Church of Saint Anne - Jerusalem, Israel

The Church of Saint Anne is located in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem adjacent to the ancient Bethesda Pools. The significance of this church is that it claims to mark the location of Mary's birth. It is named after Mary's mother, Anne. It is at the start of the Via Dolorosa, which I will discuss more in another post. Unfortunately, I did not take many photos of this church. While I was outside, I was busy watching tourists trip over the uneven stones. If you look at the photo above, you will see a planter. If you look to the right of the planter, you will see a dark line. That is where the plaza is recessed in front of the church. Tourists busy looking at the church were constantly tripping here.

The first church built here was built in the Fifth Century over a pagan shrine to the Egyptian god of healing, Serapis. The pagan shrine would have existed at the time of the pools of Bethesda, also known for healing. The Byzantine church was destroyed in 614 and rebuilt by the Crusaders in the early Twelfth Century. In 1192, Saladin converted the church to a Madrasa. This preserved the amazing structure. It was again converted to a church in the Nineteenth Century. A statue to Saint Anne and Mary, the mother of Jesus sits to the left of the entrance. It is the only photo I took inside this church.

The most amazing thing about the Church of Saint Anne is the acoustic qualities found here. Choirs from around the world gather here to sing. "It's a thing." You have to register with the church in order to bring your choir in to do a song or two. We were with a secular tour group conducting a tour of Christian Holy sites. We were definitely not a choir. But our tour guide spoke to the caretakers and we were permitted to sing a song. With all the formal choirs singing, I was scared to death. But a Korean choir group joined in and made us sound much better than we were. The acoustics made us sound better than we were, too.

We stayed and listened to the Korean choir, who was scheduled next, before we continued on to visit the churches and sights along the Via Dolorosa. Admission to the church is free. Singing must be arranged in advance.

Be sure to check out my other adventures in Israel!

A Christian Guide to Israel

Hotels
Cinema Hotel Tel Aviv, Israel
Ron Beach Hotel, Tiberias, Israel
Prima Park Hotel Jerusalem, Israel

Attractions
Caesarea National Park Caesarea, Israel
Mount Precipice Mount Kedimum, Israel
Sea of Galilee Boat Ride Tiberias, Israel
Yigal Alon Museum (Jesus Boat) Ginosar, Israel
Capernaum, Israel
St. Peter’s Restaurant Kinneret, Israel
Caesarea Phillipi Banias, Israel
Gadot Lookout and Memorial Golan Heights, Israel
Jordan River Baptismal Site Yardenit, Israel
Beit She’an National Park Beit She’an, Israel
Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel
Garden Tomb Jerusalem, Israel
Western Wall Jerusalem, Israel
Western Wall Tunnels Jerusalem, Israel
Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, Israel
Bethlehem New Store Gift Shop
Pools of Bethesda Jerusalem, Israel
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
House of Caiaphas the High Priest, Jerusalem, Israel
The Upper Room, Jerusalem, Israel
Tomb of King David, Jerusalem, Israel
Masada National Park, Masada, Israel
The Dead Sea, Masada, Israel

Churches
Discalced Carmelite Monastery Muhraqa, Israel
Basilica of the Annunciation Nazareth, Israel
St. Peter’s Church Capernaum, Israel
Church of the Multiplication Tabgha, Israel
Church of the Beatitudes Tabgha, Israel
Church of All Nations Jerusalem, Israel
Church of Saint Anne, Jerusalem, Israel
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, Israel
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank

Unless otherwise indicated, these photos are my own. They may be used with permission.