First Recorded Pilgrimage to the Garden of Gethsemane
Apr 1st, 2010 by admin
The name Gethsemane is derived from Greek and Assyrian roots and means “oil press.” Matthew (26:36) and Mark (14:32) call it a place or estate. The Gospel of John says Jesus entered a garden with his disciples.
Agony in the Garden - Andrea Mantegna
While the exact spot remains unknown, tradition locates it on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives. It was a place that Jesus and his disciples customarily visited, which allowed Judas to find him on the night of his arrest. Overlooking the garden is the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony, built on the site of a church destroyed by the Sassanids in 614, and a Crusader church destroyed in 1219. Nearby is the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene with its golden, onion-shaped domes in the Byzantine Russian style, built by the Russian Tsar Alexander III in memory of his mother.
The Garden of Gethsemane became a destination site for early Christian pilgrims. It was visited in 333 by the anonymous “Pilgrim of Bordeaux,” whose Itinerarium Burdigalense is the earliest description left by a Christian traveler in the Holy Land. In his Onomasticon, Eusebius of Caesarea he notes the site of Gethsemane located “at the foot of the Mount of Olives,” and he adds that “the faithful were accustomed to go there to pray.” Ancient olive trees growing in the garden are said to be 900 years old. [from Wikipedia]
It is generally assumed that the author was a native of Bordeaux (France), because the itinerary starts from there.
For maps, itinerary, descriptions and links to copies of the actual “simple and lean” Latin text, visit the following site: