Church of the Dormition - Jerusalem

The hill of Mount Zion, the highest point in ancient Jerusalem, is dominated by the Church of the Dormition. The location is identified in Christian tradition as the place where the Virgin Mary died — or “fell asleep”, as the name suggests.

The fortress-like building, with a conical roof and four corner towers, stands south of the Old City’s Zion Gate. Nearby soars the bell tower of the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey (formerly the Abbey of the Dormition), a Benedictine monastery.

During the Byzantine period, the Church of Hagia Sion (Holy Zion), one of the three earliest churches in Jerusalem, stood on this site. Built by the Emperor Constantine, it was regarded as the Mother of all Churches. In AD 614 it was destroyed by the Persians.

In the center of the church, under a rotunda, is a simple bier on which rests a life-size statue of Mary, fallen asleep in death. The statue is made of cherry wood and ivory.

The dome above the statue is adorned with mosaic pictures of six women of the Old Testament: Eve, Miriam, Jael, Judith, Ruth and Esther.

Church of the Dormition

Mosaic picture of Mary and the Child Jesus in the center of the semi- 

circular apse above the altar. Jesus holds an open book with the 

inscription from John 8:12 ("I am the light of the world"), words that

Jesus said when he visited Mount of Olives. Underneath are pictures

of eight Prophets, and a Latin verse from Isaiah 7:14 with the 

prophecy of the coming of the Messiah: ". . . Behold, a virgin shall

conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel". 

A sculpture of Mary's deathbed, made of ivory 

and cherrywood, is located in the crypt, a round 

pilloried room (rotunda) one level under the church.  

Wider view of the sculpture of Mary's deathbed

A painting on the ceiling of Mary on her deathbed

This side chapel was donated by the Ivory 

Coast, and consists of Ivory and black Ebony

wood. There are two Greek letters inscribed 

on the altar  - Alpha and Omega - the first and 

last letters of the Greek alphabet. As per Rev-

elation 1: 8: "I am Alpha and Omega, the 

beginning and the ending ".