The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Sorrows of Mary or the Church of Agony is a Roman Catholic temple, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Gatsemani Garden. The church can be found in the Muslim district of the old city, close to the third station of the Way of the Cross. It covers part of the rock ground where Jesus Christ prayed before his arrest.
The present church was built on the remains of two earlier temples, a small chapel of the crusaders from the 12th century, abandoned in 1345, and a Byzantine basilica from the 4th century, which was destroyed by the earthquake in 746. In the 1920s, excavations were carried out in the place of the church, which were intended to reveal the foundations of the church from the Byzantine times. Work on the new basilica lasted from April 19, 1922, to June 1924, when it was consecrated.
The church was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi, who created the building in the neo-Byzantine style. The hallmarks of the building are the dome roof, thick columns and facade mosaic. The panels used in the windows were tinted purple to evoke a mood reminiscent of the agony of Christ. The ceiling was painted deep blue to simulate the night sky.
Attractions inside
