Editing Church of the Nativity (section)

==History==
===Holy site before Constantine (ca. 4 BC–AD 326)===
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the manger where [[Jesus]] was born. In 135, Emperor [[Hadrian]] had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for [[Adonis]], the mortal lover of [[Aphrodite]], the Greek goddess of beauty and desire.<ref name=Ricciotti276>{{cite book |first=Giuseppe |last=Ricciotti |author-link=Giuseppe Ricciotti |title=Vita di Gesù Cristo |publisher=Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana |year=1948 |page=276 n}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Maier |first=Paul L. |title=The First Christmas: The True and Unfamiliar Story |year=2001}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> [[Jerome]] claimed in 420 that the grotto had been consecrated to the worship of Adonis, and that a sacred grove was planted there in order to completely wipe out the memory of Jesus from the world.<ref name="Ricciotti276" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Craveri |first=Marcello |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofjesus00crav |title=The Life of Jesus |publisher=Grove Press |year=1967 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lifeofjesus00crav/page/35 35–37] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Around [[Anno Domini|AD]] 248, Greek philosopher [[Origen]] of Alexandria wrote the following about the grotto:
<blockquote>In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshiped and reverenced by the Christians.<ref>''[[Contra Celsum]]'', book I, chapter LI</ref></blockquote>

===Constantinian basilica (326 – 529 or 556)===
The first [[basilica]] on this site was built by Emperor [[Constantine I]], on the site identified by his mother, [[Helena of Constantinople|Empress Helena]]<ref name=roth/> and Bishop [[Makarios of Jerusalem]].<ref name=Pearl>{{cite book |first=Moshe |last=Pearlman |year=1980 |title=Digging up the Bible |publisher=William Morrow and Co. |location=New York |pages=33–34 |url=http://cojs.org/church_of_the_holy_sepulchre-_325_ce/ |via=Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 325 CE: Center for Online Judaic Studies (COJS) |access-date=2020-03-16 |archive-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109123849/http://cojs.org/church_of_the_holy_sepulchre-_325_ce/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The construction started in 326<ref name=roth>{{cite book |first=Leland M. |last=Roth |year=1993 |title=Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning |edition=First |publisher=Westview Press |location=Boulder, CO |isbn=0-06-430158-3 |pages=278, 282 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_5QDwAAQBAJ&q=nativity |access-date=2020-03-15 |archive-date=9 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809160912/https://books.google.com/books?id=q_5QDwAAQBAJ&q=nativity |url-status=live }}</ref> under the supervision of Makarios, who followed Constantine's orders,<ref name=Clio>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Church of the Holy Sepulcher |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History |author=Spencer C. Tucker |author2=Priscilla Roberts |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=266 |isbn=9781851098422 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA266 |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024183228/https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA266 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was dedicated on 31 May 339<ref name=OConnor>{{cite book |title=The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700 |series=Oxford Archaeological Guides |author=Jerome Murphy-O'Connor |year=2008 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=229–237 |isbn=978-0-19-923666-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3Yy9FDcT8gC&pg=PA237 |access-date=10 April 2018 |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024183230/https://books.google.com/books?id=m3Yy9FDcT8gC&pg=PA237#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>—however, it had already been visited in 333 by the [[Bordeaux Pilgrim]],<ref name=CTS2018>{{cite web |title=Anonymous of Bordeaux |url=http://www.bethlehem.custodia.org/default.asp?id=525 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531232557/http://www.bethlehem.custodia.org/default.asp?id=525 |website=Custodia terrae sanctae, Bethlehem Sanctuary |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2015}}</ref><ref name=CTS2020>{{cite web |website=Custodia terrae sanctae |title=Bethlehem: The Roman-Byzantine period |url=https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/bethlehem |access-date=2020-03-15 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728131203/https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/bethlehem |url-status=live }}</ref> at which time it was already in use.<ref name=CTS2018/>

