Monastery of the Cross
The Cross Monastery ( Deir el- Arab Musalliba ) is a powerful, fortress-like church buildings in Jerusalem. It is located southeast of the Knesset and east of the Israel Museum. Here, the tree should have been, from whose wood was the cross of Christ.
Legend
According to legend, solder, after he had separated from his two daughters, settled here and have planted the tree, which was later used to cross of Jesus.
History
At the foundation of the monastery there are two different traditions: either has ( according to Greek Orthodox tradition ) Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine founded the monastery at its Palestine visit, or the grounds of the Emperor Constantine to Mirian III was the first Christian king of Georgia., passed and this built a first church.
From 1039 to 1056 was built by King Bagrat of Georgia on the ruins of a church from the 5th century, the present monastery. In the period following parts of the monastery were destroyed several times and rebuilt. 1685 the monastery was sold as a result of the decreasing number of Georgian monks at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Numerous Georgian manuscripts are still kept in the Patriarchate library and can be visited on weekdays.
Description
The monastery is a fortress-like building, which is surrounded by high medieval walls. Behind it is a large property with buildings that are decorated with arches, stairways and terraces. The church tower is baroque, the church itself dates back to the 12th century. The shiny silver dome of the monastery church dates from the Crusader period and contains ancient frescoes and mosaics. The church is entered by a narthex, from which one enters the nave. Above the altar rests a dome on four pillars in the chancel there is also a silver ring, which marks the place of the tree. The pillars and walls are decorated with frescoes from the 12th and 17th centuries and tell biblical motifs in addition to the legend of the tree from which the wood is to come for the cross of Jesus.
In the 13th century the Georgian national poet Shota Rustaveli lived ( Shota Rustaveli ) in the monastery - the author of the Georgian national epic " The warrior (or knight ) in the Tiger Skin ". His remains rest in the Church, it remembers also a fresco as a kneeling figure at the feet of Maximos the Confessor ( Georgian national saint ) and St. John of Damascus. Remnants of the bottom of the original church from the 5th century are also still visible.