and the Mosque of Jesus' Ascension
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Among the churches funded by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, three were built over caves: that of the Nativity in Bethlehem, that of the Resurrection in Jerusalem (later called the Holy Sepulcher), and a Church of the Disciples and the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. A visitor known as the Bordeaux pilgrim reported seeing the third in 333. Yet in 384, according to Egeria, Christians were celebrating the ascension on higher ground about thirty yards to the north. Here, by 392, a small round church had been built. The cave in Constantine's basilica (now called Eleona, "of olives") came to be associated with something else that occurred on this mountain: Jesus' teaching about the final days as reported in Matthew 24:1 - 26:2. This was the text that Egeria heard here on Tuesday of Holy Week. (Murphy-O'Connor, p. 125.)
When the Persians broke through the bounds of the Byzantine Empire in 614, they destroyed both churches. The Byzantines, having regained control in 628, restored the one on the higher ground. The Eleona with its cave remained in ruins, it would seem, although the memory persisted that Jesus had taught here. A shift occurred, however, in the notion of what teaching he had delivered. It was now thought to be the Lord's Prayer. When Luke reports Jesus' teaching this prayer (11:1-4), he does not name a particular place. In Mark 11:25-26, however, while on the Mt. of Olives, Jesus says, "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions." Recognizing this as part of the prayer that is given in Luke, people located the whole prayer on the mountain, in the cave that already carried an association with Jesus' teaching. When the Crusaders erected a church here in the 12th century, they called it "Pater Noster." Crusader pilgrims reported seeing the Lord's Prayer inscribed on plaques.
Logistics:
The Pater Noster Church is open as follows: Monday-Saturday, 8:30-11:45;
15:00-16:45
Mosque of the Ascension: If the door is not open, ring the bell. Modest dress.
Jerusalem from Solomon to Herod The Cemeteries, the Golden Gate and Judgment Day Dominus Flevit ("The Lord weeps") The Pater Noster Church and the Mosque of the Ascension
Bible translations on this page are from the World English Bible
© 2003 Near East Tourist Agency (NET) Text © 2003 Stephen Langfur
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In 1868 An Italian
woman, Aurelia Bossie, Princess de la Tour d'Auvergne, built a cloister here, on
the inner wall of which she put 32 copies of the Lord's Prayer in different
languages. Later she added a Carmelite convent. One sees her
sarcophagus while passing through.
When we
enter, on our right is a small mosque (built in 1620), from whose gallery one
can get a view of the area. We descend and head through the open courtyard
toward the central domed structure. High in the octagonal wall around the
courtyard are hooks, which hold the awnings that shade the Christian congregants
here on the Feast of Ascension (fortieth day after Easter).