Construction of this early church was carried out as part of a larger project following the [[First Council of Nicaea]] during Constantine's reign, aimed to build churches on the sites assumed at the time to have witnessed the crucial events in the life of Jesus.<ref name=roth/><ref>{{cite book |last=Moffatt |first=Marian |display-authors=et al |title=A World History of Architecture |year=2003}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> The design of the basilica centered around three major architectural sections:
<ref name=Gemein>{{cite book |editor=Peter Gemeinhardt |editor2=Katharina Heyden |title=Heilige, Heiliges und Heiligkeit in spätantiken Religionskulturen |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2012 |isbn=9783110283976 |access-date=8 April 2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WiASfqLGVMAC |archive-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802002056/https://books.google.com/books?id=WiASfqLGVMAC |url-status=live }}</ref>
# At the eastern end, an apse in a polygonal shape (broken pentagon, rather than the once proposed, but improbable full octagon), encircling a raised platform with an opening in its floor of ca. 4 metres diameter that allowed direct view of the Nativity site underneath. An ambulatory with side rooms surrounded the apse.<ref name=Gemein/>
# A five-aisled basilica in continuation of the eastern apse, one bay shorter than the still standing Justinianic reconstruction.<ref name=Gemein/>
# A porticoed atrium.<ref name=Gemein/>

The structure was burned and destroyed in one of the [[Samaritan Revolts]] of 529 or 556, in the second of which Jews seem to have joined the Samaritans.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crown |first=Alan D. |display-authors=et al |title=A Comparison to Samaritan Studies |page=55 |year=1993}}</ref><ref name=Shomali/><ref name=OxHist>{{cite book |first1=Robert G. |last1=Hoyland |first2=H. G. M. |last2=Williamson |title=The Oxford Illustrated History of the Holy Land |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |page=163 |isbn=9780198724391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzdtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |access-date=2020-03-15 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729123036/https://books.google.com/books?id=uzdtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Justinian's basilica (6th century)===
The basilica was rebuilt in its present form in the 6th century on the initiative of Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian I]] (527–565), after the destruction of either 529 or 556.<ref name=Cohen2011/> It was probably accomplished after the Emperor's death, as is indicated by the dating of the wooden elements embedded in the church walls between 545 and 665, which was provided by the dendrochronological analyses made during the recent restoration works.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017) [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, Viella, p. 65</ref>

The [[Sassanid Empire|Persians]] under [[Khosrau II]] invaded [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem|conquered nearby Jerusalem in 614]], but they did not destroy the structure. According to legend, their commander [[Shahrbaraz]] was moved by the depiction above the church entrance of the [[Three Magi]] wearing the garb of Persian [[Zoroastrian]] priests, so he ordered that the building be spared.<ref name=PEFnativ>{{cite web |title=The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem: Early Christian Period After 529 |publisher=The Palestine Exploration Fund |url=https://www.pef.org.uk/church |access-date=2020-03-15 |archive-date=28 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128004443/https://www.pef.org.uk/church/ }}</ref><ref name=Runciman>{{cite book |first=Steven |last=Runciman |title=A History of the Crusades Vol. I: The First Crusade and the Foundations of the Kingdom of Jerusalem |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1987 |page=10 |isbn=9780521347709 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDj9sNezWzEC&pg=PA10 |access-date=2020-03-15 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729130945/https://books.google.com/books?id=uDj9sNezWzEC&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Crusader period (1099-1187)===
[[File:Konrad von Grünenberg - Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem - Blatt 47r - 099.jpg|thumb|upright|The basilica and grounds as they were depicted in a work published in 1487]]

The Church of the Nativity was used as the primary coronation church for [[Crusades|Crusader]] kings, from the [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem|second ruler]] of the [[Catholic|Latin]] [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] in 1100 and until 1131.<ref name=Hazzard>{{cite book |last=Hazzard |first=Harry W. |title=A History of the Crusades |volume=IV |year=1977}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> In an earlier phase starting from {{Circa|1130}}, the Crusaders promoted the redecoration of the building in the medium of wall painting: images of saints were displayed in the central and southern colonnades of the nave, largely on the initiative of private donors, as is shown by the frequent use of dedicatory inscriptions and portraits. Remnants of a cycle of narrative scenes are preserved in the north-western pillar of the choir and the south transepts, as well as in the chapel located below the bell tower.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, 2017, pp. 124-136</ref>
The Crusaders undertook extensive decoration and restoration on the basilica and grounds,<ref name=Hazzard/> a process that continued until 1169,<ref name=Shomali/> from 1165 to 1169 even through a sort of "joint venture" between the Latin Bishop of Bethlehem, Raoul, the Latin King [[Amalric I of Jerusalem]] and the Byzantine emperor [[Manuel I Komnenos]].<ref name=Restoration>Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, [http://en.lpj.org/2016/07/21/the-basilica-of-nativity-restoration-works-continue-to-reveal-hidden-jewels/ ''The Basilica of Nativity: Restoration works continue to reveal hidden jewels''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227062238/http://en.lpj.org/2016/07/21/the-basilica-of-nativity-restoration-works-continue-to-reveal-hidden-jewels/ |date=27 December 2019 }}, posted 2016-06-21, accessed 8 April 2018</ref> As detailed in the bilingual Greek and Latin inscription in the altar space, the mosaic decoration was made by a teamwork headed by a painter named Ephraim. Another bilingual, Latin and Syriac, inscription located in the lower half of a mosaic panel displaying an angel in the northern wall of the nave bears witness to the work of a painter named Basil, who was probably a local Syrian Melkite. The two artists collaborated within the same workshop.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, Viella, pp. 144-151</ref>

===Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (1187-1516)===
[[File:3B0A7916.jpg|thumb|The wooden Armenian door in the narthex of the Nativity Church, 1227]]

The Ayyubid conquest of Jerusalem and its area in 1187 was without consequences for the Nativity church. The Greek-Melkite clergy was granted the right to serve in the church, and similar concessions were given almost immediately also to other Christian denominations.

In the year 1227 the church was embellished with an elegantly carved wooden door, the remnants of which can still be seen in the narthex. As detailed in its double, Armenian and Arabic inscription, it was made by two Armenian monks, Father Abraham and Father Arakel, in the times of King [[Hethum I]] of Cilicia (1224-1269) and the Emir of Damascus, and Saladin's nephew, [[al-Mu'azzam Isa]].<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, Viella, p. 209</ref>
In 1229 [[Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II]] signed an agreement with Sultan [[al-Kamil]] which led to the restitution of the Holy Places to the Crusaders. The property of the Nativity Church came back into the possession of the Latin clergy on the condition that Muslim pilgrims may be allowed to visit the holy cave.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Brno-Rome, Viella, p. 210</ref>
Latin hegemony probably lasted until the incursion of [[Khwarazmian dynasty#Mercenaries|Khwarezmian Turks]] in April 1244. On that occasion, the church treasures, now preserved in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem, were concealed underground and rediscovered only in 1863. The church was devastated, but not destroyed, the major damage being the dilapidation of its roof.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://frstephensmuts.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/after-centuries-bethlehem-church-of-the-nativity-to-get-new-roof |title=After Centuries, Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity to Get New Roof |date=27 November 2011 |access-date=29 August 2016 |archive-date=13 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313212723/https://frstephensmuts.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/after-centuries-bethlehem-church-of-the-nativity-to-get-new-roof/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Pringle93>{{cite book |last=Pringle |first=Denys |title=The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem |volume=I. |year=1993}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref>

Under Mamluk rule, the church was used by different Christian denominations, including Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syrians. In 1347 the Franciscans of the newly established [[Custody of the Holy Land]] were bestowed with the ownership of the former monastery of the regular canons to the north of the basilica. The Friars managed to gain a hegemonic role in Bethlehem until the Ottoman period.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, Viella, pp. 223-237</ref>

Starting from the late 13th century, pilgrims lament the dilapidation of the church interior by order of Mamluk authorities: in particular, the marble revetments of the walls and floor were gradually removed, until they thoroughly disappeared.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, Viella, p. 214</ref>

The [[Duchy of Burgundy]] committed resources to restore the roof in August 1448,<ref name=Pringle93/> and multiple regions contributed supplies to have the church roof repaired in 1480: [[England]] supplied the lead, the Second [[Kingdom of Burgundy]] supplied the wood, and the [[Republic of Venice]] provided the labor.<ref name=PEFnativ/>

===Ottoman period, first three centuries (16th–18th)===
[[File:Illustration from Views in the Ottoman Dominions by Luigi Mayer, digitally enhanced by rawpixel-com 69.jpg|thumb|The Grotto of the Nativity, painted by [[Luigi Mayer]], late 18th century]]

