Jerusalem Pilgrimage

Jerusalem is a great place for Christian pilgrimage. Christians believe that Jesus visited Jerusalem at Passover time and spent the week leading up to his death here. Christian pilgrims visit Jerusalem to remember key events in Jesus’ final week, known as the Holy Week. Here is a list of places that are great for Christian pilgrimage in Jerusalem.

The Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus underwent agony and was arrested

The Garden of Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested the night before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resonance in Christianity. There are several small olive groves in church property, all adjacent to each other and identified with biblical Gethsemane. Christians visit here for contemplation and prayer.

Via Dolorosa, the route where Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Sorrowful Way”, often translated “Way of Suffering”) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, believed to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. The winding route from the former Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — a distance of about 600 metres (2,000 feet) — is a celebrated place of Christian pilgrimage. The current route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions. It is today marked by nine Stations of the Cross; there have been fourteen stations since the late 15th century, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church contains, according to traditions dating back to at least the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus was crucified, at a place known as Calvary or Golgotha, and Jesus’s empty tomb, where he was buried and resurrected.
Within the church proper are the last four (or, by some definitions, five) stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of the Passion of Jesus. The church has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination since its creation in the fourth century, as the traditional site of the resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of the Anastasis (‘Resurrection’).
Today, the wider complex around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre also serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, while control of the church itself is shared among several Christian denominations and secular entities in complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for over 160 years, and some for much longer. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic, and to a lesser degree the Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox.

Jerusalem Old City and the Western Wall

The Old City, located at the modern city of Jerusalem has been traditionally divided into four quarters: Jews, Armenians, Christians, and Muslims. The city is surrounded by defensive walls (Western Wall) and city gates that encloses the popular sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Dome of the Rock and Temple Mount. This place was also added into the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981. People visit the Western Wall plaza and pray at the base of the huge wall, slipping papers containing heartfelt petitions between the crevices. Surrounding this wall are the Western Wall Tunnels, the Jewish quarter with the Cardo, David’s Citadel and Davidson Center.

Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City. It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The southern part of the Mount was the Silwan necropolis, attributed to the ancient Judean kingdom. The mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves, making it central in the tradition of Jewish cemeteries. Several key events in the life of Jesus, as related in the Gospels, took place on the Mount of Olives, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven. Because of its association with both Jesus and Mary, the mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and is today a major site of pilgrimage for Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants.

Temple Mount

Temple Mount is the symbol of Jerusalem and the most popular place to visit amongst tourists. Temple Mount is an important shrine for both Christians, Muslims, and Jews. It is the holiest site in Judaism, which regards it as the place where God’s divine presence is manifested more than in any other place, and is the place Jews turn towards during prayer. Due to its extreme sanctity, many Jews will not walk on the Mount itself, to avoid unintentionally entering the area where the Holy of Holies stood, since according to Rabbinical law, some aspect of the divine presence is still present at the site. It was from the Holy of Holies that the High Priest communicated directly with God. The Temple was of central importance in Jewish worship in the Tanakh (Old Testament). In the New Testament, Herod’s Temple was the site of several events in the life of Jesus, and Christian loyalty to the site as a focal point remained long after his death. Temple Mount is visible from far away with its most notable building – the Dome of the Rock. The large octagonal blue building with the huge golden dome on the top was built above the place considered to connect the Earth and Heaven. Under the dome lies the Foundation stone, considered a shrine by both Muslims and Jews.

Chapel of the Ascension, where Jesus ascended into Heaven after His Resurrection

The Chapel of the Ascension is a shrine located on the Mount of Olives, in the At-Tur district of Jerusalem. Part of a larger complex consisting first of a Christian church and monastery, then an Islamic mosque, it is located on a site the faithful traditionally believed to be the earthly spot where Jesus ascended into Heaven after His Resurrection. It houses a slab of stone believed to contain one of His footprints. The Status Quo, a 250-year-old understanding between religious communities, applies to the site.

The Garden Tomb, alternative site where Jesus was buried and resurrected

The Garden Tomb is a rock-cut tomb in Jerusalem, which was unearthed in 1867 and is considered by some Protestants to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. The tomb has been dated by Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay to the 8th–7th centuries BC. The re-use of old tombs was not an uncommon practice in ancient times, but this would contradict the biblical text that speaks of a new, not reused, tomb made for himself by Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60, John 19:41). Also, the trough in front of the tomb and the nearby cistern, described by proponents of the Garden Tomb as part of the tomb’s sealing system and as the surrounding garden’s source of water, respectively, have both been archaeologically dated to the Crusader period (12th-13th century). The organisation maintaining the Garden Tomb refrains from claiming that this is the authentic tomb of Jesus, while pointing out the similarities with the site described in the Bible, and the fact that the Garden Tomb better preserves its ancient outlook than the more traditional, but architecturally altered and time-damaged tomb from the mostly crowded Church of the Holy Sepulchre; for all of these reasons, they suggest that the Garden Tomb is more evocative of the events described in the Gospels.

Christian Pilgrimage in Jerusalem

The belief that Jesus died and was raised from the dead is a very important belief for Christians. Christians believe that this sacrifice enables all Christians to have a relationship with God. Many Christians believe that undertaking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem can bring them closer to the experience of Jesus as he approached his death. Christians believe that this will help them to develop spiritually and become closer to God.

Looking for Christian tours to the Holy Land?

We are a Christian tour agency based in Malaysia, offering various tour packages to places like Israel, Petra, Jordan, and Egypt, all customized to your preferred destinations. Follow the footsteps of Jesus and let the Bible come to life from the hills of the Galilee to the alleys of Jerusalem. Visit places like the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, and more. In Petra, explore the Roman theatre, the Corinthian Tomb, and Palace Tomb unto the Roman Road. See the great Pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure in Egypt. View the great Sphinx and visit Old Cairo churches including St. Sergio, the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra synagogue. Let’s experience the Holy Land in a deep, meaningful, and fun way.

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