Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation

The church has three names, each of which gives us a different piece of information about it. Gabriel is the angel who told Mary that she was carrying the son of God. In the church, a spring flows, giving it the name Mary’s Well Church (the water flows underground from the church to a well 140 meters away from the church). Its main name, Orthodox Church of Annunciation, comes from a tradition that is not mentioned in the New Testament. The New Testament is a collection of books that came to be Christian biblical canon. 

There are dozens of gospels that didn’t end up in the canon. One of them is the Gospel of James (also known as the Protoevangelium of James), which had a great influence on the Orthodox Church. James, according to tradition, was the brother of Jesus from the first marriage of Joseph. He was the leader of Jerusalem’s community of the followers of Jesus, and therefore is considered to be the first bishop of Jerusalem. In the Gospel of James, it is relayed that the angel Gabriel blessed Mary at the well, but she was frightened and ran home. Here he announced that she was carrying the son of God. And so, at the spot where Gabriel meets Mary, there stands the Orthodox church, and at spot of her house stands the Catholic church.