The Church of the Ascension is located on one of the highest areas of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and rises 850 meters above the level of the Mediterranean Sea.
It dates back to the fourth century AD during the reign of King Constantine in 390 AD. This church narrates one of the chapters of faith in the Christian faith, which is the ascension of Christ to heaven on the fortieth day after his resurrection from the dead on the third day, after his crucifixion on the hill of Golgotha, according to the Christian narrative.
Islamic endowment
The church was destroyed in the eleventh century by the Fatimid Sultan Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and after the defeat of the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin, the church became an Islamic endowment, as all Christian sects are allowed, according to the Statico Agreement since the nineteenth century, to hold prayers during the Ascension Day celebration in the Assumption Church mosque.
Researcher Gordon Ryan says in a study entitled “The Architecture of Early Christian Historical Landmarks in Palestine” that “the Christian celebration on the Mount of Olives was dual, as the memory gathers around the cave in which Jesus taught his followers to pray in the Church of Pater Noster, and the peak from which he ascended to heaven.” In the Church of the Ascension in the fourth century, these two buildings were built on the top of the Mount of Olives and are less than 100 meters apart.
The Church of the Ascension consists of a circular complex with a domed structure. The central plan of the Church of the Ascension allowed for a specific place to be located in the center of the structure. This was, according to sources, the place where the Christian narrative of the Ascension of Jesus spoke and the footprints of Christ were found inside the Church of the Ascension, as Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, wrote.
The church was transformed into a mosque following the Muslim siege of the Holy City. It was rebuilt at the beginning of the twelfth century according to its original design with the addition of some changes. After Saladin al-Ayyubi conquered Jerusalem in October 1187 AD, it was transformed into a mosque again, but it continued with Christians make a pilgrimage to that place on Ascension Day, and the site is subject to the supervision of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem.
Tourism and Hajj
The shape of the church is octagonal, in the middle of which there is a small octagonal building similar to the Dome of the Ascension in the Dome of the Rock Mosque. In the middle of it are what the Christian narration says are footprints, and in front of it there is a mihrab, and at the top is a dome that was open and closed by the Muslims.
The site attracts visitors from all over the world for the purposes of pilgrimage and religious tourism, and receives crowds of Christian tourists who come to pray and meditate.
Great efforts have been made to preserve the church and its surroundings, with ongoing restoration projects to preserve the site. The Church of the Ascension is a spiritual and cultural gathering point that combines a rich history with profound religious significance, making it one of Jerusalem’s most prominent landmarks.