St. Cleophas Church, Al-Qubeiba

Also known as Al-Qubeiba Church, Sanctuary of Emmaus, El Qubeibeh, Parva Mahomeria, Cleopas' House, Castellum Emmaus

St. Cleophas Church stands at Al-Qubeiba, a village about 11 km northwest of Jerusalem along an old Roman road. In the 12th century the Crusaders established a Frankish settlement here called Parva Mahomeria ("the little dome," the same meaning as the Arabic name); the village is mentioned in a 1159 charter defining its borders with Beit 'Anan. Excavations beneath and around the present church have uncovered the remains of a Crusader basilica — traditionally identified with the "house of Cleopas" — together with a row of medieval village houses lining the old road. The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land acquired the ruins in 1861 (donated by the Marquise Pauline de Nicolay) and rebuilt the present sanctuary in 1902 with the permission of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, incorporating the exposed 12th-century foundations. Al-Qubeiba is one of the three main candidates traditionally identified with the New Testament Emmaus; the Franciscans adopted it as such from the 14th century. The visible church above ground is the 1902 reconstruction, but the Crusader-era basilica foundations and adjoining village houses excavated at the site are genuine.

Coordinates: 31.8404°, 35.1352°

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