Among the followers of the Christian faith and generally cultured, educated people from all over the world, places related to the life and spiritual and educational activities of Jesus are considered to be especially revered and have undoubted historical and cultural value.
Garden in Gethsemane
Gethsemane is one of these shrines. The name "Gethsemane" itself means "oilseed press", "oilseed press". This is a locality in Israel near
East Jerusalem, located near Mount Eleon. The valley of Kedron, stretching at its foot, includes the same land where the legendary Garden of Gethsemane once grew. Currently, a small fragment with a total area of 47x50 m remains from it.
Relation to Bible Events
In those days, which is narrated by the New Testament, the whole valley was called so. The Garden of Gethsemane now adjoins the
tomb of the Mother of God. According to the Gospel, it was here that Christ spent his last hours before the arrest. Here he prayed to Heavenly Father, asking him to take away the grave chalice of suffering and at the same time humbly agreeing with His will and the trials that were prepared for him. The apostles-disciples knew that Jesus loves the Garden of Gethsemane and often retires in it in order to reflect on his own, take a break from the bustle of the city, and immerse himself in high fellowship with God. Therefore, Judas pointed to the guards precisely this place where you can find Christ, and without problems, arrest too much noise. Modern research could even correctly indicate the corner of the garden where the legendary events took place. It is located among the oldest olive trees, whose age is more than one hundred years old.
Gethsemane and Christian traditions
In the Bible, many pages are devoted to the narrative of what Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane. For believers of all countries of Christian denominations, this place is associated with the Passion of the Lord. Every year, pilgrims come here from all over the earth. This tradition has been practiced since Jesus was crucified. And in the 14th century, on the site of the constant prayers of Christ, the first small temple was built - from the Byzantine Orthodox Church. The new House of God was built there a century later, when the previous one was destroyed. In the 17th century, representatives of the Catholic Order of St. Francis (Franciscans) established their supervision over the area. And the corner where Jesus prayed in Gethsemane from the middle of the 19th century was fenced with a high wall, blocking the entrance to it for everyone.
Gethsemane temples
In the land of Gethsemane, three large churches of great common Christian importance are currently open and operating.
- First of all, this is the so-called Church of All Nations. It belongs to the Franciscans and was erected in the first quarter of the 20th century. The main relic of the temple is considered to be a stone on which, as legend has it, Christ prayed tearfully before arrest. The name of the church is due to the fact that donations from believers of many European states and Canadian citizens were collected for its construction. There is an altar in front of the church. The sights of the temple are mosaic paintings on the themes of the last days of Jesus.
- Near the tomb, where the Virgin is buried, the Church of the Assumption was built. There are also places of the last tranquility of the parents of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. It was erected in the 12th century by St. Helena. Belongs to the temple of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the Armenian Orthodox faith.
- And another Orthodox shrine, this time Russian - is the church of St. Mary Magdalene, built by Emperor Alexander III in the second half of the 19th century. It is decorated with icons of the famous artist Vereshchagin. The temple is crowned with domes with crosses, traditional for Russian architecture. There is a convent at the temple.
As you can see, shrines at all times remain shrines for people.