What does the "Holy Land" refer to?

For Christians, the notion of the Holy Land first has a value of heritage. The use of this notion dates back to the biblical scholar Origen in the 3rd Century and then extends to the 5th Century. However, Jews and Christians interpret it differently. "For Jews, it has an eschatological scope related to the salvation of Israel," explains historian Camille Rouxpetel in her book L’Occident au miroir de l’Orient chrétien : Cilicie, Syrie, Palestine, Égypte (XII-XIV siècle) (The West in the Mirror of the Christian East: Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt - 12th-14th Century) (École française de Rome, 2015). "While Christians primarily associate it with the past, concretized by the holy places identified in the Scriptures, as well as by the sanctuaries, churches, and monasteries built subsequently, allowing a precise localization of the evangelical memory."

Indeed, in the medieval Christian context, during the time of the Crusades and the development of pilgrimages, the Holy Land meets the need "to anchor one's belief in the tangible traces of Christ's life," details Rouxpetel. It translates into practices: "pilgrims need to see, to touch, to kiss," describes the researcher. Pope Francis, in his speech to the Custody of the Holy Land in January 2022, had thus declared that "to make known the Holy Land means communicating the 'fifth Gospel'."

The Holy Land thus designates a territory comprising all the places that have been linked, throughout history, to the memory of Jesus' life. It is therefore "a cultural, historical construction that evolves over time and space," depending on the identification and gradual construction of the holy places. Thus, while the Holy Land generally refers to the territory of Israel and Palestine, it can also evoke neighboring territories like Egypt, where cultural and religious tourism develops in places where the Holy Family is believed to have passed.

"What is sacred is God and His creatures"

The expression is emblematic of an internal tension in Christianity, both "a spiritual religion, according to which God is everywhere, and a religion of the incarnation that affirms that Christ came to earth, and passed through specific places where pilgrimages develop today." For Dominican Jean-Jacques Pérennès, former director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, this expression hence carries a risk: that of sanctifying the land. "It is sanctified by the spiritual journey one makes there: for centuries, pilgrims have come to remember Jesus," he develops, before warning: "But we must not venerate stones."

"What is sacred is God and His creatures, but not the land," he continues, making a connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Today, we are fighting over acres of land in the name of the sacred." For him, this "sanctification" favored by "fundamentalists" amounts to "idolizing" certain places. Especially since their historical authenticity is always debated.

However, the Dominican priest recognizes the legitimacy of the expression "Holy Land" if these places "help to remember the life of Jesus." For example, Bethlehem, Nazareth, or the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus lived with his disciples, evoke more "an atmosphere that pushes to prayer."