If Jerusalem is the symbol of the Custodianship, then the Baptism Site (Al-Maghtas) is its tangible evidence within Jordan; on the eastern bank of the Jordan River lies the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ, where he was baptized by John the Baptist.
Jordan has strengthened its commitment to preserving and caring for Christian religious sites in Jordan, especially the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him (Al-Maghtas).
It is the site located on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Al-Maghtas transforms the phrase "original homeland" from a slogan into geography.
Among the documents of the Custodianship—and there are many—is what newspapers reported in January 1964: at the Apostolic Delegation on the Mount of Olives, no more than 400 meters from the Orthodox Patriarchate, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras embraced; it was the first meeting between the leaders of Catholicism and Orthodoxy since 1438.
Jordanian newspapers covered the event, writing that the Pope and the Patriarch met privately for 14 minutes, exchanged gifts, and prayed together; they described the visit as a history of light; His Holiness Patriarch Athenagoras described this meeting as historic after the two religious leaders embraced, and the following day, the Pope continued his journey to Nazareth, Tiberias, and the Mount of Beatitudes.
Jerusalem, which hosted this meeting, was called at the time "Arab Jerusalem" and was under Jordanian administration.
Hashemite Jordan was the witness and host to the first major Christian reconciliation after the Great Schism of 1054 AD.
From that embrace to the United Nations speech, there is a single beam of light; Jordan says that Christianity is not a newcomer to the Levant, but rather it is from the Jordan River where it began, and from Jerusalem where it continued, and its protection is a Hashemite trust that continues from Al-Maghtas to the Holy Sepulchre.
It is a continuous role; it protects the truth and expresses the true face and tolerant legacy of the region, despite all the transformations experienced in our region and its sharp turns.
