Candlelit shrine in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Palestine

Candlelit shrine in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, marking the place where Jesus was born according to Christian tradition, in the Church of the Nativity; Bethlehem, in the West Bank, Palestine. The church was originally commissioned in 327 by Constantine the Great and his mother Helena over the site that was traditionally considered the birthplace of Jesus. The Church of the Nativity site's original basilica was completed in 339 and destroyed by fire during the Samaritan Revolts in the 6th century. A new basilica was built 565 by Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, restoring the architectural tone of the original.