Mensa Christi is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located in Nazareth, northern Israel.

Christian tradition

Mensa Christi (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "table of Christ") contains a large rectangular block of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

(3.6 x 2.7 x 9 m) Bible Walks
updated 2009, accessed September 2018) that, according to a pious legend, served as a table when

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

had a meal with his disciples in his hometown. When a biblical reference needs to be applied, the quoted passage is from the Gospel of Mark (), where Jesus appears to the eleven remaining apostles after his

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

and finds them reclining at the table and eating, and he scolds them for not believing those who had witnessed him having returned from the dead. Mensa Christi
on the website of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Accessed 30 August 2018 The three decades Jesus spent in Nazareth are commonly called "the silent years", with the Gospels telling us close to nothing about that long period in his life. Over the centuries,

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

have sought for sites suitable for commemorating events from Jesus' life in his home village.Go Israel

History

In 1781 the

Custody of the Holy Land , native_name_lang = Latin , named_after= , image = Coat_of_arms_of_the_Custodian_of_the_Holy_Land.jpg , image_size = 200px , alt= , caption = Coat of arms of the Custody of the Holy Land , map ...

bought the ruined church from the Muslims. The

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

initially built a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

at this site in the latter half of the 18th century. The current church, a renovation of the earlier chapel, was completed in 1861. The

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i government, in a joint project with the local municipality, recently completed an $80 million renovation and restoration of the old city of Nazareth as part of the

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

celebrations of the year 2000. A part of this project was the restoration of the church's

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

and dome.

Location

The church is located within a dense neighborhood, above the church district, in the Old City of Nazareth. It is north of the Sisters of Saint

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

Convent, and near the Maronite Church of the Annunciation and Ecumenical Christian Child Care Center. It can be accessed only by foot down a steep road from the Carmelite convent, or above the

Synagogue Church The Synagogue Church is a small Christian church in the heart of Nazareth known by this name due to a tradition claiming that it the location where the village synagogue stood in Jesus' time. Above its doorway is an embedded sign in Arabic and ...

. This type of walkway is typical of small alleys in Nazareth and other Arab villages in Israel. The church is locked most of the time, but can be visited upon request.

Another "Mensa Christi"

A very similar significance is attached to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter in

Tabgha Tabgha ( ar, الطابغة, ''al-Tabigha''; he, עין שבע, ''Ein Sheva'' which means "spring of seven") is an area situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel and a depopulated Palestinian village. It is traditiona ...

, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, where the altar is built upon a cliff known in Latin as Mensa Christi, the Table of Christ, where the resurrected Jesus prepared bread and fishes over a fire for his disciples. This church also commemorates Jesus' reinstatement of

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

as chief

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

References

External links

Franciscan Custody of the Holy LandIsrael Ministry of Foreign Affairs NazarethInfo.org
with detailed recent photos and access information (updated 2009) {{coord, 32, 42, 15.65, N, 35, 17, 42.76, E, display=title Franciscan churches in Israel Roman Catholic churches in Nazareth Roman Catholic churches completed in 1861 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Israel