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Where did Jesus preach the sermon of the Beatitudes? In all
literature on the Holy Places there is no mention of a sanctuary (or church or chapel) of
the Beatitudes; only the Mount of Beatitudes is indicated, that is the traditional site of
the Sermon of the Mount (Mt. 5, 1-7,27; Lk. 6, 20-26). Literary Sources Egeria (383 - 385) The original text is missing from the Itinerary of Egeria, but fortunatly was copied in the Collection of Peter the Deacon, a monk from Montecassino (1137 A.D.) "Juxta Septem Fontes (Heptapegon-Tabgha)......, in quo camp Dominus de quinqe panibus et duobus piscibus populum siatiavit... Inde montem, qui iuxta est, est spelunca, in qua ascendens beatudines dixit Salvator" (Enchiridion, D. Baldi, Jerusalem 1982, nr. 412). Near the Seven Springs..... in the field where the Lord fed the crowd with five loaves and two fishes... On the hill nearby there is a grotto on top of which the Saviour preached the Beatitudes. This ancient tradition, which without doubt goes back to the information collected by Egeria (383 A.D.) from the Jewish-Christians of Capernaum, is considered the only true one. During the centuries the site of the Beatitudes has always gone higher, until as we shall see, it reached the Mount of the Blessed Trees. In about 350 A.D. a simple church was built on the place of the multiplication of the loaves. This church was destroyed (perhapas by an earthquake?). The church there today was built (in 1982) on the ruins of a Byzantine church, erected in about 470 A.D. and which was probably destroyed during the incursion of the Persian (614 A.D.). The ruins were covered by debris and thus the place of the sanctuary fell into oblivion. Much later, during the time of Charlomagne (808 A.D.), we hear about two modest sanctuaries, one above the Seven Springs and the other near the lake. The more elevated sanctuary was found during the excavations carried out by Father Bagatti in 1935. The one near the lake is known today as the Mensa Christi or the Primacy of Peter. The following excerpt was included in the list sent to the court of Charlemagne: "Supra
mare Tiberiadis monasterium, quod vocatur Heptaoegon, Ubi Dominus sattiavit popoli su(l
quindue panibus et dobus) piscibus quinque milia; ibi sunt monachi decem. Item iuxta mare
ecclesia, quam vocant duodec (im apostolorum), ubi fuit Dominus cum discipulis suis; ibi
est mensa, ibi cum illis sedit: ibi sunt presbyter unus, clerici duo". In this elevated monastery, which had a small chapel, the commemoration of the Miracle of the Multiplication (of the loaves) begun on the Eremos Hill. EPIPHANIUS MONACHUS (IX CENTURY) came from Capernaum and after 100 strides upon a stone marked with a cross , wchich commemorated the healing of the woman who suffered from a haemorrhage (Mk. 5, 25-34); and after another thosand strides came upon a "kastellion" (a fortified monastery) with a church, "quod diditur Heptapegon; qou in loco Christus edidit miraculum quinque panum et duorum piscium" (Enchiridion, nr. 406) In a report known as that of St. Helen (X Century), it says that at the foot "kastellion" there was a large spring that was called Heptapegon (Enchiridion, nr. 407). During Medieval times the site of the Sermon of the Mount continued to climb higher on the Mount of the Beatitudes. For example: THEODORICUS
(1283 A.D.) BURCHARDUS
DE MONTE SION (1283 A.D.) "In quo saturavit quinque milia hominum de quinque panibus et duobus piscibus.Illic misissa turba ascendit solus orare. Fugit in ipsum, cum eum vellent facere regem. Ibi docuit discipulos orare. In eo erat pernoctans in oratione" (Enchiridion, nr. 419. 1-2) On his way down from Safet, Burchardus reached a place that had a magnificent view. With great admiration he described the view seen from this hill: from here you can see all the Lake of Galilee and the regions of Traconitide and Iturea, as far as Lebannon, Mt. Hermon and the Lands of Zabulon and Nephtali, etc. THE MOUNT OF THE BLESSED TREES At the time of the Crusaders a "Compendium" called De Situ Urbis Jerusalem (1130-1150) was written. The author immagined the place of the Sermon of the Mount to be one mile deistant from the place of the multiplication (Tabgha): "Secundo miliario a Capharnaum descensus montis est, in quo sermocinavit ad turbas, in quo et elprosum curavit. Miliario a descensu illo, locus in cuo pavit Dominus quinque milia hominum, unde locus ille mensa vocatur" (Enchiridion, Baldi, nr. 411) Clemens Kopp, a priest who was a researcher, who lived in the Holy Land for many years, is the author of a much appreciated book on the different traditions of the Holy Places. The title in Grema is Die Helligen Statten der Evangelien (F. Putset Editions, Regensberg 1959. See pages 263, 265-67). C. Kopp, who studied the later traditions about the Mount of Beatitudes, is of the opinionthat the two excerpts above (De situ Jerusalem and Bachardus de Monte Sion) might refer to the slope of the Mount of Beatitudes, which the Bedouins once (abt. 1930) called Deir Makir (perhaps the Monastery of Maccarius). The Bedouins called some ancient trees that were there Es-sajarat el-mubarakat = blessed trees. Originally there were three trees - an oak, a terebinth and a "sider" (sisiphus spinae Christi). These trees, which were considered sacred, were deeply venerated by the Bedouins. Unfortunately only the tarebinthy remains on the eastern slope of the mount. The Bedouins recount that in 1913 a Bedouin was audacious enough to chop down two of the trees. He died suddenly, and the Bedouins considered this as the "punshment of Allah". The author Koppsays, that in the Bedouins' belief, this place with these trees was blessed by Messia Issa (Jesus). The Bedouins believe that the enormous walls are the are the remains of Deir Makir. But until now no trace of the monastery has been found. We do know however that in ancient times hermit monks lived in this area. Perhaps the Bedouin tradition refers to this. Until the time the Jews occupied this area, the land belonged to the Semacchie Bedouin tribe who ocassionally camped on the site and sowed grain in some places. Even at the time of Jesus this region was solitary and deserted and was ideal for anyone who sought retreat, solitude or rest. THE ACTUAL SITUATION Thanks to these traditions, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land was interested in the area and acquired this property. In 1998, The Neocatechumenal Way entered in an agreement to use this property in the area of the Blessed Treesto construct a Center for Study and Prayer for its communities. In the presence of the initiators of the Way, Kiko, Carmen, and Father Mario and many guests and pilgrims from all over the world, His Beatitude the Patriarch Michel Sabbah will bless the Founding Stone of the Domus Galilaeae International Center on January 15th, 1999. AD MULTOS ANNOS!! Father
Bargil Pixner, O.S.B. |
