Eva Lewitus' photos with the keyword: St.John the Baptist Church

At the back you can see the Hadasah Hospital, and in the front is the church of St. John the Baptist

An early church on this site was used by Muslim villagers for their livestock before the Franciscans recovered it in the 17th century. The Franciscan monks started to settle here in 1674, after Louis XIV arranged a permit from the Ottoman rulers.They purchased lands and houses, including the area of the monastery. The monastery was completed in 1895. The modern church was built in the second half of the 19th Century and completed in 1920. The construction was financed by the Spanish monarchs and since then the monastery is headed by the Spaniards.

Etymology of some of the words: Kerem - Hebrew: vineyard. As in 1 Kings 23 1: ""And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard". Ein, Ma'ayan - Hebrew: spring. Based on "Ma'im" - water. There are dozens of references in the Bible, since water was a major factor in this dry land. Ein Kerem (Karem) - the spring of the vineyard. John - the Baptist. from Hebrew, "Yochanan", which means: Yo (God) + Chanan (Pardoned). Thus the name in Hebrew means " God has pardoned". Biblical Reference: Mark 1 4,5: "John did baptize in the wilderness...in the river of Jordan". Ba Harim - Hebrew - In (Ba) the mountains (Harim).

The Church of John the Baptist Ba Harim (which means St. John of the Mountains, also called the Catholic Church of the Nativity of St John), which according to tradition is John’s birth place. Isn’t it interesting that the church is known by its Hebrew name . Crusaders called it Saint-Jean-des-Bois and St. Jean in Montana. Montana was once the name of Ein Karem. Here old Zechariah finally regained his power of speech after his son was born, when he obediently wrote on a writing tablet that the baby’s name was to be John.