Explosion of
St. Barbara's Church in Aboud
All of a sudden and without warning, the Israeli army exploded St. Barbara Church, one of the most sacred religious shrines in Aboud village. This act took place at 9 o’clock of Friday evening (May 31, 2002). This holy shrine is one of the most ancient religious sites of Aboud, its history goes back to the 6th century A.D. The Christians of the village go there every year on December the 17th to pray and light candles in memory of her death.
The church is located on the top of a hill to the West of Aboud. People witnessed the Israeli soldiers walking around Saint Barbara area which aroused their suspect and doubt. Then at night, lights of the military jeeps and soldiers were seen in the place. Suddenly a very powerful explosion was heard clearly all over the village and big dark clouds of smoke rose in the sky, too. Consequently the shrine and a grave were completely destroyed, and stones were hurled in all directions. Soldiers in jeeps came back after that, which in people’s eyes seems to make sure that every thing was perfectly carried out.
Indeed and up to now, people in Aboud don’t know why the Israeli occupation forces committed such a brutal action against this sacred and archeological site, or what their real objective is. But surely we feel that it should be condemned on all levels because it cannot be justified in any way. Immediate measures should be taken, to protect and reconstruct this place and other holy places in Aboud and in Palestine as soon as possible.
St. Barbara’s Shrine and Church through History
This church or ancient monastery lies on a rocky hill at a distance of one kilometer to the West of Aboud village, and at the side of the road which used to connect Jerusalem with Ra’s El-Ain (Antibatrus). Some archeologists trace its construction back to the 6th century A.D. whereas some other researchers trace it back to the eighth century A.D (the Abbaside period). But the transmitted tradition and inherited legacy point out to its Byzantine roots that go back as far as the 4th century A.D.
In the area of this site there is a through and integrated construction (Possibly the monastery) consisting of three rooms, the middle one, being a church that has a rectangular shape (14 m. long, 7 m. wide) with nothing remaining in it but the foundations which are now embedded in the ground. Besides there exist two kinds of mosaic floors (invisible at present). At the bottom of the church there is a cave and caverns, one of which as mentioned in the transmitted narration and ecclesiastic tradition, was being used as a place of habitation for St Barbara or probably for her imprisonment. Since then, this cave has been particularly characterized with holiness and continued to be exploited for religious purposes up till the end of the 31st of May, 2002, when it was blown up by the Israeli military forces. From force of habit, Aboud residents go there regularly in great procession once a year, on the anniversary of St. Barbara to perform their ritual prayers and celebrate this festival. Besides, they cherish great regard and honor for this site to an extent that they find themselves motivated to frequent it either for walk, picnicking or praying, and to light oil – burning lamps or candles inside the cave which, unfortunately, was finally blasted to ruins by the Israeli military forces.
What indicates that some monks used to live in this monastery is the presence of the remaining pits which are carved in the rocks and which suggest that they were being used for grapes squeezing since this task was exclusively entrusted to the monks who used to lead their life in monasteries at that time.
The tradition transmitted and inherited since ancient times up till present states that this cave turned into a habitation for St. Barbara, following running away from her father who started to tyrannize her for her adoption of Christianity. Later on, it became a place for her confinement and torment. Consequently, the monastery and the church came to be called by her name. In reliance on the Orthodox ecclesiastic narration and tradition, the Lord Jesus Christ revealed himself to St. Barbara in this cave itself at the same time when it was being used as a place for her lock up. It was for this reason that it came to be treated with honor and respect. Surely, the divine manifestation characterized it with sacredness.
Moreover, there exists a series of crosses and Greek letters inscribed largely on a number of the stones and rocks standing about in this site, the fact that proves and verifies its sanctity, since, in ancient times, pilgrims usually used to write or engrave phrases and crosses as well, on the stones and walls of the places they considered as holy, and to go to them on Pilgrimage as a means of asking the blessing of God through them.
St. Barbara's church destruction in Aboud
Images
The shrine of St. Barbara in Aboud before the destruction
The shrine after the destruction by the Israeli army on 31 May 2002
People of Aboud (Moslems and Christians) witnessing the site of St. Barbara after the horrible destruction