St Joseph's Church

Abstract

~St. Joseph Church is located, according to Christian tradition, over the carpenter workshop of Joseph, father of Christ. Later traditions associate this location with the house of Jesus and his parents. The church is located just to the north of the Basilica of Annunciation. Caves found under the church were used in early Roman times as water and food storage areas. Now this area is located in the church's crypt. The place was converted into a worship location in the Byzantine period and a basilica was probably erected on that spot in the 5th-6th century AD. During the Crusaders period, circa 12th century AD, a church was built over the Byzantine ruins. Later it was destroyed by Mamluk Muslims after defeating the Crusaders. During the ottoman period, the Franciscan Order purchased the place with the Crusader ruins, and in 1754 the Franciscans established a chapel, that was eventually ruined by the 1838 earthquake. In 1914, the old chapel was replaced by a new one, built above previous ruins and the ancient caves. The modern church was built in a Neo-Romanesque style, according to the plan of the previous Crusader church, with three eastern apses built upon Crusader ruins