| What makes it historical? |
The death of Jesus of Nazareth plays a crucial role in Christian tradition, but little to nothing is written about the fate of his parents, Mary and Joseph! References to Joseph disappear early in the New Testament, and we don’t have accounts of what happened to Mary until over a century after the Crucifixion! The Greek Orthodox Church celebrates her Dormition, or falling asleep, while the Catholic Church celebrates her Assumption directly into Heaven! Neither Church has definitively stated where this happened, though.
However the event may have played out, there has been a cemetery here dating back to the 1st century AD, and a small church in the 5th century that was destroyed by the Persians. Like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this little church was rebuilt by Crusaders in 1130 AD, then destroyed again by Salah ad-Din in 1187. At first, the Benedictines administered the site, then the Franciscans, but today, it is run by the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre! It contains chapels to St. Joseph, Mary’s parents (Anne and Joachim), the queen Melisande, and a niche called a mihrab facing Mecca, where Muslims pray! |
