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Lod is a city in Israel, just 15 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv. It was known as Lydda to the Romans, Diospolis (Διόσπολις) to the Greeks, and al-Ludd to the Arabs.
Introduction to Lod
Lod has a very long history dating back to the Bronze Age and has changed hands several times over the years. It was ruled by the Romans, Byzantines, Umayyads, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the British, and Israel. Lod is best known for the Church of St. George, and in the 6th century, it was renamed Georgiopolis by the Byzantines. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, most of its Arab inhabitants were expelled. The city was resettled by Jewish immigrants, and now has an Arab population of about 30%.
In the New Testament, Lod was the site of Peter healing a paralytic man (Acts 9:32-38). In the Hebrew Bible, it was one of the cities whose inhabitants returned after Babylonian captivity (Ezra 2:33). An Islamic Hadith mentions it as the location of the battlefield where the antichrist will be slain before the Day of Judgment.
Church of St. George
The only major point of interest in Lod is the Church of St. George. After clearing passport control at Ben Gurion Airport, which is in the outskirts of the city, our bus headed straight for the church. We stopped in a parking lot and walked to the church entrance.
The Church of St. George was built between 1870 and 1872. At the time, Lod was under the control of the Ottomans. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem received permission from the Ottoman authorities to build the church atop the ruins of a 12th century Crusader church as long as part of the plot was made available for a mosque (see below).
The church occupies the north end of the nave and the left aisle of the Crusader church, and faces north rather than east. It’s open daily except for Orthodox Christian holy days.
Relics of St. George
The sarcophagus of St. George is in the church crypt. St. George (d. April 23, 303) was a soldier in the Praetorian Guard for Emperor Diocletian. He was born in Cappadocia to Greek parents and grew up in Lydda. Diocletian had him put to death in Nicomedia (now Izmit, Turkey) for refusing to give up his Christian faith. His body was transported to Lydda, where his mother lived.
The crypt, which contains an icon of the martyrdom of St. George, is visited by both Christian and Muslim pilgrims. St. George is one of the most venerated saints in the Christian world, and Muslims see him as the Green Prophet (al-Khidr). Pilgrims visit the tomb to pray for health or the gift of childbirth.
Every year on November 16, Christians and Muslims pack the church in a shared feast to venerate the relics of the saint. Farmers pour olive oil over the sarcophagus in thanks for a good harvest. Many pilgrims collect the oil for its healing powers.
Also in the church is the chain used during St. George’s captivity. It’s displayed on a wall in the left aisle next to the candle stand and is believed to perform miracles.
Monastery of St. George
Across the alley from the church is the Monastery of St. George. In addition to the monastery it contains a community center for local Christians.
Al-Omari Mosque
Attached to the Church of St. George is the al-Omari Mosque, which is closed to non-Muslims. It’s named for Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab and was originally built in 1268 by the Mamluks. The mosque was rebuilt alongside the church in the 19th century. The prayer hall contains a column that once stood in the nave of the 12th century church.
