Dominus Flevit (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, "the Lord wept") 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 ...

church on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

, opposite the walls of 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 ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. During construction of the sanctuary, archaeologists uncovered artifacts dating back to the

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

ite period, as well as tombs from the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

eras.

History

According to the 19th chapter of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...

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 ...

, while riding toward the city of Jerusalem, becomes overwhelmed by the unbelief of the people of Jerusalem and their failure to recognize the time when God came to "visit them" (Luke 1:16 & Luke 19:44). Jesus predicts the city's future destruction, the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

of the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

people, and weeps openly (an event known as ''Flevit super illam'' in

). () The present church of Dominus Flevit is built upon the foundations of an earlier Byzantine church, which, like most churches, faced east. It was during the Crusader era that people began commemorating the location. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the church fell into ruin. In the early sixteenth century a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

or madrasah existed at the site, presumably built by the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, from the remains of the earlier church, although the exact use is disputed. This place was known as el Mansouriyeh (''The Triumphant'') and also el Khelweh (''The Hermitage''). The

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

were unable to obtain the ruins, so, in 1891 they purchased a small plot of land nearby and built a small chapel there. In 1913 a small private home was built in front of the Franciscan chapel by one Miss Mellon. This home eventually passed to the

Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...

, who eventually sold it to a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

woman.

Archaeology

In 1940, the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Sisters sold part of the property to the Franciscans. The old boundary wall was moved at this time to make the division. In 1953 the Franciscans began construction of another wall. While digging the foundations, workers unearthed ancient tombs. Excavations began at the site, led by Fr. Bellarmino Bagatti, OFM.

Tombs

A Canaanite tomb from the Late Bronze Age, as well as a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

used from 136 BC to AD 300 were discovered. The necropolis spanned two separate periods, characterized by differing tomb styles. The earlier Second Temple era tombs were of the kokh style, while the Byzantine era section was composed of tombs with

arcosolium An arcosolium, plural arcosolia, is an arched recess used as a place of entombment. The word is from Latin , "arch", and , "throne" (literally "place of state") or post-classical "sarcophagus". Early arcosolia were carved out of the living rock ...

from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. A Byzantine monastery from the 5th century was also discovered.

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s from this monastery still remain at the site.

Byzantine mosaic

The

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floor, dating to the beginning of the seventh century CE. The floor is surrounded by ribbons and wave motifs. The centre of the carpet is divided by squares containing round frames. The circles contain fruit, vegetables, flowers and fish. The Byzantine mosaic attest to the importance of agriculture for the people of the period. The motifs reflect the developed and progressive agriculture of Byzantine Palestine including Jerusalem. Some images also contain unique elements, as for instance

luffa ''Luffa'' is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae). In everyday non-technical usage, the luffa, also spelled loofah, usually refers to the fruits of the species '' Luffa aegyptiaca'' and '' Luffa acuta ...

for the producing of bathing sponges, edible Snakes Melons, and

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

tied by a blue string. Parts of the Byzantine mosaic can also be seen inside the modern church building, with a limestone slab bearing a large cross in the middle (fig. 2 in the gallery below).

Architecture

Located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, the church was designed and constructed between 1953 and 1955 by the Italian architect

Antonio Barluzzi Antonio Barluzzi (26 September 1884 – 14 December 1960) was an Italian architect who became known as the "Architect of the Holy Land" by creating, among many others, the pilgrimage churches at the Garden of Gethsemane, on Mount Tabor (considere ...

and is held in trust by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Dominus Flevit, which translates from Latin as "The Lord Wept", was fashioned in the shape of a teardrop to symbolize the tears of

Christ 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 of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

.Lipnick, Jonathan. "The Spot From Which The Lord Wept", Israel Institute of Biblical Studies, April 28, 2018
/ref>

Picture gallery

File:Dominus Flevit (Side view).JPG, Side view of Dominus Flevit Church File:Jerusalem Dominus flevit BW 3.JPG, Fig 2. Mosaic and cross on the floor File:Jerusalem Dominus flevit BW 4.JPG, View from west File:Dominus Flevit Church3027.JPG, Ossuary File:Mosaic Art at Dominus Flevit.jpg, Mosaic Art on altar File:Enrique Simonet - Flevit super illam 1892.jpg, "Flevit super illam" (He wept over it) by

Enrique Simonet Enrique Simonet Lombardo (February 2, 1866 – April 20, 1927) was a Spanish painter. Early life Simonet was born in Valencia. His first vocation of childhood was religious studies, but he abandoned it to devote himself to painting. Despite ...

, 1892

References

External links

Dominus Flevit:
history of the site

— Jerusalem Photos Portal

Photos of the Dominus Flevit Church
at the

Manar al-Athar Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...

photo archive