The location of Emmaus has for long been a mystery, and therefore several villages have carried the name. In the 3rd century AD it was placed at present-day Latrun – a small rise overlooking the fertile Plains of Ayalon below the foothills of Jerusalem. A village called Emmaus had existed there since the Greek period.
In Byzantine times it grew to become a city renamed Nicopolis, and in the 12th century the Crusaders incorporated the remains of the earlier mosaic floor into their own Romanesque church.
At the end of the 19th century a beautiful Trappist monastery was erected on a nearby hillside. Famous for its wine, the area is full of the remains of a large Crusader castle that once housed Richard the Lionheart. Some of the underground chambers on the brow of the hill remain undisturbed. Originally called Le Toron de Chavaliers – the Knights’ Tower – this title gave the name Latrun.
*And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three-score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. …And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luke 24:13-15; 30-31
The Crusaders however favored a site in present-day Abu Gosh, a picturesque village in the hills closer to Jerusalem. The Church of the Resurrection that they built covers an ancient Roman cistern. Inside the austere building beautiful medieval frescos, damaged by time, are now being restored and preserved.
With an imposing status of the Madonna and Child, the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant stands at the entrance to Abu Gosh. It is the venue for a renowned international music festival and frequent weekend choral concerts.
A third site recognized as Emmaus is the Arab village of Qubeibeh, twelve miles northwest of Jerusalem. Tradition calls the church here the House of Cleopas, one of the two men who met Jesus that day.
Here also the Crusaders erected a church upon Byzantine ruins, built over the foundations of an ancient room. Extensive remains dated to the 2-3 centuries BC and later Roman times were unearthed here.
The Franciscans especially believe these mark the true site of Emmaus where the three sat to share a meal – an event recalled in a painting inside the church.
This page is part of the book The Holy Land of Jesus
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