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The Pools of Bethesda are a biblical archaeological site at the complex of the Church of Saint Anne (Église Sainte-Anne), a 12th century Crusader church. It’s located in the in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Visiting the Pools of Bethesda and the Church of Saint Anne
Adult admission is ₪12 (as of May 2023). It’s open daily except Sundays from 8am to noon and again from 2pm to 5pm. The complex is one of four properties in the Holy Land owned by France.
Pools of Bethesda
The Pools of Bethesda were an ancient healing site in Jerusalem. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus healed a paralytic man at the site. The man had been sick for 38 years and couldn’t make his own way to the pools. John describes the pools in detail, as consisting of two basins surrounded by five porticoes. The location of the pools near the Sheep’s Gate (now the Lions’ Gate) was mentioned as well.
Origins of the Pools of Bethesda
The Pools of Bethesda date back to the 8th century BC, when a dam was built to create a reservoir for rain water. This eventually became the northern pool. A second pool was added on the south side of the dam around 200 BC. In the 1st century BC, the caves to the east of the pools were turned into baths with a religious and medical function. They sat outside the city walls of ancient Jerusalem.
Roman Period
In the middle of the 1st century, Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, extended the city walls to include the Pools of Bethesda. Eventually, the northern pool was covered up while the southern pool continued to function as a place of healing throughout the Roman period.
When Roman Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina in the 2nd century, a temple dedicated to Asclepius and Serapis was built next to the pools. There were also dwellings on the east side.
Byzantine Period
In the 5th century, a Byzantine church was constructed on the site, most likely under Bishop Juvenal (d. 458). It was called the Church of the Probatike (Church of the Sheep) and was dedicated to the Healing of the Paralytic. It sat atop the ruins of a Roman temple dedicated to Asclepius and Serapis next to the Pools of Bethesda. The church was destroyed by the Persians in 614 and later restored.
Crusader Period
In the early 12th century, the Crusaders built the smaller Church of the Paralytic on the dam separating the two pools. The Church of Saint Anne was completed nearby in 1138.
Muslim Period
In 1187, Jerusalem was conquered by Saladin (1137-1193), who converted the Church of Saint Anne into a madrasa. The Church of the Paralytic fell into ruins, and any archaeological evidence of the Pools of Bethesda was lost until the 19th century.
Excavation of the Pools of Bethesda
After the ruins were discovered in 1873, excavations were carried out by German archaeologist Conrad Schick (1822-1901). He found a large tank and confirmed it to be one of the Pools of Bethesda. Further excavations in 1964 uncovered the Byzantine and Crusader churches, the Roman temple, the second pool, and the dam separating the two pools.
Mosaic Floor
A mosaic floor belonging to a chapel of the Byzantine Church of the Probatike was discovered in 1952 by Father M. Defrennes. The mosaics were damaged during the Persian sack of Jerusalem in 614. They’ve since been covered by a thick layer of fine white sand as a means of protection until they’re able to be restored. An interpretive panel includes photos of the mosaics.
Church of Saint Anne
The beautiful Church of Saint Anne sits between the complex entrance and the Pools of Bethesda.
History of the Church of Saint Anne
The Church of Saint Anne was built near the ruins of the aforementioned Byzantine church between 1131 and 1138, during the reign of Queen Melisende (1105-1161). It sits atop a grotto that Catholics believe to be the birthplace and childhood home of the Virgin Mary.
In 1187, Saladin converted the church into a madrasa. By the 15th century, it was the most prestigious school in the city. Al-Madrasa as-Salahiyya is still written in Arabic above the entrance. Later, during the Ottoman period, Christians were only allowed to enter the grotto after paying a fee.
The madrasa was eventually abandoned and the church fell into disrepair. In 1856, Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I presented it to Napoleon III in gratitude for French support during the Crimean War. French architect Christophe-Edouard Mauss (1829-1914) was sent to Jerusalem in 1862 to carry out restoration of the church. In 1873, he discovered the ruins of the Pools of Bethesda.
White Fathers
The Church of Saint Anne has been administered by the Missionaries of Africa, commonly known as the White Fathers (Pères Blancs), since 1878. From 1882 to 1946, it housed a seminary for Melkite Greek Catholic priests. A bust of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (1825-1892), the founder of the White Fathers, stands in the garden next to the church.
Architecture
The Church of Saint Anne was built in the Romanesque style. It has three aisles with cross-vaulted ceilings supported by pillars. A statue of Saint Anne holding the Virgin Mary sits just left of the entrance. The church is considered to have perfect acoustics, and visitors are encouraged to sing to test them out.
The high altar was designed in 1950 by French sculptor Philippe Kaeppelin (1918-2011). It’s made of white stone and depicts several different scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. On the front of the altar are the Nativity (left), the Descent from the Cross (center) and the Annunciation (right); on the left side is the teaching of Mary by her mother, and on the right side her presentation in the Temple.
Crypt
A stairway in the right aisle leads down to the crypt, which contains the grotto the Crusaders believed was the Virgin Mary’s birthplace. The Eastern Orthodox believe the birthplace was a bit further south in what is now a church dedicated to Saints Joachim and Anna.
There are two chapels in the crypt. One is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and contains two icons.
