Chapel of the Ascension / Dome of Ascension / Aedicula of the Ascension

Abstract

~According to tradition, 40 days after the Resurrection Jesus appeared before his disciples and led them to the Mount of Olives, where he parted from them and ascended into heaven (Luke 24:50-51). This event was commemorated by a chapel. Before 312 AD, Christians honored the Ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount of Olives. Circa 384, the place of the Ascension was venerated on the present site, uphill from the cave, where the first church was built circa 390 by one Poimenia, a pious Roman woman. It was destroyed by the Persians in 614 and restored by the Abbot Modestus. In 680 the church was described as a round building open to the sky, with three porticoes entered from the south. Circa 1150 the Crusaders renovated the chapel as a roofed octagon and fortified the exterior. In 1198 Saladin's followers added a stone dome and mihrab. The building remained a mosque for over 300 years, but fell into ruin by the end of the 15th century. The east section of the octagonal surrounding wall of the chapel was split to form the asymmetrical shrine that stands today. A mosque and minaret were added to the chapel in 1620