Editing Church of the Nativity (section)

===Grotto of the Nativity===
[[File:Nativity Grotto Star.jpg|thumb|Grotto of the Nativity, fourteen-point silver star under the main altar marking the traditional spot of Jesus' birth]]

The '''Grotto of the Nativity''', the place where Jesus is said to have been born, is an underground space which forms the crypt of the Church of the Nativity. It is situated underneath its main altar, and it is normally accessed by two staircases on either side of the chancel. The grotto is part of a network of caves, which are accessed from the adjacent Church St Catherine's. The tunnel-like corridor connecting the Grotto to the other caves is normally locked.

The cave has an eastern niche said to be the place where Jesus was born, which contains the '''Altar of Nativity'''. The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath this altar by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription ''Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717'' ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary-1717"). It was installed by the Catholics in 1717, removed – allegedly by the Greeks – in 1847, and replaced by the Turkish government in 1853. The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian Apostolic. The Altar of the Nativity is maintained by the [[Greek Orthodox]] and [[Armenian Apostolic]] churches. The significance of the 14 points on the star is to represent the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. First 14 from Abraham to David, then 14 from David to the Babylonian captivity, then 14 more to Jesus Christ. In the middle of the 14 pointed star is a circular hole, through which one can reach in to touch the stone that is said to be the original stone that Mary lay on when she gave birth to Jesus.<ref>Cross Rhythms, The Church of The Nativity, Bethlehem ([http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/life/The_Church_Of_The_Nativity_Bethlehem/37927/p1/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607135847/http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/life/The_Church_Of_The_Nativity_Bethlehem/37927/p1/|date=7 June 2019}}).</ref> On the apse above the altar was a 12th-century mosaic depicting the Nativity; the base of the mosaic read "Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis" ("Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will"). The mosaic was vandalized in 1873 by Greeks who rioted against the Franciscans.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wells |first1=Archie |title=The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem: Notes On Two Mosaics |url=https://www.academia.edu/97456063 |website=Academia |access-date=17 September 2024}}</ref> Fragments of the mosaic can still be seen on the apse but are covered over by an icon during liturgical celebrations by the Greeks and Armenians.

Catholics are in charge of a section of the grotto known as the "Grotto of the Manger", marking the traditional site where Mary laid the newborn baby in the manger. The Altar of the Magi is located directly opposite from the manger site. The Franciscans are also in charge of a door, at the opposite end of the Altar of the Nativity, that opens to a passageway connecting the grotto with the underground chapels of Saint Catherine Church.