came the City of David to which Mary and
Joseph had to report for the Roman census of
the world, and, consequently, the birthplace
of Jesus.

SCENE 1. This is Bethlehem today, a peace-
ful town of about seven thousand population,
located six miles south of Jerusalem. We are
standing before the Church of the Nativity
looking out on Manger Square, formerly a
market place. Towering in the distance is a
minaret from the balcony of which the
'<muezzin"calls the few remaining Moslems to
prayer.

SCENE 2. Before us is probably the oldest
Christian church in the world, and one with a
truly remarkable history, the Church of the
Nativity. Helena, the mother of the Emperor
Constantine, made a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land when she was almost eighty years old.
This was about 326 A.D. Finding in Bethle-
hem the grotto where Jesus was born, she
dedicated a church there. The Emperor Jus-
tinian, a couple of centuries later, pulled down
the original basilica and erected a larger one,
which stands today virtually unchanged. In
614 A.D., the Persians conquered Palestine
and tore down all the churches. However, the
Church of the Nativity was spared because a
mosaic of the Adoration of the Magi on the
outside of the church showed the Magi in
Persian costumes. Miraculously escaping the
general destruction of Christian churches by
the fanatic, Fatimid al-Hakim, it was found
intact by the Crusaders.

Today its simple, massive lines attest its
great age. The small door, beside which sits
the blind beggar, is the entrance. Of the origi-
nal three larger entrances facing Manger
Square, two were blocked up completely and
the one we see was reduced in size. We are
told that this was done to prevent the Moslems
from riding full-tilt into the church on their
horses and camels.

SCENE 3. The interior of the Church of the
Nativity exhibits the austerity of early Latin
churches. The floor, of limestone slabs, is
bare of seats. The Corinthian columns that
we see date from the Justinian reconstruc-
tion of the sixth century. They are of a red-
dish limestone, are 44 in number, and separate
the central nave of the church from the narrow
aisles. In 1482, the roof timbers were replaced
with oak from the English forests and lead
for the dome was given by Edward the IV. In
the seventeenth century, the Turks melted
down the lead for bullets.

SCENE 4. This is the Silver Star of Bethle-
hem, whose Latin inscription reads, "Here
Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary."
This is one of the best authenticated sites
of Christian history. In the second century
A.D., Justin Martyr mentioned that the birth-
place of Jesus was known. The Roman Em-
peror Hadrian, in seeking to stamp out Chris-
tianity, merely marked the site by erecting
over it a temple to Adonis. Disputes over the
removal of this silver star and over the pro-
tection of other holy places in Palestine, in
the 19th century, fanned the sparks that flamed
into the Crimean War.