After the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1516, the Nativity church suffered from a long decay. The nave was largely abandoned and used for profane purposes. In the aim to prevent people from entering the church with horses and cattle, the main entrance was walled up and transformed into a diminutive door, known until our days as the "Door of Humility", since visitors are forced to bend down to go through it.<ref>Michele Bacci, [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Brno-Rome, Viella, 2017, p. 241</ref> An elevated chancel, provided with three doors, thoroughly separated the nave from the east end of the building, which was reserved for liturgical activities.
The Ottoman period was characterized by increasing tensions between the different Christian denominations. In 1637, Greeks were granted hegemony by the [[Sublime Porte]] and the Franciscans were expelled from the holy cave. In 1621 the Armenian Patriarch [[Grigor Paronter]] bought the partly ruined buildings to the south of the courtyard and established there a monastery and a hospice for pilgrims. In 1639, the Cretan painter [[Jeremias Palladas]] was commissioned by the Greek Patriarch to paint new icons to embellish the church. Further works were made in 1671 on the initiative of Patriarch [[Dositheos II]]. In 1675, Dositheos managed to gain control also of the nave, and promoted restorations of the floor and the roof, as well as the making of a new iconostasis. The Franciscans were restored in their rights in 1690, but they lose their hegemony once again in 1757, when the Greek Orthodox were granted full ownership of the upper church and the authorization to keep the keys to the grotto. Afterwards, a redecoration of the church was promoted: the nave was newly paved, the bema was provided with a solemn iconostasis and a wooden baldachin was erected over the main altar.<ref>Bacci, Michele (2017), [https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 ''The Mystic Cave. A History of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704124417/https://www.viella.it/libro/9788867288199 |date=4 July 2022 }}, Rome-Brno, Viella, pp. 237-258.</ref>

Because of uninterrupted water infiltrations from the roof, the Crusader mosaics started falling down, as is documented in many pilgrims' accounts from the 16th century onwards.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.CONVI.5.111177?mobileUi=0 | doi=10.1484/J.CONVI.5.111177 | title=Old Restorations and New Discoveries in the Nativity Church, Bethlehem | year=2015 | last1=Bacci | first1=Michele | journal=Convivium | volume=2 | issue=2 | pages=36–59 | access-date=7 August 2022 | archive-date=24 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024183230/https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.CONVI.5.111177?mobileUi=0 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nineteenth century===
[[File:Church of nativity 1880s.jpg|thumb|Northern steps to Grotto in the 1880s]]

Earthquakes inflicted significant damage to the Church of the Nativity between 1834 and 1837.<ref name=Cyclop>{{cite book |last=Black |first=Aden |title=A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature |volume=I |year=1851}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> The [[1834 Jerusalem earthquake]] damaged the church's bell tower, the furnishings in the cave on which the church is built, and other parts of its structure.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Holy Land |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> Minor damages were further inflicted by a series of strong aftershocks in 1836 and the [[Galilee earthquake of 1837]].<ref name=Cyclop/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=George Adam |title=Jerusalem: the topography, economics and history from the earliest times to A.D. 70 |volume=1 |year=1907}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> As part of the repairs executed by the Greek Orthodox after receiving a firman in 1842, a wall was built between the nave and aisles, used at the time as a market, and the eastern part of the church containing the choir, which allowed for worship to be continued there.<ref name=Cohen2011/>

The religiously significant silver star marking the exact birthplace of Jesus was removed in October 1847 from the Grotto of the Nativity by the Greek Orthodox.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kraemer |first=Joel L. |title=Jerusalem: problems and prospects |url=https://archive.org/details/jerusalem00nmen |url-access=registration |year=1980}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref><ref name=Cohen2011/> The church was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, but around Christmas 1852, [[Napoleon III]] forced the Ottomans to recognise Catholic France as the "sovereign authority" over Christian holy sites in the [[Holy Land]].<ref>Royle. p. 19.{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> The Sultan of Turkey replaced the silver star at the grotto, complete with a Latin inscription, but the Christian Orthodox Russian Empire disputed the change in authority. They cited the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] and then deployed armies to the [[Danube]] area. As a result, the Ottomans issued [[firman]]s essentially reversing their earlier decision, renouncing the French treaty, and restoring to the Orthodox Christians the sovereign authority over the churches of the Holy Land for the time being, thus increasing local tensions—and all this fuelled the conflict between the Russian and the Ottoman empires over the control of holy sites around the region.

