Mount Zion, Israel

Mount Zion is one of the rare places that can move, having migrated from the City of David (Lower Eastern Hill) to the Temple Mount (Upper Eastern Hill) to its present location on the Western Hill, just outside the walls of the Old City.

Despite shifting locations multiple times, present day Mount Zion remains an important spot for believers of various faiths and denominations. A small building on this ‘holy mountain’ houses the church & crypt of Dormition Abbey, the Tomb of King David, the Cenacle and a minaret from when it was a mosque dedicated to the prophet David.

Several important events in the early Christian Church are believed to have taken place here (also the site of the home of the high priest Caiaphas) :

Cenacle – the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples & Pentecost
Church of the Dormition – the ‘falling asleep’ of Virgin Mary
Church of St Peter in Gallicantu – Peter’s triple denial and the appearance of Jesus before high Priest Caiaphas

Visited December 2019

Entering via the Zion Gate, I was totally unprepared for the tantalising first glimpse of the Church of the Dormition as we turned the corner. Framed by the high walls of the narrow alley, the view opened up gradually as we walked along the stone paved street.

1. Cenacle – Room of the Last Supper
Located on the upper floor of a two-storey building near the Church of the Dormition, Cenacle means “I dine” in Latin. The Room of the Last Supper is where Jesus had his last meal with the disciples before his arrest.

The other major event that occurred here is the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, now celebrated as Pentecost to mark the birth of the Christian church.

From the entrance, a staircase leads to the rectangular upper room with a mix of religious influence reflected in its design. The Gothic style free-standing marble columns, ribbed vault and stained glass windows are from the Crusader era.

Muslim additions include an ornate Mihrab, Arabic inscriptions on wall plaques & stain glass windows and a staircase to the minaret and dome atop the roof.

mihrab – a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca

The Cenacle has a complicated history. It stands on the remains of a Byzantine structure that was destroyed and rebuilt several times from the 7th Century. Restored in the 12th Century by the Crusaders, it was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans who arrived in the 16th Century.

One Building, three different Faiths
Jewish holy site : a niche on the Ground floor marks The Tomb of King David, though he is not buried there.
Christian holy site : the Cenacle on the upper floor is the site of the Room of the Last Supper.
Muslim Holy site : a minaret on the roof from the time it was a mosque.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, it was converted into a synagogue.

Free Entry Daily : 8.00 am – 5.00 pm

2. Church of the Dormition
Completed in 1910, this circular building has a conical roof with four corner towers. The Church of Dormition, run by a German Benedictine Order commemorates the “falling asleep” (dormitio) of the Virgin Mary. It was built on land given by the Ottoman Sultan in 1898 to the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The abbey complex of cream bricks with blue round roofs, consists of two levels, with the high altar and monastic choir on the upper level, and the crypt below. Two spiral staircases lead to the organ-loft and the gallery for onward access to two of the church’s four towers.

Adorned by colourful mosaics on the walls, floor and dome, two large mosaics (floor and apse ceiling) dominate the interior of the upper church. Along the sides of this large central room, the six round chapels are decorated in gold.

The lower level crypt is the traditional site of Mary’s home and death. A spiral staircase leads down to the circular pillared hall, where an arresting centerpiece awaits. Under a rotunda, a life-size Mary lies ‘sleeping’ on a bier. Around the crypt walls are smaller chapels decorated in diverse styles in honor of donations received from different countries.

The roof of the Cenacle offers an elevated vantage point for a view of the Church of the Dormition and the Bell Tower of Hagia Maria Sion Abbey, a Benedictine monastery.

It is interesting to note that the tall bell tower is deliberately set apart far enough, so that it does not cast a shadow over the tomb of King David, out of respect for Jewish and Muslim sacred places.

Opening Hours
Mon-Fri : 8.30 am – 5.30 pm
Saturday : 8.30 am – 5.30 pm
Sunday : 10.30 am – 5.30 pm
Nb. Closed when activities are on-going

3. Church of St Peter in Gallicantu
Built on the eastern slopes overlooking the City of David, the Saint Peter in-Gallicantu Church commemorates the site where Peter famously denied knowing Jesus, not once but three times, and his immediate repentance when the rooster crows.

Galli-cantu means cock-crow in Latin.
A golden rooster atop a black cross on the roof serves as a fitting reminder of the prophesy “Before the cock crows, you shall deny me thrice” (Matthew 26:34).

Constructed in 1931 on the remains of a succession of Byzantine and Crusader structures, it is a composite of various epochs and styles, combining ancient works of art with modern design. This fabulous white stone church has four levels : the upper church, lower chapel, the crypt and the dungeon & pits.

Our visit started at the upper church through wrought iron doors covered with biblical bas reliefs. The most striking feature of the interior is the ceiling, dominated by a huge cross-shaped window in a radiant variety of colours.

Beneath the upper church is a chapel which incorporates stone from ancient grottos inside its walls. An opening in the center looks down into the sacred pit that may have been part of the Byzantine shrine. The walls are engraved with crosses left by fifth-century Christians.

Dungeon & Pits
On the basement of the church there is a succession of caves cut into the rock under the houses, from the Second Temple period. According to tradition, this was the site of the palace of high priest Caiaphas, believed to be where Jesus was imprisoned after his arrest.

Below the church is a steep slope that drops towards the Kidron valley, south east to the old city.

Holy Stairs
On the north side of the church is an ancient stepped street that leads down to the Kidron Valley. Jesus is believed to have trod on these very stone-paved steps as it would have served as passage between the upper and the lower cities during the time of the First Temple.