Located at the
highest point in Jerusalem, next to the main entrance of the Mount of Olives
Hotel, is the Chapel of Ascension. Erected by Queen Helena as part of a vast
Church and Monastery complex (Eleona Basilica or Basilica of Olives) in the year
392 AD, this Chapel (or Mosque) marks the site where Jesus acsended into heaven.
Since the time of it's construction, the octogonal shrine has undergone many
facelifts. Destroyed by the Persions in the year 614 AD, the Church was
eventually reconstructed to it's present day dimensions by the Crusaders. The
site was ultimately acquired by two emmissaries of Saladin in the year 1198 and
has remained in the possession of the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem ever since. The
Crusader building was converted to a mosque but was never used by Muslims since
the overwhelming majority of visitors were Christian. As a gesture of compromise
and goodwill, Saladin ordered the construction of a second mosque and mihrab two
years later next door to the Chapel for Muslim worship while Christians
continued to visit the main Chapel. In the center of the main dome is a stone
bearing the worn footprint of Christ as he made his miraculous ascent to heaven.
During the Byzantine period, pilgrims were allowed to walk off with pieces of
the stone. In the nearly two millenium since the acsension, countless visitors
have inflicted a heavy toll on the poor old footprint.
Today, one can still hear passages from the Bible recited in many
languages as countless tour groups commemorate the last spot on earth the Lord
stood and the site where it is believed he will return.
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven (Acts 7-11)
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has
set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their eyes, and a cloud hid him from their
site. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed
in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the
same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Located at the
highest point in Jerusalem, next to the main entrance of the Mount of Olives
Hotel, is the Chapel of Ascension. Erected by Queen Helena as part of a vast
Church and Monastery complex (Eleona Basilica or Basilica of Olives) in the year
392 AD, this Chapel (or Mosque) marks the site where Jesus acsended into heaven.
Since the time of it's construction, the octogonal shrine has undergone many
facelifts. Destroyed by the Persions in the year 614 AD, the Church was
eventually reconstructed to it's present day dimensions by the Crusaders. The
site was ultimately acquired by two emmissaries of Saladin in the year 1198 and
has remained in the possession of the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem ever since. The
Crusader building was converted to a mosque but was never used by Muslims since
the overwhelming majority of visitors were Christian. As a gesture of compromise
and goodwill, Saladin ordered the construction of a second mosque and mihrab two
years later next door to the Chapel for Muslim worship while Christians
continued to visit the main Chapel. In the center of the main dome is a stone
bearing the worn footprint of Christ as he made his miraculous ascent to heaven.
During the Byzantine period, pilgrims were allowed to walk off with pieces of
the stone. In the nearly two millenium since the acsension, countless visitors
have inflicted a heavy toll on the poor old footprint.
Telephone #: +972 (2) 628-4877
