Gethsemane and the Basilica of the Agony (Church of All Nations), Jerusalem Israel
“The Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples “Sit here, while I go over there and pray” Matthew 26:36
On the western slope of the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley from Temple Mount, is an old olive grove and remains of a 4th century byzantine church , Egeria (The Elegant Church). This church was built to commemorate the place where Jesus prayed and was betrayed by Judas. There is certainly no way to know exactly where the Biblical Garden of Gethsemane is located, but Christians have prayed and honored this site from the 4th century on. The bedrock exposed inside the current church has a long tradition of being the place where Jesus prayed in agony about his coming death and sweat drops of blood. There are still visible remains of the original byzantine church in the garden.
Today the church on this site is the Church of All Nations - also known as the Basilica of the Agony and the Church of Gethsemane - built in 1924. While excavating the original byzantine era church, mosaics were found and placed under glass. More recently the remains of a second temple era mikveh have been found. Greek inscriptions were found from the Byzantine church. The 2020 finding of the mikveh is particularly exciting because it is the earliest archeological evidence of some importance to this site. We last visited in March 2020, prior to this discovery.
The title Church of All Nations comes from the fact that 12 countries donated to the construction and decoration of the structure and have their national coat of arms in small domes and in the mosaics.
Garden of Gethsemane and the Basilica of the Agony, Jerusalem Israel
