Surrounded by gardens amid the natural beauty of the Galilee, and overlooking the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), the Church of the Beatitudes is an unique, octagonal, neo-Byzantine chapel―built between 1936 and 1938―on the traditional site of Jesus' delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, known as the Mount of Beatitudes (Har HaOsher in Hebrew), also known as Mount Eremos. Although there have been various sites considered as the site of this seminal episode in Jesus' ministry, pilgrims are known to have commemorated this particular site since at least the 4th century. Egeria, in the description of her pilgrimage of the Holy Land around 381 CE, after describing the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, writes, "Near there on a mountain is the cave to which the Saviour climbed and spoke the Beatitudes."
The current church sits near the ruins of a small Byzantine era church dating to the late 4th century―in use until the Arab invasion of the 7th century―which contains a rock-cut cistern beneath it and the remains of a small monastery to its southeast.
This post is illustrated with an amalgam of two visits, one in 2019, and one special visit in 2014 with a dear old friend, now deceased, from the UK, whose Christian faith made the visit a special one for her. I write this post in her memory.
The late Janet Cooper in the gardens of the Church of the Beatitudes, 2014
The importance of the Sermon on the Mount―the longest continuous discourse of Jesus found in the New Testament, and has been one of the most widely quoted―is its emphasis of Jesus' moral teachings, and is generally considered to contain the central tenets of Christianity. Comprising chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew's Gospel, the sermon takes place relatively early in the Ministry of Jesus after he has been baptized by John the Baptist, had fasted and contemplated in the desert, and began to preach in Galilee. It includes some of the best known teachings of Jesus, such as the Lord's Prayer, and the Beatitudes which lend their name to this place.
The Sermon on the Mount, by Carl Bloch, oil on copper, 1877 [Credit: Museum of National History, Denmark, public domain]
The beatitudes are found in Matthew 5:3–12.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you
The church was commissioned by Mussolini and designed by the architect Antonio Barluzzi. It is maintained―and hospitality provided―by the Francescane Missionnarie del Cuore Immaculato di Maria (Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), known as the Sisters of Egypt. The Mount contains―in addition to the church―beautiful gardens, mosaics, and inscriptions, as well as magnificent view over the Kinneret.
