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Church of Mary's Tomb
(كنيسة قبر مريم)

Title	Church of Mary's Tomb
Title Original	كنيسة قبر مريم
Publication Date:	Early 6th century / 12th century
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID	monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;24;ar
Library Location	It is located in the Kidron Valley, at the foot of the western slope of the Mount of Olives, on the main road linking Jerusalem and Al-Eizariya, Jerusalem
Date	Early 6th century / 12th century
Notes	Lady Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, has a prominent position in the Islamic faith. In the Holy Qur’an there is an entire surah bearing Mary’s name, in addition to being an ideal example of virginity and purity in Arab-Islamic culture. The historian Mujir al-Din al-Hanbali (died 928 / 1522) mentioned that Mary’s tomb is located in a church, and it is a famous place visited by Muslims and Christians. Mujir al-Din explained the reason for Muslims visiting the grave by saying that the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw two bright lights on the night of the Night Journey and Mi’raj to the right of the mosque and to its left. When Gabriel asked about this, he replied, “As for the one on your right, it is the tomb of your brother David, and as for the one on your left, it is the tomb of your sister Mary.” It was mentioned that when Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab (ruled in the period 13-23 / 634 - 644) visited Jerusalem after its conquest in 17 / 638, he passed by the Church of Mary in the valley and prayed two rak’ahs there. Therefore, many of the people of Jerusalem and its Muslim visitors were keen to visit this church to seek blessings from it, and also to perform prayers in it. This explains the presence of a large niche in the church to the south of the grave. Thus, this site was one of the religious sites shared between Muslims and Christians, and it is an ideal example of tolerance and acceptance of others between Arab Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land. The origin of the building is a natural cave on which a Byzantine church was built in 582 - 602 AD. The church was composed of two floors, and bore the name of Mary, the mother of Christ. Over time, this church was destroyed and another church was built in its place, described by the western bishop Arculf, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem around the year 49-50 / 670. Following their custom of rebuilding Byzantine churches, the Crusaders, when they came to Jerusalem, built the current church. Although the four Gospels do not mention anything about Mary’s death or burial place, Eastern Christian traditions made the location of this church a place of burial and then Mary’s ascension to heaven. The entrance to the church is preceded by an open, square-planned courtyard whose floor is about five meters lower than the level of the public road, and the entrance to the church is reached via a flight of descending stairs. The entrance is a large rectangular door opening, surmounted by a pointed stone arch built in the Gothic-Crusader style. The entrance leads to a long, wide, descending basement, the floor of which consists of 47 marble steps. The basement was roofed with a series of successive arches, supported by well-constructed intersecting vaults. In the middle of this crypt and to the right of the interior, there is a wall apse containing the tomb of Queen Melisinda (died 556 / 1161), wife of the Frankish King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II (reigned 1118-1131) and mother of King Baldwin III (reigned 1143-1162). Facing this apse is another apse (to the left of the interior) containing graves of members of the family of the Crusader King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II. The end of the crypt leads to the burial place of the Virgin Mary. The origin of the basement is a cave whose excavations have expanded, and part of its architectural fabric consists of rock and part of the building. The floor of the tomb drops about 12 meters below the level of the church entrance. The tomb of Mary is a hewn rock block in the middle of the eastern part of the cave, and in this it resembles the tomb of Jesus Christ in the middle of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The grave mass is preceded by an altar for the Armenian community. To the south of the tomb stands a large, unadorned sanctuary, the hood of which ends with a pointed arch. The mihrab indicates the direction of Mecca, the qibla for Muslims in prayer. There is another altar for the Greek Orthodox community at the eastern end of the basement. This church has a unique layout dictated by the topography of its location. The church is currently shared between the Armenian and Eastern Greek communities.
Sample Text	Yusuf al-Natsheh “Church of Mary’s Tomb” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;24;ar

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Museum With No Frontiers

Church of Mary's Tomb

(كنيسة قبر مريم)

Publication Date Early 6th century / 12th century

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Record ID monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;24;ar

Library Location It is located in the Kidron Valley, at the foot of the western slope of the Mount of Olives, on the main road linking Jerusalem and Al-Eizariya, Jerusalem

Date Early 6th century / 12th century

Notes Lady Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, has a prominent position in the Islamic faith. In the Holy Qur’an there is an entire surah bearing Mary’s name, in addition to being an ideal example of virginity and purity in Arab-Islamic culture. The historian Mujir al-Din al-Hanbali (died 928 / 1522) mentioned that Mary’s tomb is located in a church, and it is a famous place visited by Muslims and Christians. Mujir al-Din explained the reason for Muslims visiting the grave by saying that the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw two bright lights on the night of the Night Journey and Mi’raj to the right of the mosque and to its left. When Gabriel asked about this, he replied, “As for the one on your right, it is the tomb of your brother David, and as for the one on your left, it is the tomb of your sister Mary.” It was mentioned that when Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab (ruled in the period 13-23 / 634 - 644) visited Jerusalem after its conquest in 17 / 638, he passed by the Church of Mary in the valley and prayed two rak’ahs there. Therefore, many of the people of Jerusalem and its Muslim visitors were keen to visit this church to seek blessings from it, and also to perform prayers in it. This explains the presence of a large niche in the church to the south of the grave. Thus, this site was one of the religious sites shared between Muslims and Christians, and it is an ideal example of tolerance and acceptance of others between Arab Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land. The origin of the building is a natural cave on which a Byzantine church was built in 582 - 602 AD. The church was composed of two floors, and bore the name of Mary, the mother of Christ. Over time, this church was destroyed and another church was built in its place, described by the western bishop Arculf, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem around the year 49-50 / 670. Following their custom of rebuilding Byzantine churches, the Crusaders, when they came to Jerusalem, built the current church. Although the four Gospels do not mention anything about Mary’s death or burial place, Eastern Christian traditions made the location of this church a place of burial and then Mary’s ascension to heaven. The entrance to the church is preceded by an open, square-planned courtyard whose floor is about five meters lower than the level of the public road, and the entrance to the church is reached via a flight of descending stairs. The entrance is a large rectangular door opening, surmounted by a pointed stone arch built in the Gothic-Crusader style. The entrance leads to a long, wide, descending basement, the floor of which consists of 47 marble steps. The basement was roofed with a series of successive arches, supported by well-constructed intersecting vaults. In the middle of this crypt and to the right of the interior, there is a wall apse containing the tomb of Queen Melisinda (died 556 / 1161), wife of the Frankish King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II (reigned 1118-1131) and mother of King Baldwin III (reigned 1143-1162). Facing this apse is another apse (to the left of the interior) containing graves of members of the family of the Crusader King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II. The end of the crypt leads to the burial place of the Virgin Mary. The origin of the basement is a cave whose excavations have expanded, and part of its architectural fabric consists of rock and part of the building. The floor of the tomb drops about 12 meters below the level of the church entrance. The tomb of Mary is a hewn rock block in the middle of the eastern part of the cave, and in this it resembles the tomb of Jesus Christ in the middle of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The grave mass is preceded by an altar for the Armenian community. To the south of the tomb stands a large, unadorned sanctuary, the hood of which ends with a pointed arch. The mihrab indicates the direction of Mecca, the qibla for Muslims in prayer. There is another altar for the Greek Orthodox community at the eastern end of the basement. This church has a unique layout dictated by the topography of its location. The church is currently shared between the Armenian and Eastern Greek communities.

Sample Text Yusuf al-Natsheh “Church of Mary’s Tomb” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;24;ar