The Gospel of Luke, the Book of Acts 1:12 and tradition all place the Ascension of Jesus to heaven on the Mount of Olives. The original Church of the Ascension was built about 380 AD by a pious Roman matriarch named Pomenia. She erected a large circular shrine at the site open to the sky, called the Imbomon. By the sixth century the mountain top was teeming with nuns and monks who attended both this church and the nearby Eleona – the great Basilica of the Mount of Olives raised by Constantine’s mother Queen Helena over the Grotto of the Inscrutable Mysteries (pages 114/5). These churches, along with at least half a dozen monasteries, were destroyed in 614 when the Persian hordes massacred over 1200 Christians on the Mount of Olives on their way into Jerusalem.
Upon these ruins the Crusaders designed an octagonal Church of the Ascension, built atop a platform reached up a flight of 20 steps. Its beautifully dressed arches – all that is left of their church – created an inner courtyard that was also open to the sky. Here beneath the altar still stands the sacred rock on which tradition sees the imprint left by Jesus’ foot as He ascended into heaven.
After Saladin retook Jerusalem in 1187 the Moslems closed the roof and the building was turned into a mosque. Today the various Christian denominations mark the Feast of the Ascension here every year 40 days after Easter with prayers around the sacred rock.
During the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church was one of the most active in the Holy Land. Building many churches, and over 100 schools in the Galilee alone, they also erected their own shrine to the Ascension further along the summit of the Mount of Olives. In the custody of Russian nuns since 1907, its six story tower, reached up 214 steps, affords the most extensive view across Jerusalem. An ancient mosaic and a small museum complete a worthwhile visit – one that is especially recommended around 4.30 p.m. when the nuns sing Vespers in a beautiful Russian chant.
*And he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. …And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. Luke 24:46-51
This page is part of the book The Holy Land of Jesus
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