===Twentieth century to the present===
{{see also|Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem}}
[[File:Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Palestine 04155u original.jpg|thumb|Interior of the basilica in the 1930s]]
[[File:Church of the Nativity pre-1941.jpg|thumb|The facade, ca. 1940]]

In 1918 British governor Colonel [[Ronald Storrs]] demolished the wall erected in 1842 by the Greek Orthodox between nave and choir.<ref name=Cohen2011/>

The passageway which connects St. Jerome's Cave and the Cave of the Nativity was expanded in February 1964, allowing easier access for visitors. American businessman Stanley Slotkin was visiting at the time and purchased a quantity of the limestone rubble, more than a million irregular fragments about {{convert|5|mm|abbr=on}} across. He sold them to the public encased in plastic crosses, and they were advertised in infomercials in 1995.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-10-12-me-53035-story.html |title=Rocks of Faith |last=Dart |first=John |date=12 October 1996 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035 |access-date=27 May 2016 |archive-date=21 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421061124/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-10-12/local/me-53035_1_nativity-stones/2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[Second Intifada]] in April 2002, the church was the site of a [[Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem|month-long siege]] in which approximately 50 armed Palestinians wanted by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) took refuge inside the church. Christians in the church gave refuge to the fighters, giving them food, water, and protection from Israeli military forces stationed outside. Israeli media claimed that the Christians inside were being held hostage,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://old.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-cohen042402.asp |title=The Nativity Sin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817045355/http://old.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-cohen042402.asp |date=24 April 2002 |work=National Review |archive-date=2011-08-17}}</ref> however, parishioners inside the church say they and the church were treated with respect.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://zenit.org/articles/franciscan-proposal-to-end-siege-of-bethlehem-basilica/ |title=Franciscan Proposal to End Siege of Bethlehem Basilica |date=11 April 2002 |work=Zenit |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220101535/https://zenit.org/articles/franciscan-proposal-to-end-siege-of-bethlehem-basilica/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Curtains caught fire in the grotto beneath the church on 27 May 2014, which resulted in some slight damage.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://wkbn.com/2014/05/27/fire-breaks-out-at-bethlehems-church-of-nativity/ |title=Fire breaks out at Bethlehem's Church of Nativity |date=27 May 2014 |publisher=WKBN |agency=Associated Press |access-date=24 December 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101135354/http://wkbn.com/2014/05/27/fire-breaks-out-at-bethlehems-church-of-nativity/ }}</ref>

The church's joint owners undertook a major renovation starting in September 2013,<ref name=restoratio>{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World/Photos/Church-of-Nativity-restoration/10778/16/ |title=Church of Nativity restoration |work=[[United Press International]] |location=Washington |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=3 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103003305/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World/Photos/Church-of-Nativity-restoration/10778/16/ |url-status=live }}</ref> probably to be completed in 2021 (see also under [[#Restoration (2013–2019)|Restoration (2013–2019)]]).

====World Heritage Site====
In 2012, the church complex became the first Palestinian site to be listed as a [[World Heritage Site]] by the [[World Heritage Committee]] at its 36th session on 29 June.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://globalheritagefund.org/onthewire/blog/church_of_the_nativity |title=Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity Could Be Israel's First World Heritage Site |publisher=Global Heritage Fund |date=15 June 2012 |access-date=29 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706000541/http://globalheritagefund.org/onthewire/blog/church_of_the_nativity |archive-date=6 July 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> It was approved by a secret vote<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/unesco-urgently-lists-church-of-nativity-as-world-heritage/1018266.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126041409/http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/unesco-urgently-lists-church-of-nativity-as-world-heritage/1018266.html |archive-date=26 January 2013 |title=UNESCO urgently lists Church of Nativity as world heritage |publisher=IBN Live News |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref> of 13–6 in the 21-member committee, according to UNESCO spokeswoman Sue Williams,<ref name=ynet>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4249093,00.html |title=UNESCO makes Church of Nativity as endangered site |newspaper=Ynetnews |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=29 June 2012 |access-date=29 June 2012 |archive-date=1 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701203040/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4249093,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and following an emergency candidacy procedure that by-passed the 18-month process for most sites, despite the opposition of the United States and Israel. The site was approved under criteria four and six.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1433 |title=Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=26 March 2013 |archive-date=1 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701115532/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1433 |url-status=live }}</ref> The decision was a controversial one on both technical and political terms.<ref name=ynet/><ref name=al>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/2012629182452482880.html |title=UN grants Nativity Church 'endangered' status |department=Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=26 March 2013 |archive-date=6 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906184743/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/2012629182452482880.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was placed on the [[List of World Heritage in Danger]] from 2012 to 2019, as it was suffering from damages due to water leaks.<ref name=unesco/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1995 |title=The site of the Birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem (Palestine) removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=7 July 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702152115/https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1995 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Restoration (2013–2019)====
=====Endangered status=====
The basilica was placed on the 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the [[World Monuments Fund]]:
<blockquote>The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. ... It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church—the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order—to work together, which has not happened for hundreds of years. The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority would also have to work together to protect it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wmf.org/project/church-holy-nativity |title=Church of the Holy Nativity |publisher=World Monuments Fund |access-date=22 December 2011 |archive-date=5 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105225620/http://www.wmf.org/project/church-holy-nativity |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kumar |first=Anugrah |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/bethlehems-nativity-church-to-get-overdue-repairs-63163/ |title=Bethlehem's Nativity Church to Get Overdue Repairs |work=The Christian Post |date=28 November 2011 |access-date=22 December 2011 |archive-date=31 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231171017/http://www.christianpost.com/news/bethlehems-nativity-church-to-get-overdue-repairs-63163 |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>
A Presidential committee for the restoration of the Nativity Church was appointed in 2008. In the following year, an international consortium team of experts from different Universities, under the supervision of Prof. Claudio Alessandri (University of Ferrara, Italy), was given the task of planning and coordinating the restoration works.

=====Logistics and organisation=====
In 2010, the [[Palestinian Authority]] announced that a multimillion-dollar restoration programme was imminent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-ml-palestinians-ancient-church,0,2313867.story |title=Topic Galleries |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=22 December 2011}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> Although a majority Muslim nation, albeit with a [[Palestinian Christians|significant Christian minority]], Palestinians consider the church a national treasure and one of their most visited tourist sites.<ref name=Abbas/> President Mahmoud Abbas has been actively involved in the project, which is led by Ziad al-Bandak.<ref name=Abbas>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail.com/int/scitech/news/4143698-palestinians-renovate-church-jesus-birthplace.html#.1258-stage-set7-4 |title=Sci/Tech – Science & Technology: Breaking news and opinions |access-date=24 February 2016 |archive-date=21 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221022043/http://www.mail.com/int/scitech/news/4143698-palestinians-renovate-church-jesus-birthplace.html#.1258-stage-set7-4 |url-status=live }}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> The project is partially funded by Palestinians and conducted by a team of Palestinian and international experts.<ref name=Abbas/>

=====Restoration process=====
The initial phase of the restoration work was completed in early 2016.<ref name=Abbas/> New windows have been installed, structural repairs on the roof have been completed and art works and mosaics have been cleaned and restored.<ref name=Abbas/> The works went further with the consolidation of the narthex, the cleaning and consolidation of all wooden elements, the cleaning of wall mosaics, mural paintings, and floor mosaics. The works came to pause in 2021; however there is still restoration work to be done as of June 2024. The remaining goals of the project include: the conservation of the stone tiles of the Church of the Nativity’s front yard, the addition of a firefighting system, a climate control system, structural consolidation, further prevention of seismic activity damage, and the restoration of the central nave. The most necessary of the repairs yet to be done is restoration of the Grotto of the Nativity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sudilovsky |first1=Judith |title=Restoration at Church of the Nativity shows what cooperation can do |url=https://www.catholicsun.org/2021/12/09/restoration-at-church-of-the-nativity-shows-what-cooperation-can-do/#:~:text=After%20a%20process%20of%20extensive,of%20the%20outside%20facades%3B%20and |website=The Catholic Sun |date=9 December 2021 |access-date=23 July 2024}}</ref>

=====Discoveries=====
Italian restoration workers uncovered a seventh surviving mosaic angel in July 2016, which was previously hidden under plaster.<ref name=7angel>{{cite web |url=http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2016/07/05/italians-find-church-of-nativitys-7th-angel_588dc3e0-5904-4c2b-92e2-69e6a4c38cfa.html |title=Italians find Church of Nativity's 7th angel |work=[[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata]] |location=Rome |access-date=8 July 2016 |date=5 July 2016 |archive-date=8 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708140015/http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2016/07/05/italians-find-church-of-nativitys-7th-angel_588dc3e0-5904-4c2b-92e2-69e6a4c38cfa.html |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Italian restorer Marcello Piacenti, the mosaics "are made of gold leaf placed between two glass plates" and solely "faces and limbs are drawn with small pieces of stone."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/bethlehem-church-mosaics-sparkle-in-time-for-christmas |title=Bethlehem church mosaics sparkle again, in time for Christmas |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=December 16, 2018 |access-date=April 28, 2021 |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428141748/https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/bethlehem-church-mosaics-sparkle-in-time-for-christmas |url-status=live }}</ref>