Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist
Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist
The Latin Monastery in Madaba is home to the Shrine of the Beheading of John the Baptist. The church is situated on a hill where an old stronghold formerly stood. The building of the fortification was influenced by the several ancient civilizations that inhabited the region, including the Moabite, Roman, and Byzantine.
Christian tribes arrived in Madaba in 1880, and it was just ruins of stones piled on top of each other, so they started building houses and a church, which was named the Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist, due to its proximity to the place where John the Baptist was beheaded in Makawar Castle.
The hill area in Madaba is considered one of the oldest archaeological areas in Madaba, and is the center of the ancient city. On this hill there was an ancient citadel (Acropolis), whose construction was rooted in the ancient civilizations that passed through the place, from the Moabites to the Romans and finally the Byzantines, before a great earthquake hit the city in 746 AD, which turned the city into a pile of stones.
When the Christian tribes arrived in Khirbet Madaba in 1880, accompanied by the Italian priest Alexander Maccagno, it was a mound of stones piled on top of each other. The priests worked to settle the Christian clans in Madaba, who in turn began to build their homes and churches, bringing the city back to life after it was destroyed and lifeless.
The hill area in Madaba is considered one of the oldest archaeological areas in Madaba, and is the center of the ancient city. On this hill there was an ancient citadel (Acropolis), whose construction was rooted in the ancient civilizations that passed through the place, from the Moabites to the Romans and finally the Byzantines, before a great earthquake hit the city in 746 AD, which turned the city into a pile of stones.
When the Christian tribes arrived in Khirbet Madaba in 1880, accompanied by the Italian priest Alexander Maccagno, it was a mound of stones piled on top of each other. The priests worked to settle the Christian clans in Madaba, who in turn began to build their homes and churches, bringing the city back to life after it was destroyed and lifeless.
The place is rich in undiscovered antiquities buried under the soil, and needs specialists and scientific excavation expeditions to excavate using modern scientific methods, in order to ensure the integrity of the ancient church and monastery building.
