In Jesus's Footsteps 
跟随基督的脚步

Shepherds' Field, Bethlehem

伯利恒牧羊人的旷野

伯利恒的东边坐落着拜特萨霍村，这里对基督徒而言是最神圣的地方；在这里所发现的“牧羊人的旷野”被确认就是神的使者向牧羊人显现并告诉他们耶稣降生之喜信的地方。

【路加福音 2:8-10】 “在伯利恒之野地里有牧羊的人，夜间按着更次看守羊群。有主的使者站在他们旁边，主的荣光四面照着他们；牧羊的人就甚惧怕。那天使对他们说：‘不要惧怕！我报给你们大喜的信息，是关乎万民的；’”

罗马天主教和希腊东正教都有他们各自所认为的“牧羊人的旷野”地点。

罗马天主教“牧羊人的旷野”上是一座方济会教堂，其外形神似牧羊人的帐篷；而希腊东正教“牧羊人的旷野”上的教堂则是于公元5世纪建在山洞里的。

在东正教“牧羊人的旷野”上有一个小山谷，山谷里的一角种植了一片橄榄树，其中的一些橄榄树已经有2000多年的历史；牧羊人的旷野上还有一座地下教堂，是作为献给上帝母亲的感恩祭（在12月26日庆祝）。

在基督诞生的夜晚，这个地下教堂所在的位置就是那些听见天使宣告“在至高之处荣耀归与神，在地上平安归与他所喜悦的人”之牧羊人的山洞（路加福音2:14）。

这个山洞教堂是圣海伦娜在公元325年修建的众多教堂之一。最开始 的时候，该山洞只是被作为一个掩体，其后从公元4世纪开始，基督徒们将这个山洞看做埋葬牧羊人的坟墓。

基于所得到的考古证据，可以确认这座教堂的历史可追溯会拜占庭早期时代，这也是在这个位置最早被建造的基督教建筑。

这座地下教堂直到1927年才得以露出真容并被开放常规使用，然而却没有任何马赛克被发现。

在同一年，圣萨瓦修道院的神父阿奇马德里特·塞拉芬得到了这处圣迹的控制权，是为了能在原教堂的基础上按照原尺寸重新修建一座教堂。

在为新教堂打地基的时候，有三座分别建于公元5、6和7世纪的教堂遗迹重见天日。

这附近的路得田野在传统上会与旧约中的事件联系在一起（记载在路得记1:16）。

East of Bethlehem lies the village of Beit Sahour, where one of the most sacred places to Christians; “The Shepherds' Field” is found, identified as the scene where the Angel of the Lord visited the shepherds and informed them of Jesus' birth.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And the Angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:8-10).

The Roman Catholics and the Greek Orthodox each have their own Shepherds' Field. The Roman Catholic site features a Franciscan Chapel designed to resemble the shepherds' tent while the Greek Orthodox site features a 5th century church built over a cave.

In the Orthodox Shepherd's Field, a site in a small valley with olive trees some of them dating back 2000 years, an underground Church is dedicated to Synaxis of the Mother of God (celebrated December 26th).

On the night of Christ's Nativity, this underground church was the cave of the shepherds, who heard the angelic proclamation "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to men" (Luke 2-14).

This cave was one of the many churches built by Saint Helena in the year 325 AD. The cave functioned first as a shelter, then as a tomb of the shepherds, and has been treated as such by Christians since the 4th century.

On the basis of archaeological evidence, it has been proved that the church dated to early Byzantine period, and that it is the earliest Christian structure build on this site.

Up to 1972, only the underground church was visible and in regular use, but almost none of the mosaics were visible.

In that year the spiritual father of the Monastery of Saint Savva, Archimadrite Seraphim, had taken control of this holy shrine, in order to build a new full-size church above the basement church.

Excavating the foundations for the new church, there were remains of three different churches of the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries found respectively.

The nearby field of Ruth is traditionally associated with the events of the Old Testament (recounted in the Book of Ruth 1:16).