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Tomb of the Virgin Mary, Jerusalem

Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary, also Tomb of the Virgin Mary, is a Christian tomb in the Kidron Valley – at the foot of Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem – believed by Eastern Christians to be the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Status Quo, a 250-year old understanding between religious communities, applies to the site.

The Sacred Tradition of Eastern Christianity teaches that the Virgin Mary died a natural death (the Dormition of the Theotokos, the falling asleep), like any human being; that her soul was received by Christ upon death; and that her body was resurrected on the third day after her repose, at which time she was taken up, soul and body, into heaven in anticipation of the general resurrection. Her tomb, according to this teaching, was found empty on the third day.

Roman Catholic teaching holds that Mary was "assumed" into heaven in bodily form, the Assumption; the question of whether or not Mary actually underwent physical death remains open in the Catholic view. On 25 June 1997 Pope John Paul II said that Mary experienced natural death prior to her assumption into Heaven.

Twelfth-century facade of Mary's Tomb.
Preceded by a walled courtyard to the south, the cruciform church shielding the tomb has been created in part by cutting through the rock and in part with masonry, and is entered by a wide descending staircase whose upper section dates from the 12th century.


Tomb of the Virgin Mary seen from the south.
The Crusader building from 1130 included an upper church built on the ruins of its predecessor, demolished in 1009 by Caliph al-Hakim, and a lower church, consisting of the crypt of the Byzantine church, and as additions built by the Crusaders, a southern entrance followed by a staircase.

  • The upper church was destroyed by Saladin in 1187, its masonry being used to repair the walls of Jerusalem. Saladin left the lower chuch intact, but removed all the Christian imagery from it.
  • In the second half of the 14th century Franciscan friars rebuilt the church once more.

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Location

Location: Jerusalem