Religious Routes And Sites
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Shepherds' Field

The Shepherds’ Field is located in the town of Beit Sahour, 1 kilometer east of Bethlehem. In this field, according to tradition, an angel surrounded by a supernatural light appeared to the bewildered shepherds as they were keeping night watch over their flock. “Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and singing: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will" (Luke 2:14). A grotto and an altar just east of the Shepherds' Field Church are believed to mark the dwelling place of the shepherds. Nowadays one can find there three churches, one of which was built almost over the ruins of the old cave where the Shepherds saw the shinning star over Bethlehem. Its tent-like shape recalls a Bedouin-type tent of the shepherds.  There are remains of a late fourth century church and a sixth to eighth century monastery near the present church, which was built in 1953-1954.