The committee members, coming from different countries, will offer a strategic vision of the site, a tourist and pilgrimage destination for Christians.
Newsroom (November 15, 2021, 2:30 PM, Gaudium Press) The official presentation ceremony of the International Advisory Committee for the development of the area around the site where Our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River was held this week in Amman, Jordan.
Created in 2020, this committee is made up of experts and professionals in the fields of development, tourism, and cultural assets. The committee members, from various countries, will offer a strategic vision of the site, a tourist and pilgrimage goal for Christians.
The objective of the International Advisory Committee
Through this initiative, the aim is to improve the welcome of visitors and pilgrims and to create a locality with hotels and hostels, spaces for religious celebrations, parks and agricultural gardens.
This International Advisory Committee will also be responsible for overseeing all projects, ensuring the protection and preservation of the site, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Baptism Site of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Baptism Site of Our Lord Jesus Christ is known as Bethany across the Jordan and is also linked to the figure of the prophet Elijah and the witness of hermits and pilgrims from early Christianity.
The western bank of the Jordan River is under Israeli control and is called Qasr al-Yahud, a fortress of the Jews, probably in memory of the crossing of the river by the Israelites to enter the Promised Land.
Currently, the Catholic Church owns land on the south side of the road connecting Jericho to the Jordan River; the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem owns property on the opposite side to the north; the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Romanian, Syrian and Russian Orthodox Churches own property to the south of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches’ land. (EPC)
Compiled by Zephania Gangl
