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Basilica of the Nativity of Bethlehem in UNESCO “Where the Lord
Jesus was born there a basilica was built on Constantine’s
command.” That’s how the 4th century anonymous pilgrim from
France describes in his writings the world famous Basilica of
the Nativity in Bethlehem, which in late June 2012 became one of
the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Emperor Constantine’s church
was built on the site of the Nativity Grotto and was completed
in 339 A.D. The construction was initiated by the mother of the
emperor, St. Helena, who converted to Christianity. But how did
she know this spot was the site of Jesus’s birth? According to
the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who ruled from 117-138 A.D., it was
not difficult to spot the site since people marked many of the
Christian holy sites with idols. In one of the letters from late
4th century, St. Jerome writes: “[…] and in the very cave where
the infant Christ had uttered His earliest