Church of the Flagellation

The Church of the Flagellation is a Roman Catholic church and Christian pilgrimage site located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, near St. Stephen's Gate (also called Lions' Gate). It is part a Franciscan monastery which also includes the Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross. The monastery stands at the traditional Second Station of the Cross on the ''Via Dolorosa''.

Tradition

According to tradition, the church enshrines the spot where Jesus Christ was flogged by Roman soldiers before his journey down the Via Dolorosa to Calvary. However, this tradition is based on the assumption that an area of Roman flagstones, discovered beneath the adjacent Church of the Condemnation and the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, was Gabbatha, or the pavement the Bible describes as the location of Pontius Pilate's judgment of Jesus (). A triple-arched gateway built by Hadrian as an entrance to the eastern forum of Aelia Capitolina was traditionally, but as archaeological investigation shows, mistakenly, Benoit, Pierre, ''The Archaeological Reconstruction of the Antonia Fortress'', in ''Jerusalem Revealed'' (edited by Yigael Yadin), page 87, (1976) said to have been part of the gate of Herod's Antonia Fortress, which was alleged to be the location of Jesus' trial. It is possible that following its destruction the Antonia Fortress's pavement tiles were brought to Hadrian's plaza.

Like Philo, Josephus testifies that the Roman governors stayed in Herod's palace while they were in Jerusalem, carried out their judgements on the pavement immediately outside it, and had those found guilty flogged there; Josephus indicates that Herod's palace is on the western hill,Josephus, ''Jewish Wars'', 5:2 and it has recently (2001) been rediscovered under a corner of the Jerusalem citadel near Jaffa Gate. Archaeologists now therefore conclude that, in the first century, the Roman governors judged at the western hill, rather than the area around the Church of the Flagellation, on the diametrically opposite side of the city.

History

The original church was built by the Crusaders. During the Ottoman period (from 1516), this early shrine and its surrounding buildings were reportedly used as stables, and later as private houses.

The whole complex was given to the Franciscans in 1838 by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, who brought parts of Ottoman Syria under Egyptian rule between 1831-41. In 1839 Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria funded a hasty rebuilding of the church over the medieval ruins.

The current church was completed between 1928–29 and was a complete reconstruction, executed by Italian Antonio Barluzzi in the style of the 12th century. The church is held in trust by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Description

The interior of the church consists of a single aisle.

Some noteworthy points of interest include the three stained glass windows, each depicting a different aspect of the biblical narrative of the trial of Jesus by Pilate, and the inside of the mosaic-clad golden dome. The northern window depicts Pontius Pilate washing his hands (), the central one behind the altar depicts the Flagellation (, ), and the southern one the victory of Barabbas (, , ). The dome with its mosaic and translucent elements is designed as a crown of thorns.

References

External links

The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land

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Churches in Jerusalem
Flagellation
Ancient churches in the Holy Land
Church buildings in the Kingdom of Jerusalem