Description of the attraction
The Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, above the Kidron Valley, is traditionally associated with the prayer of Jesus on the night before His crucifixion.
Small, only 1200 square meters, the garden is adjacent to the Basilica of Borenia (Church of All Nations). Ancient olive trees grow behind a high stone wall: powerful, knotty, majestic. Guides like to tell that it was near them that Christ prayed on the night before his arrest and crucifixion.
There are actually eight very old trees in the garden. Three of them were studied by radiocarbon analysis - it turned out that they are about nine hundred years old. However, DNA analysis showed that they all descended from the same parent tree - perhaps from what grew here at the time of Jesus Christ. The Romans, destroying Jerusalem in 70, cut down all the local trees. But olives are unusually resistant plants: if a root remains in the soil, sooner or later it will give a new shoot. It is known that the roots of today's trees are much more venerable than the first analysis showed.
However, it is difficult to argue that the Passion of Christ began here. In the Gospels, only the area is mentioned - Gethsemane. That was the name of the entire valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives. In reality, the struggles of Jesus could take place somewhere near the modern Garden of Gethsemane - for example, at the Gethsemane grotto, which is a hundred meters to the north, near the cave church of the Assumption of the Virgin. Or on the territory of the Basilica of Borenia - here in front of the altar there is the top of the rock, on which, according to legend, Christ prayed.
Be that as it may, the olive trees of the current Garden of Gethsemane are the direct heirs of those who saw Jesus with the disciples. Christ and the apostles came here after the Last Supper. On it, the disciples learned what would happen in the next few hours: the betrayal of one of them, the renunciation of the other, the end of the earthly life of the Savior. Even thinking about this, the tired apostles still fell asleep. The human nature of Jesus trembled on the eve of the torment of the cross. Moving away from the sleeping "to throw" (at the distance of a throw) of the stone, He prayed passionately, asking the Heavenly Father: "Father! Oh, if you were pleased to carry this cup past Me! nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done”(Luke 22:42). This was the Prayer for the Chalice, which inspired artists and poets for the next two millennia.
Strengthened by prayer, Jesus woke up the disciples and met the kiss of Judas, by which they identified Christ. Arrest, interrogation in the Sanhedrin, Pilate's verdict, the way to Golgotha, execution followed.
The Garden of Gethsemane today is well-groomed and pleasing to the eye. Neat paths are strewn with small pebbles. Tourists take pictures of the famous trees. Ignoring the guests, the workers are harvesting: the local olives are still full of life.
On a note
- Location: Old City, Jerusalem
- Opening hours: daily 8.00-12.00 and 14.00-18.00.
- Tickets: admission is free.
