Dormition Abbey, The Ramparts of Jerusalem, the Crusader Church of Saint Anne - August 10, 2011 - (Matthew Mac Donald)

On Wednesday, August 10th we did our final touring of the city of Jerusalem. We started the touring at Dormition Abbey, which commemorates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven body and soul at the end of her life. It was built during the end of the 19th Century with funds from  the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Construction of the Church started in 1900 and it was dedicated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1910. It is right around the corner from the Franciscan Church of the Caenaculum and the room where the Last Supper and Pentecost occurred.  It is under the custody of the Benedictine Order.

Dormition Abbey (Hagia Sion)

Fabritzio explaining the history of the church

The Mosaic of the Theotokos over the Altar

The Place of the Assumption

We then walked the Ramparts of Jerusalem. These are the walls that cover the boarders of the Old City that were built in 1538 by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and they lead up to all the gates that surround the old city.

Outside Jaffa Gate

The Latin Patriarchate

The Muslim Section of New Jerusalem

Then before departing Jerusalem, we had mass at the Crusader Church of Saint Anne, which is under the custody of the White Fathers. It is built over a Byzantine Church that was built over the ruins of the spot of the house of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the parents of the Virgin Mary.

Main Altar

Ruins of the Byzantine Church

Main Altar in the crypt

Statue of the Blessed Mother

Icon of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Statue of Saint Anne with the Blessed Mother