Tomb of the Virgin / Cave of Gethsemane

About Tomb of the Virgin / Cave of Gethsemane

Church building in Jerusalem

The Tomb of the Virgin Mary, also called the Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary or the Church of the Assumption, is a Christian church built around an ancient rock-cut tomb in the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Al-Quds, directly across from the Church of All Nations. Eastern Christians believe this is where the disciples laid Mary, the mother of Jesus, to rest. The site is governed by the Status Quo, the understanding between the religious communities that has held for some 250 years, and is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and other churches. Visitors descend forty-seven broad Crusader-era steps, passing side niches with tombs attributed to Mary's parents, St Anne and St Joachim, and to Queen Melisende, the Crusader queen of the city, down to a dim, lamp-lit crypt where the tomb of the Virgin stands at the centre of the lower church. Outside, to the right of the entrance, is the Cave of Gethsemane, also known as the Cave of the Betrayal, by tradition the place where Jesus spent the night with his disciples and was betrayed by Judas. Together with the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane it forms a compact group of sites at the bottom of the mount.

Where:

Jerusalem, Palestine