Monastery of the Cross

Legend has it that the monastery was erected on the burial spot of Adam's head—though two other locations in Jerusalem also claim this honor—from which grew the tree that gave its wood to the cross on which Christ was crucified.Sylvester Saller & Bellarmino Bagatti, [http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/SallerLot.html#Sallb34 "The Sanctity and Cult of Lot"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203245/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/SallerLot.html#Sallb34 |date=2015-09-23 }}, first published in The Town of Nebo (Khirbet el-Mekhayyat). With a Brief Survey of Other Ancient Christian Monuments in Transjordan, Jerusalem 1949, 5.193–199. Accessed 2008-03-02

It is believed that the site was originally consecrated in the fourth century under the instruction of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, who later gave the site to king Mirian III of Kartli after the conversion of his kingdom to Christianity in AD 327.The Wellspring of Georgian Historiography: The Early Medieval Historical Chronicle The Conversion of Katli and The Life of St. Nino, Constantine B. Lerner, England: Bennett and Bloom, London, 2004, p. 35 Archaeologists have established that the first basilica was built at the end of the fourth century.  As the founder of the church, scholars name Bakur, an Iberian prince, grandfather of the famous Peter of Iberia, who held the position of Dux Palestinae at that time.Pro Georgia. Journal of Kartvelological Studies, Besik Khurtislava, Poland: University of Warsaw, Poland, 2019, p. 119-135 Remains from the fourth century are sparse, the most important of which is a fragment of a mosaic.{{cn |date=May 2023}}

The monastery was built in the eleventh century, during the reign of King Bagrat IV by the Georgian monk Prochorus the Iberian.

The remains of the Crusader-period monastery forms a small part of the current complex, most of which has undergone restoration and rebuilding. The crusader section houses a church,{{dubious|Source? If the monastery is from the 11th century, that is pre-Crusader. Is the current church a later, 12th- or 13th-century one?|date=November 2021}} including a grotto where a window into the ground below allows viewing of the spot where, reputedly, the tree from which the cross was fashioned grew.{{cn|date=November 2021}}

Under Sultan Baybars (1260–77) the monks were executed after being accused of being spies for the Ilkhanate Mongols, who had recently destroyed Baghdad. In 1305, an ambassador of the King of Georgia, supported by Andronikos II, to Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad achieved repossession of the monastery.Moudjir ed-dyn, 1876, pp. [https://archive.org/details/histoiredejrus00ulayuoft/page/173/mode/1up 173]-174Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA34 34]

In the early 1480s Felix Fabri described it: "...we came to fair church, adjoining which is a small monastery, wherein dwell Georgian monks with their wives. When we entered into the church, we were led up to the high altar, which is said to stand on the very spot where grew the tree of the holy cross."Fabri, 1893, pp. [https://archive.org/details/libraryofpalesti09paleuoft/page/1/mode/1up 1]-2

File:Monastery of the Cross (Jerusalem).jpg

In the early 1600s, Franciscus Quaresmius described it as: "beautiful and spacious, paved with mosaic work and embellished with various Greek pictures. Moreover, the monastery is now indeed large, fortified and commodious; but formerly it was much larger, as its ruins demonstrate."Quaresmius, 1639, vol 2, p. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CrAKMPCOumwC/page/n735/mode/1up 712]. As translated in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA35 35]

Due to heavy debt, the Georgians sold the monastery to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Dositheos II in 1685.Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA35 35][http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/georgia-s-new-ambassador-to-israel-bears-a-heavy-cross-1.422488 Georgia's new ambassador to Israel bears a heavy cross], Haaretz It is currently occupied by monks of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

In 1697 Henry Maundrell noted: "a Convent of the Greeks, taking its name from the holy Cross. This convent is very neat in its structure, and in its situation delightful. But that which most deserves to be noted in it, is the reason for its name, and foundation. It is because here is the Earth, that nourished the Root, that bore the Tree, that yielded the Timber that made the Cross. Under the high Altar you are shown a hole in the ground where the stump of the Tree stood, [..]

After our return, we were invited into the Convent, to have our feet washed. A ceremony performed to each Pilgrim by the Father Guardian himself. The whole society stands round singing some Latin Hymns, and when he has done, every Fryar comes in order, and kisses the feet of the Pilgrim: all this was performed with great order, and solemnity."Maundrell, 1703, pp. [https://archive.org/details/gri_journeyfroma00maun/page/n121/mode/1up 92]-93

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Georgian inscriptions were painted over and replaced by Greek ones. In a 1901 photograph showing the mural of the Council of Archangels, Georgian inscriptions are visible, but 1960 photographs{{clarify |reason=1960 is not "1970s and 1980s". Is it known when it happened? Sometime between 1901 and 1960?|date=November 2021}} show that the inscriptions had been changed to Greek; after cleaning the paintings the Georgian inscriptions emerged again. The same happened in the case of the Christ Anapeson, the "reclining Jesus".{{cite web |title= Christ Anapeson |work= The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |publisher= Oxford University Press |date= 1991 |editor= Alexander P. Kazhdan |url= http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001/acref-9780195046526-e-1050 |access-date=2014-11-21 }}{{subscription required}}{{clarify |reason=Source is now behind a paywall and impossible to verify. A) It probably only explains the term "Christ Anapeson", which would leave the entire paragraph about vandalism fully unsourced. B) The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is unlikely to diverge into issues of recent Greek anti-Georgian vandalism. If it does show the 1901 photo, this would raise the issue of original research by the Wiki editor (compared photos and wrote comment).|date=November 2021}} In many places (e.g. near the figures of St. Luke and St. Prochore) the outline of Georgian letters are clearly visible under the recently added Greek inscriptions.{{clarify |reason=What now, have the painted-over inscriptions been restored, or not? Only partially? Vandalised a second time? Source!|date=November 2021}}{{cn |date=November 2021}}

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In June 2004, shortly before a visit by the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to Israel, a fresco of the legendary Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli on a column inside the church was defaced by unknown individuals. It is the only extant medieval portrait of Rustaveli. The face and part of the accompanying inscription were scratched out. Georgia officially complained to Israel after the incident.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3867845.stm Precious Jerusalem fresco defaced], 5 July 2004, BBCLily Galili, "[https://archive.today/20191218213209/https://www.haaretz.com/1.4749449 Defaced Fresco of Georgian Hero Clouds Diplomatic Ties]", Haaretz – 05/07/2004. The fresco was restored by Israeli specialists, based on good existing documentation.

