the group there are those who decided to swim anyway, and they set an example for the rest.
The first daredevils
Women begin to follow the men. The guide hurries everyone - he says that we have very little time. There is a queue of groups wanting to swim, and some French or Germans begin to gather behind us. There is no time to delay - we have to swim.
On the Israeli side there were relaxed people. Our tourists greeted them in English, but answered them in Russian. It turned out that “Our people” were there too. On the Israeli side it was somehow calmer. Although there is simply a wider swimming area.
Russian-speaking tourists from the Israeli side.
The guide explained that the Israeli side for swimming looks more comfortable because the Jordanian government strives to make everything as original as possible - just as it was 2000 years ago. "We honor history, and they build beautiful stone stairs instead."
The most hesitant women dived in last. It was important not only to plunge into the Jordan, but also to beautiful photo. One of the male tourists in our group was among the first to swim, then he looked at the photos his companion took, he didn’t like them, and he climbed into the river again.
An important question: should I wear a swimsuit under my shirt for swimming? Yes, it's better to wear it. Otherwise, the shirt will be see-through after swimming, and erotica is not very appropriate in such a holy place. It is not necessary to swim in standard white shirts - you can wear any other ones (look at the photo of the swimmers). You can take them with you in advance.
Getting in and out is not very easy.
Everyone noted that the water was very, very cold.
Container with clean water.
Also, water from the Jordan is considered holy. It is recommended to put it in a bottle. The dregs should settle and disappear, and a bottle of holy water can be brought home in your luggage. If you don’t like collecting water from the river, there is a special jug with relatively clean water.
Selfie with Jordan in the background.
I didn’t check this because I didn’t swim myself. Still, I am not a very orthodox believer. But a little later this year I will still take a swim in the Dead Sea. I’ll write about that separately.
The church next to the swimming area was closed.
In Jordan there is another place for swimming in Jordan. It is well equipped, but not historically accurate.
View of the Jordan.
The Jordan is a very small river. It used to be wide, but now it has shrunk. Following this, the Dead Sea is dried up. But that's a different story.
An international team of scientists conducting excavations in the Holy Land announced that they have finally managed to solve one of the mysteries associated with the New Testament - to establish the exact place of the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Until now, the prevailing opinion was that the baptism site was located in the vicinity of the village of Qasr el-Yahud on the west bank of the Jordan River, reports Itar Tass.
However, the latest archaeological finds have shown that the baptism ceremony was performed at a different point - on the eastern bank of the river, where the Jordanian village of Wadi al-Harar is now located.
The description of the place where Christ was baptized is contained only in the Gospel of John. It says that John the Baptist preached and baptized near the village of Bethany on the upper Jordan. However, it was unknown where this place was located, because there were several villages with that name in Palestine.
There was no complete certainty about where the baptism of Christ took place until very recently, when during excavations the base of a Greek column was discovered, representing a marble slab in the shape of a square with a side of two meters. During early Christianity, it was installed in the place of the river where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan.
The discovery confirmed the correctness of assumptions that Wadi el-Harar is the original site of the baptism of Jesus Christ, since writings written by pilgrims to the Holy Places during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire often mentioned a Greek column with a cross on top marking this place.
The slab discovered during excavations is believed by scientists to be the base of that very column. It was discovered forty meters east of the current bank of the Jordan, which is consistent with the conclusions of scientists that in the 5th century the Jordan somewhat changed its course when it flowed into the Dead Sea. The marble slab was discovered during the exploration of the ruins of a Byzantine church, from which steps led down directly into the river. Not far from the last step, the base of the famous column was discovered.
Further research revealed that three churches were built on this site. The first of them rose six meters above the ground on special arches in order to avoid destruction during the floods of the Jordan. However, over time, the churches fell into disrepair and the baptismal site was gradually forgotten.
Interesting fact
There is another ancient evidence that points to the place of Christ's baptism - this is a mosaic map of ancient Palestine from the 6th century , found in the temple - in the Church of St. George, in Madaba.
It was with the help of this map that scientists discovered the undisputed site of a baptism - a square marble base of a Greek column, on top of which there was once a cross - it was mentioned as the site of Christ's baptism in the records of pilgrims during the Byzantine Empire. Scientists also discovered steps leading to water.
To be honest, I was completely unaware of this controversy until I came to Jordan.
Israel stands its ground, convincing pilgrims and tourists that Christ was baptized on the modern territory of their country, while Jordan proves that the place of baptism is located on the eastern bank of the Jordan River...
