The Abbey of the Assumption is a Catholic monastery of the Benedictine order on the summit of Mount Zion, dedicated to the taking of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heavenly Glory.
Nothing is written in the New Testament about the life of the Virgin Mary after the crucifixion and resurrection of Her Son. Some scholars believe that She spent the rest of Her life in Ephesus, but mostly the legends tell: Mary lived and died in Jerusalem. Three days after Her death, the apostle Thomas, who was absent during the funeral, returned and asked for the coffin to be opened so that he too could say farewell. All saw only the burial shrouds and felt a marvellous fragrance.
The dogma of the Catholic Church on the Ascension of the Theotokos does not refer to the Apocrypha, but says this, "The Immaculate Mother of God, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, having completed Her life's journey on earth, was taken body and spirit into the Glory of Heaven. It is not specified where and how this happened, whether Mary's Ascension was preceded by Her physical death.
Eastern churches do not recognise the dogma of the Ascension, but, venerating the Mother of God, always celebrate Her Assumption. Many pilgrims flock to the Greek Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Gethsemane, where Mary's tomb is said to be located. Catholic tradition believes that the taking of the Blessed Virgin to Heavenly Glory took place on Mount Zion, where the abbey stands.
The Basilica of the Assumption here is young compared to many of Jerusalem's churches, having recently turned a hundred years old. But it stands on ancient stones. The first temple here was built in the I century. The churches built after that were destroyed by both Persians and Muslims. In 1898 Kaiser Wilhelm II during his visit to the Holy Land bought this site (a field full of rubble) for German Catholics. Within 12 years, a monastery complex was built here, designed by Cologne architect Heinrich Renard.
The massive basilica building with four turrets around a conical roof and the bell tower with its helmet-shaped dome are visible from many points in Jerusalem. The bell tower is crowned by a weathervane in the shape of a rooster, a reminder that it was on Mount Zion, in the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas, that Peter's threefold denial took place - before the rooster crowed twice. Out of respect for the neighbouring shrine, the tomb of King David, the tall chapel has been placed so that its shadow does not fall on the tomb.
The unusual beauty of the basilica is best seen by walking down the alley leading from Zion Gate. At the end of the narrow alley - and in front of the visitor suddenly grows a huge temple. The interior is no less impressive: austere grey walls, and only above the altar and in the chapels glows gold mosaics. The extraordinary chapel in the crypt, decorated with ivory and ebony, is a gift from the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.
In the centre of the crypt is a statue of the Virgin Mary lying on her deathbed. The sculpture is made of cherry wood and ivory. Mary's vestments were originally gilded and decorated with chased silver, but nothing was preserved after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The mosaic dome above Mary depicts Jesus opening his mother's arms, ready to take her into the Glory of Heaven.
