Church of the Annunciation

Church of the Annunciation

Nazareth is the town of the Holy Family and the site of the Annunciation. The main Christian sites in the town are the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. Apart from that, the town has many other churches and holy sites connected to events in the life of jesus and the Holy Family in Nazareth.
The church was established at the site where, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the Annunciation took place. Greek Orthodox tradition holds that this event occurred while Mary was drawing water from a local spring in Nazareth, and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation was erected at that alternate site.
The current church is a two-story building constructed in 1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era and then Crusader-era church. Inside, the lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary. Under Roman Catholic canon law, the church enjoys the status of a minor basilica.[1] A historically significant site, considered sacred within some circles of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, the basilica attracts many Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian visitors every year.