Ein Kerem
Archeological excavations in the early 1940's uncovered
remains of a settlement from the Middle Bronze Period (third millenium BCE), pottery from the first century
BCE, and pagan cult statues from Roman times. Ancient tradition, dating back from Theodosius (530 CE)
identifies Ein Kerem as the birth place of John the Baptist, and with
the location of the visit paid to Elizabeth, John's mother by her cousin
Mary, Jesus' mother
(Luke 1:39-80). The village's
historical fame rests primamrily on this fact. A church stood there
from Byzantine times and
was visited by the author of the Kalendarium Hierosolymitanum.
The crusaders also occupied
the village and built a large church, soon destroyed in the eleventh
century. The Russian Abbot Daniel wrote (1106-07) of two churches in
Ein Kerem. The Franciscans established their first church in 1621, establishing
a more permanent settlement in 1674. Medieval traveleers, whose pilgramage
route usually followed the triangle Jerusalem-Ein Kerem-Bethlehem, wrote
of the Church of Saint John and the Church of the Visitation.
Chagall Windows at Hadassah Hospital |
The Franciscans remained the only foreigners in Ein
Kerem until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1860, the sisters
of Our Lady of Zion settled in the village, to be followed by the nuns
of the Russian
Orthodox Church in 1871, the White Father in 1882, the Greek
Orthodox Church in 1894, and the Rosary Sisters in 1911. During
the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 the inhabitants of the village, mostly Arab, fled and were replaced
by immigrants from Asian countries. In 1949, Rahel Yannait Ben Tzvi
established the Ein Kerem Agricultural School, moving it from its previous
location in Jerusalem. In
1964, many aritsts and academics settled in the village.
Today, Ein Kerem is most well known for its prestigious
Hadassah Hospital, established in 1961, which also is home to the famous
twelve Marc Chagall stained
glass windows.
Sources: "Ein Kerem," Encyclopedia
Judaica;
Hadassah
Medical Organization;
Photo of Chagall windows courtesy Trivia
One;
Photo of Church courtesy Biblical
Resources Study Center
|