It is clear that this issue is extremely important for both countries for several reasons. Firstly, from a religious point of view, and secondly, from the point of view of attracting tourists.
How is everything really going? On which bank did John the Baptist actually baptize Jesus Christ - the western or the eastern? And why has the Israeli Yardenit always been considered the place of baptism, and now a dispute has arisen and the real place is called the Jordanian Wadi Harar?
2. Today, the Jordan River is the border between two countries - Israel and Jordan.
Moreover, their relationship with each other, to put it mildly, is not very good. So, in addition to the religious and tourist sides of the dispute, there is also a political one. The width of the river in this place revered by Christians is no more than 10 meters and the pilgrimage goes from both sides. In the photo above you see that there is only a couple of meters between the Israeli boards and the Jordanian buoys - having dived on one side, you can emerge in the neighboring country.
Under these conditions, the authorities of both states, ensuring the possibility of pilgrimage, take special security and control measures to avoid illegal crossing of the borders of two unfriendly states. On both sides, armed border guards and security officers are constantly present at the place where pilgrims bathe.
3. Among the Orthodox, it is considered correct to plunge into the waters of the Jordan three times, as is done during the rite of baptism.
4. Special long white shirts are sold for ablution on site. They cost about 20 dollars, but no one forces you to perform ablution only in them.
The guides warn that you can wear your own clothes, but it is advisable that they cover the torso and upper legs
5. Many people take a dip in their clothes.
6. And someone without covering their torso
7. Some people do not plunge into water, but only rinse their face and hands three times.
8. Or each other
9. View from the other side of the Jordan River
10. The rector of the Egyptian Coptic church came to ablution with a group of Egyptian Christians.
11. But let's return to the dispute that was discussed at the beginning of the post...
12. On the Israeli side, the pilgrimage site is called Yardanit (or Eizariya) and it was open to the public back in 1981. Since then, the flow of those wishing to plunge into the waters of the holy river in the place where Jesus Christ was baptized has not dried up for a single day. But.... In the late 90s, one BUT appeared. And it's in Jordan
13. In the late 90s, archaeologists discovered the exact place where the baptism ceremony of Jesus Christ took place. It is called Wadi Harar and is located... on the Jordanian side!
Writings written by pilgrims to the Holy Places during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire often mentioned a Greek column with a cross on its top, marking the place of baptism and erected during early Christianity. An international group of biblical archaeologists announced that they were able to discover the exact place on the Jordan River where John the Baptist performed the ritual over Jesus Christ. Scientists believe that the base of that same column was discovered.
14. It was here that archaeologists found the remains of 3 churches named in honor of John the Baptist, and nearby, on the banks of the old riverbed of the Jordan, precisely at the site of the baptism of Jesus, the remains of a 5-6 century church built by Emperor Anastasius. Why the old riverbed? The thing is that in the 5th century the Jordan somewhat changed its course as it flowed into the Dead Sea. And the find was discovered 40 meters east of the Jordan bank.
That is why Jordan claims that it is correct to come for pilgrimage to the eastern bank, and not to the western one. It turns out that despite known fact baptism on the west bank, now this place is on the east...
15. Wadi Harar is located in the border area, so access of tourist groups to it is under special control. As you approach the holy site, you will see border fences, control towers and a tourist entry checkpoint everywhere.
16. After the discovery of Wadi Harar by archaeologists, all Christian denominations built their temples in the surrounding area
17. Checkpoint at the entrance to Wadi Harar. Here the guide gives the border guards a list of the group, according to which, upon departure, he will check that the group has left the border zone in full force, no one has left or arrived
18. A shift squad of border guards prepares lunch
19. An alley with a sun canopy leads from the parking lot to the place of pilgrimage. Around Wadi Harar is the Jordanian desert and the air temperature here often rises to 40 degrees Celsius and even higher. So the canopy here is not at all superfluous
20. Despite the surrounding desert and heat, you can see flowers along the alley
21. Descent to the place of ablution
22. On the site of the old temple, which was discovered from the remains of a mosaic, a Greek Orthodox church was built
23. Inside there are quite modest paintings on the walls and a small iconostasis...
By the way, in all five churches that grew one after another on this site after earthquakes destroyed the previous one, there were no altars, as required by tradition, only access to the stairs leading to the Jordan River. Instead of an altar there is something else Holy place- the place of the baptism of Jesus Christ.....
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