Fonds FR-EBAF/AP - Couvent Saint-Etienne de Jérusalem, archives des Pères

In 1890, Father Marie-Joseph Lagrange opened the "Ecole pratique d'Etudes bibliques" in the Convent of Saint-Etienne to study the Bible within the framework of its development.
In the following years, the buildings of the School, the convent and the basilica were successively built, the dedication of which was celebrated on May 13, 1900.
In 1920, the French government recognized the École Biblique as the French Archaeological School of Jerusalem. The School is then attached to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
From the first generation of professors, we can mention Father Édouard Dhorme, a great assyriologist, Father Louis-Hugues Vincent, who dedicated his life to Palestinian archaeology, Father Abel, a specialist in biblical history and geography, or Father Antonin Jaussen and Raphaël Savignac, who brought back from their explorations an impressive archaeological, epigraphic and ethnographic treasure.
Under the direction of Fr. Roland de Vaux, the second generation worked no less. It undertook real archaeological excavations in several places, starting with Abu Gosh (1946) and Emmaus-Nicopolis. The largest excavations were those of Tell el-Far'ah nord (1946-1960), identified by Fr. de Vaux as the former Tirça, and the exploration of Khirbet Qumran from 1951 onwards. The Qumran excavations were accompanied by a work as long as it was of primary importance on the famous manuscripts. A team of epigraphers was then formed, which worked for many years to identify and publish the fragments found in the caves. At the death of Fr. de Vaux (1971), the archaeology department was taken over by Fr. Benoit, his collaborator for many years, a fine connoisseur of Jerusalem.
The same Fr. Benoit also played an important role in the publication of the first Jerusalem Bible immediately after the Second World War. This new French edition of the Bible, later published in many other languages, was distinguished by its rich notes and in-depth theological reflection. Following the first edition, in fascicles, many reprints were published, promoting the progress of exegetical research, up to the famous Jerusalem Bible of the year 2000.
The scientific activity of the School is also illustrated by its periodical publications, whether it is the Revue Biblique (RB), founded in 1892, the only journal covering the entire biblical field, or the collections of Bible Studies (since 1903) and the Cahiers de la Revue Biblique.
The convent of Saint-Etienne/Biblical School has also housed an important library since the beginning, specialising in the exegesis and archaeology of the Near East.

On his return from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in April-May 1882, a Dominican, Father Mathieu Lecomte, submitted to the Master of his Order the plan to restore a convent of preachers in the Holy City. He wanted to open a house there for the assistance of pilgrims and the study of theology, in order to better understand the doctrine of Eastern Christians, Jews and Muslims.

On 27 December 1883, land was acquired for this purpose near the Damascus Gate, where a church dedicated to Saint-Etienne once stood. A convent was established there on 26 December 1884, the feast of Saint Stephen. Fr. Mathieu Lecomte died two years later.
His successor, Fr. Paul Meunier, proposed in 1886 to found a course in Sacred Scripture in this convent. The Provincial of Toulouse immediately promised him the assistance of Fr. Marie-Joseph Lagrange. When he arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of 1890, Fr. Lagrange opened what he insisted on calling a practical School of Biblical Studies, intended to study the Bible within the framework of its development, on 15 November of the same year.

The Dominicans of Jerusalem constitute the monastery of Saint-Étienne (in France, we would speak of a "convent"), a community made up of about twenty brothers, most of them permanent, others who came for some time for study at the French Biblical and Archaeological School in Jerusalem, and some associate members.

The brothers and their friends celebrate religious services (Lauds, Mass and Vespers) in the Basilica of St. Stephen, rebuilt on the very remains of the 5th century Byzantine basilica. The entire estate is part of the holy sites of Jerusalem.

http://www.domjer.org/