Footsteps of Jesus Pilgrimage Day 9 - A Morning Walking with Jesus

Day nine – the penultimate day – was a long and hot day.

The morning began with a quick bus trip up the Mount of Olives to the Chapel of the Ascension. The first place Christians gathered to remember the Ascension was a bit further down the hill, in a cave associated with the memory of Jesus. This would have provided a safer place to gather and worship in the time of Roman persecution. We would meet another cave down at Gethsemane later that morning which served a similar purpose for Jesus. This cave was integrated into the Constantinian Church of Eleona, which is now part of the Pater Noster. More about that soon.

After the Edict of Milan by the Roman Emperors Constantine and Licinius in 313 made it possible for Christians to freely worship the site of the Ascension moved up the hill a little to where the Chapel now sits. One tradition has the first church being built between AD 384–390 around Christ's last footprints. Another later tradition has this church, and the Pater Noster has Constantine’s mother, St Helena identifying the site of the Ascension and the cave where he first taught the Lord’s Prayer – the Pater Noster. And it is said she then ordered the construction of two churches on these sites.

The first church constructed on the Ascension site of the present chapel was known as Imbomon (Greek for "on the hill"). It was a rotunda, open to the sky, surrounded by circular porticoes and arches. This was destroyed, as many churches were by the Persians in the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars in 614. The church was rebuilt in the late 7th century. The reconstructed church was eventually destroyed and then rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th century. The armies of Salah ad-Din later decimated the church, leaving only a partially intact outer 12-by-12-meter (40 ft × 40 ft) octagonal wall surrounding an inner 3-by-3-meter (10 ft × 10 ft) octagonal shrine, called a martyrium or edicule. This essentially is structure that still stands today. Initially after the capture of Jerusalem by Salah ad-Din and the Christian community fleeing to Acre this site, the Church of Eleona, and the associated abandoned monasteries were converted into

mosques. But with the number of Christian pilgrims coming, Salah ad-Din built a mosque nearby and as an act of goodwill converted both sites back to Christian sites, leaving that chapel site for use by Christians. There were periods of tension between Christians and Muslims over the next centuries resulting in periods of non-use. Today the chapel is under the authority of the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem and is open to visitors of all faiths. Permission is given for the traditional churches to use the site on the celebration of the Ascension. These include Coptic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Catholic. There may be an Anglican spot too. Each church has their own altar placed on the surrounding wall, with hooks in place for their banners etc…

In the centre is the Edicule (chapel) which in part is from the Crusader era. In the centre is the "Ascension Rock", a stone slab that is said to hold the right footprint of Christ. The section bearing the left footprint was taken to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Middle Ages. It is anointed with oil. You can read more about all the history of this site here. It all felt a little surreal really at this point.

After time to be in this place we began our walk down the hill, this
time stopping at the Pater Noster. Rodney told us that the Byzantines associate this place with Jesus’ apocalyptic teaching, and thought it was a later Crusader tradition designed to keep pilgrims in Jerusalem that lead to linking of Jesus teaching the Lord’s Prayer to this site. Commercial interests are powerful. In this beautiful spot you can find the Lord’s Prayer in many languages, including Te Reo Māori. We gathered in one of the quieter spots as a couple of our group recited the prayer in some of the languages. It was special to hear this unifying prayer. It is a beautiful place with lovely Olive Groves, shade and quiet. You can read more about all the history of this site here.

Then we set off again down the increasingly steep hill. While I managed well in my grippy Skechers, for several members of our group, the steep road became very slippery. Sadly, Edward fell a little later down the hill and broke his ankle. This is a tough pilgrimage, especially if you are older or not so fit anymore.

We entered the old Jewish cemetery which occupies such a big part of the Mount of Olives and holds such contention between Jews and Palestinians. We stopped at the Dominus Flevit Church (The Lord Wept), a beautiful church in the outside – there was a service and we couldn’t get in, which stands on the traditional site of where Jesus stopped and wept for Jerusalem. It looks across the Kidron Valley to al-Haram al-Sharif – Temple Mount, looking straight at the Golden Gates in the old wall, now bricked up, and the Dome of the Rock. In the shade overlooking Dome of the Rock, we listened to the scripture. We looked down the ridge past David’s city to the pool of Siloam. We imagined Jesus joining the pilgrims who had set out from Bethany in the morning, the last stop from the road up from Jericho before entering the city. It is only about 3 km from Bethany to the Old City. We imagined them walking on down the valley and stopping in the pool of Siloam to ritually wash before walking up the hill and up the steps we had climbed the day before, and on through the Huldah Gates into the Temple complex.

We then walked with Jesus down that astoundingly steep and ankle breaking hill to Gethsemane and the Church of all Nations - Basilica of the Agony. This is built on the site of previous churches dating back again to the Byzantine era. It is built on what tradition says was the rock that Jesus wept on before his arrest. It was built using funds contributed by many countries – hence that name. In the Olive Grove Garden is an altar which is used by all denominations for services. We spent some time here while the college staff took care of Edward. I think that meant we got less than we might of, but that was ok. I missed the bedrock where Jesus was said to have prayed situated under the main alter. There was a service going on, and it was hard to get near it. But it does explain those who went up the front and just prayed. I had no idea why they were doing that.

After Rodney rejoined us, we walked further along to the Grotto of Gethsemane – a site that is thought to have been a place that Jesus and the disciples often used and where the disciples waited while Jesus prayed, and where Jesus was arrested. Next to the grotto is the Orthodox Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary, also Tomb of the Virgin Mary. This is one of the sites associated with Mary’s death. The other is in Ephesus. This has long been a holy site for Catholic and Orthodox. You can see the rock Mary is said to have been laid out on. Entering down the steps into this very orthodox place grabs my imagination. Certainly, there was a tomb here. I’m not going to get into the issue of whether she died first and was raised on the third day and then bodily assumed into heaven (Orthodox) or avoided death all together and bodily assumed into heaven from another spot (many Catholics). It is a quiet space to be reflect on her legacy of strength and hope among so many other pilgrims.

You can find my Facebook photos here.