The Church of the Holy Cross
North Plainfield, NJ

Led by
Rev. Stephanie Shockley
Local Guides
Canon Iyad Qumri and Rami Qumri

Proposed Itinerary

12-Day Pilgrimage

May 2-13, 2023

Updated on April 4, 2022

May 2-6 Saint George’s Guest House

May 6-9 Sisters of Nazareth

May 9-13 Saint George’s Guest House

TUESDAY, MAY 2, DAY 1: DEPART U.S.A

On our way to the Holy Land

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, DAY 2: ARRIVE BEN GURION AIRPORT / TRANSFER TO JERUSALEM

Arrival to Tel Aviv you will be met by your guide, transfer to our accommodation in Jerusalem.

Dinner and overnight at Saint George’s Guest House

Saint George’s Guest House

Tel: ++972-2-6283302

THURSDAY, MAY 4, DAY 3: HORIZONS OF JERUSALEM / HERODIUM

Introductions. Walk down to Damascus Gate to get the feel for the distance and our surrounding. MT. Scopus, view the Judean desert, Mt. of Olives, view the city of David. Lunch. Depart for Herodium some 12 km south of Jerusalem, on a hill shaped like a truncated cone that rises 758 m. above sea level, stood Herodium, the palace-fortress built by King Herod. It had a breathtaking view, overlooking the Judean Desert, the mountains of Moab to the east, and the Judean Hills to the west.

Dinner and overnight at Saint George’s Guest House

FRIDAY, MAY 5, DAY 4: SHEPHERD’S FIELD / BETHLEHEM

We depart Jerusalem for Bethlehem and the Shepherds’ Field. We will be visiting a 1st century cave dwelling, and enjoy lunch in Beit Sahour (Shepherds’ Field). ‘And in that region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night’ After lunch we will visit the Church of the Nativity located in Manger Square. It is the Oldest Church in Christendom, constructed by Constantine in AD 326 and the traditional site of the Nativity.

Dinner and overnight at Saint George’s Guest House

Guest Speaker: Contemporary Issues – A Palestinian Perspective

SATURDAY, MAY 6, Day 5: JERICHO / NAZARETH

Wadi Qelt early morning to get the feel for the desert, depart for Jericho to hike up Mt. of Temptation and view Tell Jericho, 20-minute meditation on Mt of Temptation Lunch, in Nazareth. In Nazareth we will visit Mary’s Well, the site of the only spring-fed fountain in the city, and most likely the place where Mary would have gone to draw water. We then visit the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation where we will have an opportunity to have an introduction to the Icon, we then follow on foot the path to the Latin Church of the Annunciation, the traditional site of the Angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary, telling her she would conceive Jesus, the Emmanuel.

Dinner and Overnight at the Sisters of Nazareth

Tel: 972-4-6554304

SUNDAY, MAY 7, DAY 6: CHRIST CHURCH / SEPPHORIS

Sunday Eucharist at Christ Church in Nazareth, the liturgy will be celebrated in English and Arabic. Meet with Fr. Nael Abu Rahmoun. Lunch, and then depart for Sepphoris, where we explore the excavations of the Roman / Byzantine city, the capital of Galilee at the time of Jesus.

Dinner and Overnight at the Sisters of Nazareth

A treat you will not want to miss!!!!

MONDAY, MAY 8, DAY 7: JORDAN RIVER / CAPERNAUM / BEATITUDES / TABGHA

We depart for the Sea of Galilee-Lake Kinnereth. Stop at the Jordan River for the renewal of Baptismal vows, boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, and then visit Capernaum where we see the Ancient Synagogue and St. Peter’s House. We continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, Lunch, visit to Tabgha (Heptapegon), The Loaves and Fishes Church and the Chapel of St. Peter’s Primacy.

Dinner and Overnight at the Sisters of Nazareth

TUESDAY, MAY 9, DAY 8: BURQIN / NABLUS / TAYBEH

Depart for Burqin. Jesus had passed through Burqin on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth, and as he was passing by the village, he heard cries for help from ten lepers who were isolated in quarantine in a cave. Next will be Nablus to visit (St. Photini the Greek Orthodox Monastery). St. Photini lived in first century Palestine; she was the Samaritan woman who Christ visited at the well asking her for water. The church is built over Jacob’s well where we will tour the church and drink from the Well. Lunch in Taybeh. Visit Taybeh, the only 100% Christian town. During the fourth century, the emperor Constantine and his mother St. Helen built the church of St. George in the village, the ruins of the Church are still found on a hill in the town. We will also visit the brewery.

Guest Speaker: Lecture on Islam

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, DAY 9: WESTERN WALL / DOME OF THE ROCK / ISRAEL MUSEUM / CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER

We depart for the Western Wall near Elharam Esh Sharif (The Dome of The Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque), St. Anne’s Church and the pools of Bethesda. Lunch. Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed, will also visit a scale model of the City of Jerusalem, describing the city more as it would have been during Jesus time. We then walk the Cardo to the Constantinian Entrance of the Holy Sepulcher.

Dinner and overnight at Saint George’s Guest House

Guest Speaker: Contemporary Issues – An Israeli Perspective

THURSDAY, MAY 11, DAY 10: FREE DAY

A free day to shop, revisit favorite sites in Jerusalem or to visit Masada, Qumran, Cesarea Maratima, City of David, Mt. Tabor. You may also wish to visit Yad Vashem site of the Holocaust Memorial, David’s Citadel and David’s Tower.

Dinner and overnight at Saint George’s Guest House

FRIDAY, MAY 12, DAY 11: BETH-PHAGE / DOMINUS FLEVIT / GETHSEMANE / DEAD SEA

Walk the Palm Sunday Procession. We will stop at Pater Noster and Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over the city. It is known as Dominus Flevit [ Latin for “The Lord wept”]. Afterward, we will walk to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, Lunch, Dead Sea, where you will have the option to swim – or really, float (Rocky Beach).

Dinner and overnight at Saint George’s Guest House

SATURDAY, MAY 13, DAY 12: WAY OF THE CROSS / EMMAUS

Early this morning we walk and pray the Way of the Cross, Emmaus Nicopolis. We celebrate the Eucharist at the ruins of the Byzantine Church

Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for our return flight