"This was the Samaritan woman who had the rare fortune to converse with the Lord Christ Himself at the Well of Jacob, near Sychar (John 4:4-31). Believing in the Lord, Photina afterward went to preach His Gospel with her two sons Victor and Josiah, and with her five sisters, Anatolia, Phota, Photida, Parasceva and Cyriaca. They went to Carthage in Africa. There they were arrested and taken to Rome and thrown into prison during the reign of Emperor Nero. By God's providence, Domnina, the daughter of Nero, came into contact with St. Photina, who converted her to the Christian Faith. After imprisonment they all suffered for the sake of Christ. Photina, who was first enlightened with the light of the truth at the well of Sychar, was now thrown into a well where she died and entered the Eternal Kingdom of Christ." (March 20, The Prologue of Ohrid: Lives of Saints, Hymns, Reflections, and Homilies for Every Day of the Year. Volume One. January to June.)Today, Photina's encounter is commemorated by the presence of a glorious Greek Orthodox church in the city of Nablus, in the West Bank. Christians still live here, but continually face persecution (not just in Nablus, but all over the West Bank) because of their religion and also the fact that they are Palestinian.
Nablus sits between the mountains Gerazim and Ebal - beautifully nestled in the valley below. The Old city reminds me of the Old city in Jerusalem.
looking from Mt. Gerazim
in the church
there are still Samaritans that live on Mt. Gerazim!
This is the "cage" we walk through after the checkpoint into the Nablus area
Jesus is the Answer.
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