Fundacja kościoła w Mamre
The foundation of the church in Mamre

Summary/Abstract: Mamre/Terebinthus, located ca. 2 kilometers north of Hebron, became one of the four holy places in Palestine developed on Constantine’s orders. In Genesis 18–19 three messengers of God appeared here to Abraham. According to the Christian exegesis one of them was the pre-incarnate Logos. Until the 4th century AD Mamre was a center of a local pagan cult. Shortly after 324 Constantine’s mother-in-law, Eutropia visited Mamre and informed the emperor of a shocking presence of pagan idols in this place. Constantine immediately ordered to burn the idols, stop the ‘impure sacrifi ces’ and build a church. This paper looks to explain why Eutropia visited the pagan sacred place and who told her that Mamre had been a location of Christ’s pre-incarnation epiphany. It seems very likely that it was Eusebios of Caesarea, who already before 324 used to mention the patriarch’s meeting with angels and Christ in Mamre, who turned Eutropia’s attention to this site.

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