Mount Gerizim: Difference between revisions

 

Eventually, when [[Christianity]] became the [[state church of the Roman Empire]], Samaritans were barred from worshiping on Mount Gerizim. In 475 CE a Christian [[Church (building)|church]] was built on its summit.<ref name=Cheyne>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref>{{dubious|reason=Was there a church there a decade before Zeno's, or is this just a mistake?|date=September 2023}} In 484, during the reign of Emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]], an octagonal, [[martyrium]]-type church dedicated to the [[Theotokos]], the God-bearing Virgin Mary, was erected at the site.<ref name="Centre"/> In 529, [[Justinian I]] made [[Samaritanism]] illegal, and arranged for a protective wall to be constructed around the church.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia /><ref name=Cheyne/> As a result, the same year, [[Julianus ben Sabar]] led a pro-Samaritan revolt, and by 530 had captured most of [[Samaria]], destroying churches and killing the priests and officials. However, in 531, after Justinian enlisted the help of [[Ghassanids]], the revolt was completely quashed, and surviving Samaritans were mostly enslaved or exiled. In 533 Justinian had a castle constructed on Mount Gerizim to protect the church from raids by the few disgruntled Samaritans left in the area.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia /><ref name=Cheyne/>

 

==Archaeology==