The monastery has been the target of repeated acts of vandalism. On February 7, 2012, suspected Jewish extremists spray painted graffiti calling for "death to Christians" in what is described as price tag attack.{{Cite news |last=Abdalla |first=Jihan |date=2015-07-16 |title=The price of vandalism |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-price-of-vandalism-409226 |access-date=2023-03-05}} On December 12, 2012, the Jewish settler hate group defaced the monastery yet again along with desecration of an Armenian cemetery.{{Cite news |date=2012-12-21 |title=Jerusalem Latin patriarch 'dismayed' at holy site attacks |work=The Weekend Australian |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/jerusalem-latin-patriarch-dismayed-at-holy-site-attacks/news-story/0bcc6f8381c9909210e9e27918de11be |access-date=2023-03-05}}File:Memorial Monument for Shota Rustaveli near Monastery of the Cross - Jerusalem (2023).jpg

The fortified monastery comprises a church and living quarters. The church contains ancient murals and inside a side chapel one can see a hole in the ground where, according to tradition, the tree once grew from which the Holy Cross was fashioned.

The library houses many Georgian manuscripts.

Visitors can also access a museum and gift shop.

• Nikoloz Cholokashvili (1585–1658), Georgian Orthodox priest, politician and diplomat. Archimandrite of the monastery between 1645-49.
• Religious significance of Jerusalem

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last=Clermont-Ganneau|first=C.S. |author-link=Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau|title=[ARP] Archaeological Researches in Palestine 1873-1874, translated from the French by J. McFarlane|url=http://www.archive.org/details/archaeologicalre01cler|volume=1|year=1899|publisher=Palestine Exploration Fund|location=London}} (p. [https://archive.org/details/archaeologicalre01cler/page/330/mode/1up 330])
• {{cite book|last=Fabri|first=F.|author-link=Felix Fabri|year=1893|url=https://archive.org/details/libraryofpalesti09paleuoft |title= Felix Fabri (circa 1480–1483 A.D.) vol II, part I| publisher= Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society}}
• {{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongog01gu|volume=1: Judee, pt. 1|year=1868|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} (pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog01gu#page/77/mode/1up 77]-82)
• {{cite book|last= Maundrell|first=H.|author-link=Henry Maundrell |title= A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem: At Easter, A. D. 1697 |url=https://archive.org/details/gri_journeyfroma00maun |year=1703 |publisher=Printed at the Theatre |location=Oxford}}
• {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/histoiredejrus00ulayuoft|title=Histoire de Jérusalem et d'Hébron depuis Abraham jusqu'à la fin du XVe siècle de J.-C. : fragments de la Chronique de Moudjir-ed-dyn|year=1876|author=Moudjir ed-dyn|author-link= Mujir al-Din|editor=Sauvaire}}
• {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E. H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}}
• {{cite book|last=Pococke|first=R.|author-link=Richard Pococke|year=1745|url=https://archive.org/details/gri_33125009339611 |title=A description of the East, and some other countries|volume=2|location=London |publisher=Printed for the author, by W. Bowyer}} (p. [https://archive.org/details/gri_33125009339611/page/n78/mode/1up 47])
• {{cite book|title= The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: L-Z (exluding Tyre)| volume =II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC|first=D.|last=Pringle|author-link=Denys Pringle|year=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-39037-0}} (pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA33 33]- [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA40 40])
• {{cite book|last=Quaresmius |first=F. |author-link=Franciscus Quaresmius |year=1639 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CrAKMPCOumwC |title=Historica theologica et moralis Terrae Sanctae elucidatio in qua pleraque ad veterem & praesentem eiusdem terrae statum spectantia accuratè explicantur, varij errores refelluntur, veritas fideliter exacteque discutitur ac comprobatur. ... Auctore Fr. Francisco Quaresmio Laudensi, ordinis Minorum theologo, ... Tomus 1.|volume=2}}
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=2}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n112/mode/1up 90], [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n345/mode/1up 323])
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}} (p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/123/mode/1up 123])
• {{cite book|last=Vogüé, de |first=M. |author-link=Melchior de Vogüé |year=1860 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Up4aAAAAYAAJ |title= Les églises de la Terre Sainte}}(p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Up4aAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA340 340])
• {{cite book|last1=Warren|first1=C.|author-link1=Charles Warren|last2=Conder|first2=C.R.|author-link2=Claude Reignier Conder |year=1884|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00warruoft |title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Jerusalem |location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund }} (p. [https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00warruoft/page/379/mode/1up 379])

{{Refend}}

• [https://biblewalks.com/sites/CrossMonastery.html Monastery of the Cross], biblewalks
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: [https://web.archive.org/web/20181103051759/http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8379 IAA], Wikimedia commons

{{Georgian churches}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Christian monasteries in Jerusalem

Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1060s

Category:Georgian Orthodox monasteries

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Category:Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Israel

Category:Greek Orthodoxy in Israel

Category:Georgian diaspora in Israel