Excursion «537. Orthodox Easter»

Among the dense and luxuriant vegetation of Gethsemane  the Orthodox church of Mary Magdalene stands majestically.  It is made in the true Russian style. 
One Throne Church Mary Magdalene was erected at the end of the nineteenth century by order of Alexander III. The emperor gave the order to build a temple in memory of his mother - Empress Maria Alexandrovna. A few years after the construction of the temple was consecrated - during the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia.
As a result of excavations by archaeologists, parts of structures wgich was mentioned more than once in the Bible were discovered in the temple.
The church has seven domes, inside is lined with snow-white marble, and its walls are painted with brushes by famous artists, including Sergey Ivanov and Vasily Vereshchagin.

There are  a lot of biblical events associated with this place. Jesus Christ preached on Mount of Olives.  Moreover, at that place he foresaw the future of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, prayed in the olive grove of Gethsemane, was arrested due to the betrayal of one of his apostles - Judah. Also, in ancient times, the prophet Zechariah made a prediction about the end of the world. According to that predicition, Mount of Olives will split into two parts, and then the resurrection of the dead will begin. On the western slope of the mountain is a Jewish cemetery, where the son of King David Absalom was once buried, and now prominent statesmen of Israel are buried there.

The Garden of Gethsemane is well knowen from biblical stories.  At that place  Jesus Christ prayed before one of his apostles, Judas, betrayed him.  It is a small fenced garden with olive trees, which, suggested to be dumb as a  witnesses of events unfolding on the night after the Last Supper. On the territory of the garden was built the Church of All Nations at the beginning of the 20th century.  When it began to be erected, the ruins of the Byzantine church and the chapel of the crusaders were found in that place. The church got its name for the reason that 12 Catholic communities from around the world donated money for its construction. His main shrine is the stone on which Jesus prayed that terrible night. There are no statues in the church, no daylight. But there are mosaics that depict the prayer of Christ, the kiss of Judas and the subsequent capture of Jesus.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral is the main church of the Russian Theological Mission in Jerusalem and belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The one-domed Holy Trinity Cathedral at the Russian Theological Mission was built in the center of the Russian suburbs at the expense of the people of the Russian Empire.
Holy Trinity Cathedral is a Neo-Byzantine style temple of pinkish cream stone with 10 green domes of Tula casting, which soon became a recognizable landmark of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is not only the capital of modern Israel, but also a city which, for many centuries, has been the "center of the world" for Jews, Christians and Muslims.

No other city on the planet can  compare with it, because only Jerusalem has such a rich spiritual and historical attraction.