Israel-Christ - Your window to the Holy Land

03/03/2012

On 1st of march, 589 A.C died Saint David, a Welsh Bishop. The first day of March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David and is called- Saint David´s day.

07/02/2012

On the 10th February, 543, died Saint Scholastica of Nurcia, the twin sister of St. Benedict. St. Scholastica is the patron saint of Benedictine women's religious communities. She was even honored, together with St. Benedict her brother, to be commemorate on the Austrian €50 coin.
Scholastica had been consecrated to God from her earliest years. She was accustomed to visiting her brother once a year. He would come down to meet her at a place on the monastery property, not far outside the gate. One day she came as usual and her saintly brother went with some of his disciples; they spent the whole day praising God and talking of sacred things. As night fell they had supper together. Their spiritual conversation went on and the hour grew late. The holy nun said to her brother, “Please do not leave me tonight; let us go on until morning talking about the delights of the spiritual life.” “Sister,” he replied, “What are you saying? I simply cannot stay outside my cell.” When she heard her brother refuse her request, the holy woman joined her hands on the table, laid her head on them and began to pray. As she raised her head from the table, there were such brilliant flashes of lightning, such great peals of thunder and such a heavy downpour of rain that neither Benedict nor his brethren could stir across the threshold of the place where they had been seated. Sadly, he began to complain. “May God forgive you, sister. What have you done?” “Well, she answered, “I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to your monastery.” So it came about that they stayed awake the whole night, engrossed in their conversation about the spiritual life. Three days later, Benedict was in his cell. Looking up to the sky, he saw his sister’s soul leave her body in the form of a dove, and fly up to the secret places of heaven. Rejoicing in her great glory, he thanked almighty God with hymns and words of praise. He then sent his brethren to bring her body to the monastery and lay it in the tomb he had prepared for himself.

31/01/2012

On January 31st , 314, St. Sylvester 1st was elected to be the 33rd pope of the Catholic Church. During his pontificate, Christianity enjoyed a great deal of freedom for the first time in the history, thanks to the "Edict of Milan" (Edictum Mediolanense), a letter written by Constantine the great and Licinius, the two emperors of Rome at the time, and gave Christians a legal right to practice their religion freely and legally. During the time of St. Sylvester 1st were built some of the most impressive churches of Rome, such as "La Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme" (the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem), and "The Church of St. peter" in the Vatican.
One of the most controversial rumors about St. Sylvester 1st was that in his time, there were persecutions of Jews by the church, as well as killing them and converting them to Christianity by force, but there are no evidences about such things during his time.
St. Sylvester 1st died in 31st December, 335, and on his honor, in many countries today, including Israel, we use the name "Sylvester's eve" or "Saint Sylvester day" as the name of "new year's eve".
St. Sylvester 1st will be remembered as the pope who gave Christianity the first and biggest jump to the hearts of billions all around the world

22/01/2012

Saint Agnes of Rome (291-304)

Today, 1708 years ago, in the year 304, saint Agnes of Rome was suffered martyrdom.

Her story is told in "The Golden Legend", a book with more than a thousand stories about the life of the saints, Compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, 1275

Saint Agnes was born and raised as a Christian, and she was only twelve years old when she refused to marry the son of the prefect of Rome, saying she decided to consecrate herself to Jesus. The angry prefect then ordered to throw her naked to the brothel, for the crowd to do as he pleased. But the crowd couldn’t bear to look upon her naked body. All, but one man- the prefect's son. When he tried to approach her, immediately he died. St. Agnes, with her great mercy, resurrected him, only for his father, the prefect of Rome, to order to put her at the stake and burn her alive. But, the fire didn’t harm her, so the prefect of Rome has set in his place a lieutenant named Aspasius to kill her. Aspasius then commanded to put a sword in her body, and so she was martyred.

More information about St. Agnes of Rome or about "The Golden Legend" will be available in our website soon!

20/01/2012

Some pictures from inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

18/01/2012

Almost 10,000 pilgrims have arrived today to Qasr al-Yehud (from Arabic: "the castle of the Jews") in order to participate in the annual ceremony of the Epiphany. Qasr al-Yehud is the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ, and it is the 3rd holy place in the world for Christians (after the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem).

The pilgrims celebrated this holiday by immersing in the holy water of the Jordan river, including the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos ||| .

More information about Qasr al-Yehud or about the Epiphany will be available in our website soon!

16/01/2012

Proud to present our new page. Our new Website will be shortley released at www.israel-christ.org

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