local tradition held this as jesus birthplace, and so in 326 a.d., helena, the mother of the emperor constantine, built the first church of the nativity here. it was restored by the emperor justinian in 529 a.d. and enhanced later on by the crusaders. well, i ve also heard that the idea behind the door was to make people bow down. to be humble, yeah. it s not entirely it s not impossible, by any means. once inside this ancient building, visitors see a sight drastically different from the humble stable of the bible the greek orthodox main altar. very ornate. it s extremely ornate. you have the iconostasis. behind it is the altar, and then you see the choir stalls for the monks on either side. and this is where the liturgy is sung every sunday every day, in fact. the original church was an octagon, built over the venerated cave. it s now below the altar, in the grotto of the nativity.
octagon built over the venerated cave. it s now below the altar in the grotto of the nativity. father murray o connor took us there. now we re in the grotto. there are two altars. this is the grotto of the nativity. and if you put your hand through that hole you can touch. and on this side, this is the altar of the manger. even in this peaceful place, there are long running disputes. the altar of the manger belongs to the franciscan monks. the altar of the nativity or birth belongs to the greek orthodox. their rights are defined in a treaty. the other christian group with rights over the site is the armenian orthodox. there s just splits everywhere it seems. exactly. and that is the tragedy of improvements to the holy land. so the belief is that this is where jesus was born. yes. and then he was and then this carries over