Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has told Christian Today how walking in the steps of Jesus in the Holy Land has been 'profoundly moving' and how he has come to appreciate 'a new sense of the importance of place'.
Welby, who is on a 12-day tour of the Holy Land, first came to the region on honeymoon at the turn of 1979 and 1980, returning again in 2002, 2008 and 2013.
When he first came, he said, 'there were some of the sites that had a huge impact on us and some didn't, but I have to say each time I come they have more impact. And this time, I found it profoundly moving – I've come to a new sense of place, of the importance of place. Not in some sort of spooky mystical way, but just: place matters, it's part of what it is to be incarnate; it's part of what it is for God to take flesh and become human; it means he's in a place.'
This morning, Welby walked through the low 'door of humility' into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, held to be on the site of the birth of Jesus, and through to the Greek Orthodox St. George's chapel.
There, Welby prayed silently with his eyes closed before the morning prayer service with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Jordan, Theophylactos, and the Christian mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Baboun.
The Archbishop of Canterbury talked to Archbishop Theophylactos about his first visit to the Church, back at Christmas 1979, when he was on honeymoon.
Welby described the newly renovated Church as a 'metaphor for incarnation' and said that today he could see 'the light of heaven bursting through the building'. He added: 'The beauty of Christ is revealed when people turn to him in worship.'
The Archbishop said that he was touched more powerfully than before by the beauty of the Church, which is still under reconstruction.
Turning to his fellow Archbishop, he said: 'You are never forgotten in these times of struggle and pain. We pray for you constantly and will continue to do so.'
After the service, the party took Arabic coffee in Archbishop's House inside the church grounds, with the Orthodox Archbishop talked of his 'great pleasure' and 'honour' in welcoming Welby.
'The restoration of our church is like the restoration of our souls, he said. 'And we thank God and we glorify God.' Turning to Welby, he said: 'We wish you health and happiness.'
Mayor Baboun told Welby: 'Our unity is a torch that can bring a lot of change.'
Asked by Christian Today if he sensed that Christians in the region across denominations were increasingly coming together, Welby said: 'Oh yes, definitely. I mean, there have been some really remarkable things. I think that the Greek Patriarch is extraordinary and how he has brought people together at the Holy Sepulchre and other holy sites; I think we're seeing...immense friendship, a deeper and deeper friendship amongst the church that probably hasn't been seen before, at least not for centuries, and it has actually even grown significantly since I was last year, so I find that very moving.'
Asked if that was because of the rise in violence against Christians in the Middle East, Welby said: 'I don't know the answer to that. I mean that would be the cynical response, but I think I'm more inclined to think that it's the work of the spirit of God, with some very, very remarkable people, who are just saying, you know to take Jo Cox out of context, there is more that unites us than divides us.'
