18 Churches in Seventeen Days

Our recent pilgrimage to Jordan, Israel, and Egypt was a wonderful two-and-a-half weeks of fellowship, education, and inspiration. And, during the course of those seventeen days, we managed to take in at least eighteen chapels or churches. I thought it would be fun to REvisit them here, in roughly the order in which they are mentioned or figure in the Gospel story:

The Church of St. Anne, according to tradition the mother of the Virgin Mary.

The Church of the Annunciation, in Nazareth, on the site of the angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary.

Shepherd's Field, where tradition says the shepherds were camped on this Bethlehem hillside when the angel appeared to announce the birth of Jesus.

The Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem.

The Church of the Holy Family, on the site where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived (according to ancient tradition) in what is now Cairo, Egypt.

The Church of the Wedding, in modern Cana.

The Church of St. Peter in Capernaum, a new church suspended over the excavated remains of the house of Peter in Capernaum.

The Church of the Beatitudes on the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Church of the Heptapegon (Seven Springs) at Tabgha, the traditional site of the feeding of the five thousand.

The Dominus Flevit Church, on the site where on Palm Sunday Jesus stopped and wept over the city of Jerusalem.

The Basilica of the Agony, or Church of All Nations, in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

The Basilica of St. Peter in Gallicantu, on the site of Caiaphas's house, where (among other things) Peter denied Jesus.

The Chapel of the Condemnation on the possible site of the Fortress Antonia, where Jesus was condemned to die.

The Chapel of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a complex that actually encloses multiple churches and chapels, on the site of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

The Syrian Orthodox Church and St. Mark's Convent, on a site marked since ancient times as the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark.

The Chapel of the Ascension, atop the Mount of Olives, on or near the spot where Jesus ascended into heaven.

The Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, in Bethlehem, over the cave where Jerome translated the Scriptures into Latin.

We entered all of these, prayed in most, read Scripture in many, and--very memorably--sang in one (the first, the Church of St. Anne).