Church of All Nations, Jerusalem

The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony, is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane.

It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest. (Mark 14:32–42).

Approaching the Church of All Nations.
The current church rests on the foundations of two earlier ones, that of a 4th-century Byzantine basilica, destroyed by an earthquake in 746, and of a small 12th-century Crusader chapel abandoned in 1345.

The church was built between 1919 and 1924 using funds donated from many different countries.
The church was designed by Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi and is currently held in trust by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Church of All Nations facade.
The facade of the church is supported by a row of Corinthian columns. Atop each column sits statues of the Four Evangelists.

First is Mark.
Second, Luke holds a quote from Luke 22:43–44 “…factus in agonia prolixius orabat et factus est sudor eius sicut guttae sanguinis decurrentis in terram" or translated from the Vulgate, "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Followed by Matthew holding Matthew 26:42b "Pater mi, si non potest hic calix transire nisi bibam illum, fiat voluntas tua" or translated “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”
The final statue is of John.
The columns and statues are set below a modern mosaic depicting Jesus Christ as mediator between God and man. The designer of the facade mosaic was Professor Giulio Bargellini.

Entering inside the Church of All Nations.

Nave and vault, looking east.
The building is divided by six columns into three aisles, but with an even ceiling lacking a clerestory. This design gives the impression of one large open hall.

Alabaster panels dyed violet were used for the windows to evoke a mood of depression analogous to Christ's agony, and the ceiling is painted a deep blue to simulate a night sky.