The New Testament does not reveal what happened to Mary, the mother of Jesus, but several traditions describe her death. As with all saints, Mary fell into an eternal sleep and she rose to heaven, where she was gathered up in the arms of her son.
Traditions identifying the site of this event are divided: Once tradition identifies the site as Ephesus in Turkey, while another tradition places the site on Mt. Zion, where the German-Catholic Dormition Abbey commemorates this event. According to this tradition Mary was brought for burial in the Kidron Valley and she rose to heaven from the Mt. of Olives.
Alongside Mary’s tomb tradition also identifies here the tomb of her husband, Joseph the Carpenter. A church was erected at the site as early as the Byzantine Period, but the church we will be visiting was built in the 12th century, during the reign of Melisende the Crusader Queen of Jerusalem, whose tomb is also found in the church.
Surrounding the tomb are altars belonging to the Eastern Orthodox churches: Armenian, Greek-Orthodox, Syrian and Coptic, as well as a more modest Catholic structure.
The reason for this lies in the fact that Catholic tradition actually supports the identification of Mary’s tomb at the Ephesus site. The church is lit by hanging oil lanterns above which are “church eggs” – decorated ceramic spheres that keep the oil safe from the mice who dare to climb down the iron chains to the receptacles holding the oil.
The church is open daily between 8:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00 in the winter, and until 18:00 in the summer
The entrance is free
