As I survey this place, and the surroundings, I can feel the holiness of this place where Jesus prayed, and had foreseen his death on the cross. No one can be at this place and not be touched by the history and spiritual event that happened here.
Church of All Nations & Gathsemane
It is said that before his arrest by the Romans, Jesus prayed at the foot of the Mount of Olives, on a section of the bedrock in the Garden on Gethsemane. Like other sites on Jesus’ path to the cross, throughout much of the ensuing period, this rock was enshrined by a succession of Christian places of worship. Among these were a 4th-century Byzantine basilica that was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 746 CE, and a 12th-century Crusader chapel that was abandoned in 1345.
Since 1924, the Church of All Nations (officially named the Basilica of the Agony) has rested on the foundations of these earlier churches. The church is thus named because the funds that went into its construction were donated by a variety of countries. Each of these nations is commemorated with a coat of arms in the glass of the church ceiling.
Inside, the focus of the church is the bedrock, which is surrounded by a crown. The Church of All Nation’s impressive facade features a row of Corinthian columns under a mosaic portraying Jesus as an intermediary between man and God. The facade joins the bubble-domed roof to give this church a distinctly Byzantine look.
Photos courtesy of Ministry of Tourism, by Noam Chen
TripAdvisor Reviews
Based on 851 traveler reviewsNew
“Church of All Nations”
Church of All Nations gives me a spiritual feelings. This is the bedrock where Jesus prayed on the bedrock before his arrest by the Romans, a section of bedrock which is located inside the church. We had a mass there with our tour group which is just gives me a spiritual feeling to see...
MoreChurch of All Nations gives me a spiritual feelings. This is the bedrock where Jesus prayed on the bedrock before his arrest by the Romans, a section of bedrock which is located inside the church. We had a mass there with our tour group which is just gives me a spiritual feeling to see and touch the section of the bedrock. Just outside the Church next to it is the Garden of Gethsemane, which have a one of the oldest Olive Trees alive since that day.
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“Holy, holy, holy”
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“Beautiful”
This beautiful church was a highlight for me at least and our entire group wnated to go back and see it again, so we did!! Our tour guide had no problelm with taking us later in the day as the crowds died down and provided us with a better scope of the history of...
MoreThis beautiful church was a highlight for me at least and our entire group wnated to go back and see it again, so we did!! Our tour guide had no problelm with taking us later in the day as the crowds died down and provided us with a better scope of the history of the church!
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