The Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations

If my photos are in order, we saw the Garden and the Church after we saw the birthplace of Jesus.

In the 4th C a church was constructed at this place, but was destroyed by the Persians in 614AD. It was rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th C, but was destroyed by the Arabs in 1187. A Catholic Franciscan church was built in 1924 by donations from many nations--thus its name, Church of All Nations (also called Basilica of Agony). The remains of the Crusader church were embedded into the modern basilica. It is located on the east bank of valley Kidron at the foothill of Mount of Olives.

Cemeteries all around us, before we enter the Garden. Some walked down from this point.

I took a short cut and rode the bus, meeting them at the bottom.



I don't know the age of these trees, but they are very old, and in the Garden.

In The Garden
(written by C. Aus­tin Miles)
Verse 1:
I come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
the Son of God discloses.

Chorus:
And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
and He tells me I am His own;
and the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known

The front of the church, facing the temple mount, is covered by a large mosaic picture. According to the Gospels, this is the site where Jesus had his last prayer before he was betrayed and arrested by the Romans.

According to tradition, this is the Rock of Agony where Jesus prayed.