The Convent of the Sisters of Zion is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of the

Congregation of Notre-Dame de Sion The Congregation of Our Lady of Sion (french: Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Sion, abbreviated by its members as N.D.S.) is composed of two Roman Catholic religious congregations founded in Paris, France. One is composed of Catholic priests and Rel ...

, located near the eastern end of the ''

Via Dolorosa The ''Via Dolorosa'' (Latin, 'Sorrowful Way', often translated 'Way of Suffering'; ar, طريق الآلام; Hebrew: ויה דולורוזה) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus would have t ...

'' in the Old City of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The convent was built in 1857 by

Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne image:Alphonse Ratisbonne 1865.jpg, Father Ratisbonne in 1865 Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, N.D.S., (1 May 1814, Strasbourg, Alsace, France – 6 May 1884, Ein Karem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire) was a ...

. The site includes the Church of Ecce Homo, also known as the Basilica of Ecce Homo, named for

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...

's '' Ecce homo'' speech which is traditionally thought to have taken place on the pavement below the church.

History

In the first century BC,

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renov ...

built a large open-air pool. In the second century, Roman Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

added arched

vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rin ...

to enable pavement to be placed over the pool, making it a large cuboid

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

to gather rainwater from guttering on the

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

buildings. On the surface, Hadrian built a triple-arched gateway as an entrance to the eastern forum of the

Aelia Capitolina Aelia Capitolina (Traditional English Pronunciation: ; Latin in full: ) was a Roman colony founded during Emperor Hadrian's trip to Judah in 129/130, centered around Jerusalem, which had been almost totally razed after the siege of 70 CE. The f ...

in Jerusalem. The northern arch is preserved under the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

of the Basilica of Ecce Homo. By 1857,

, a French Jew and former atheist who converted to Catholicism and became a priest, decided to purchase the site and start a convent. Between 1858 and 1862, he built a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

(the Church of Ecce Homo), which overlaps part of the gateway arch. He also built an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

for girls and other standard convent buildings. A school for girls has been added with boarders coming from all over the Arab world till 1967. As the convent was confined in size, the

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s bought a few of the surrounding Arab homes and incorporated them into the convent; they soon opened a medical dispensary on the site. Due to the introduction of state support for orphans, by the

Ottoman government The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were j ...

and later (1948) by the

Israeli government The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...

, the orphanage buildings have been used for other religious purposes since 1967. The convent now maintains a guesthouse and library. Ecce Homo Pavement

Beneath the convent is an extensive area of Roman

flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other con ...

s. As these continue, to a lesser extent, under the

Church of the Condemnation The Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross (Hebrew: קפלת ההרשעה וכפיית הצלב) is a Roman Catholic church located within the Franciscan monastery that also contains the Church of the Flagellation in the old city ...

, they have been known for several centuries. Due in part to an etching of a game by Roman soldiers discovered in 1864 involving the execution of a "monk king", the flagstones were thought by nuns to be those of

Gabbatha Gabbatha (Aramaic גבתא) is the Aramaic name of a place in Jerusalem that is also referred to by the Greek name of (Greek ). It is recorded in the gospels to be the place of the trial of Jesus before his crucifixion 30/33 AD. The site o ...

, which describes as the location where

adjudged

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

' trial. It is possible that following its destruction the Antonia Fortress's pavement tiles were brought to Hadrian's plaza.

References

{{Authority control Classical sites in Jerusalem Ancient sites in Jerusalem Roman Catholic churches in Jerusalem 1857 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

History

See also

References