Gethsemane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gethsemane (Greek ΓεσΘημανι, Gesthēmani 'Hebrew:גת שמנים, from Aramaic גת שמנא, Gat Šmānê, lit. "oil press") is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem believed to be the place where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before the crucifixion. According to Luke 22:43–44, Jesus' anguish in Gethsemane was so deep that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." According to Orthodox tradition, Gethsemane is the garden where the Apostles buried the Virgin Mary.
Contents |
[edit] Etymology
Gethsemane appears in the Greek of the Gospels (Matthew 26:36 and Mark 14:32) as Γεθσημανι (Gethsēmani). The name is derived from the Aramaic גת שמנא (Gaṯ-Šmānê), meaning "oil press".[1] The Gospel of Mark (14:32) calls it chorion, "a place" or "estate"; The Gospel of John (18:1) speaks of it as kepos, a "garden" or "orchard."
[edit] Location
The garden identified as Gethsemane is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, [1] in the Kidron Valley. Overlooking the garden is the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony, built on the site of a church destroyed by the Sassanids in 614, and a Crusader church destroyed in 1219. Nearby is the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene with its golden, onion-shaped domes (Byzantine/Russian style), built by Russian Tsar Alexander III in memory of his mother.
[edit] Pilgrimage site
The Garden of Gethsemane was a focal site for early Christian pilgrims. It was visited in 333 by the anonymous "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", whose Itinerarium Burdigalense is the earliest description left by a Christian traveler in the Holy Land. In his Onomasticon, Eusebius of Caesarea notes the site of Gethsemane located "at the foot of the Mount of Olives", and he adds that "the faithful were accustomed to go there to pray".
[edit] Artistic depictions
 Andrea Mantegna's Agony in the Garden, circa 1460, depicts Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. |
 Detail from Gothic-era depiction of scene at Gethsemane from Ulm Münster |
 Gethsemane depicted by Pedro Berruguete |
 Christ in Gethsemane by Heinrich Hofmann at the Riverside Church |
[edit] References
- Metzeger, Bruce M. (ed); , Michael D. Coogan (ed) (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504645-5.
[edit] External links
- HD Virtual tour December 2007
- Virtual Tour of Jerusalem @ jerusalem360.com - Interactive Panoramas from Israel
- Article on Gethsemane from LightPlanet
- Catholic Encyclopedia on Gethsemane
- Paul’s Knowledge of the Garden of Gethsemane Narrative, by Christopher Price
- FotoTagger Annotated Galleries - Gethsemane in the art and reality
- Article on the history of the Russian monastery itself
- -24k- Sisters
