Echoes from Byzantine Palaestina: Prologos

In April 2010, I went on a life-changing pilgrimage to the Holy Land (i.e. the land of the Bible). While it was incredible to trod on this ancient land where our Lord Jesus, the Theotokos Blessed Virgin Mary, apostles, prophets, kings, and saints lived, I could not help but notice that most of the holy sites were rebuilt on the foundation of Byzantine-era churches or monasteries. The most striking evidence was the almost ubiquitous mosaic flooring in almost every shrine. Suddenly, something dawned on me: the hymns of the Eastern Churches (Orthodox and Catholic) that are still in use today were quite likely first chanted on those ancient grounds, in commemoration of the salvific mysteries wrought by God right there. Indeed, by God's grace, the Timeless One entered time. Standing there, I could almost hear the chanting by the monks and priests from centuries ago. Throughout the pilgrimage I thought, wouldn't it be great to have a Byzantine rite priest to celebrate divine liturgy for us? Alas my dream never came true. However, I would like to share with you where I had been and what I saw, in conjunction with the hymns of the Eastern Churches (i.e. apolytikia, kontakia, aposticha, etc) relevant to each site, according to the Church's liturgical calendar. I present to you, Echoes from Byzantine Palaestina.