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The '''Cenacle''' (from [[Latin]] ''cenaculum''), also known as the '''"Upper Room"''', is the term used for the site of [[Last Supper|The Last Supper]]. The word is a derivative of the Latin word ''cena'', which means ''[[dinner]]''.
The '''Cenacle''' (from [[Latin]] ''cenaculum''), also known as the '''"Upper Room"''', is the term used for the site of [[Last Supper|The Last Supper]]. The word is a derivative of the Latin word ''cena'', which means ''[[dinner]]''.


In [[Christian]] tradition, based on [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|1:13}}, the ''"Upper Room"'' (i.e. the Cenacle) was not only the site of the Last Supper, but the usual place where the [[Apostle (Christian)|Apostle]]s stayed in [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]], and according to the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08355a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Jerusalem (A.D. 71-1099)]: "During the first Christian centuries the church at this place was the centre of Christianity in Jerusalem, "Holy and glorious Sion, mother of all churches" (Intercession in "[[Liturgy of St. James|St. James' Liturgy]]", ed. Brightman, p. 54). Certainly no spot in Christendom can be more venerable than the place of the Last Supper, which became the first Christian church."</ref>: "the first Christian church". Thus the Cenacle is considered the site where many other events described in the [[New Testament]] took place<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pope/10GPen/12/12GPsh05.html|publisher=Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land|title=The Cenacle|accessdate=20 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Christian+Themes/Details/The+Coenaculum+++chr.htm|work=www.goisrael.com|publisher=Israel Ministry of Tourism|title=The Coenaculum|accessdate=20 June 2009}}</ref>, such as:
In [[Christian]] tradition, based on [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|1:13|NAB}}, the ''"Upper Room"'' (i.e. the Cenacle) was not only the site of the Last Supper, but the usual place where the [[Apostle (Christian)|Apostle]]s stayed in [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]], and according to the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08355a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Jerusalem (A.D. 71-1099)]: "During the first Christian centuries the church at this place was the centre of Christianity in Jerusalem, "Holy and glorious Sion, mother of all churches" (Intercession in "[[Liturgy of St. James|St. James' Liturgy]]", ed. Brightman, p. 54). Certainly no spot in Christendom can be more venerable than the place of the Last Supper, which became the first Christian church."</ref>: "the first Christian church". Thus the Cenacle is considered the site where many other events described in the [[New Testament]] took place<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/pope/10GPen/12/12GPsh05.html|publisher=Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land|title=The Cenacle|accessdate=20 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Christian+Themes/Details/The+Coenaculum+++chr.htm|work=www.goisrael.com|publisher=Israel Ministry of Tourism|title=The Coenaculum|accessdate=20 June 2009}}</ref>, such as:
* the [[Washing of the Feet]] ([[Gospel of John|John]] {{bibleverse-nb||John|13:4-11}})
* the [[Washing of the Feet]] ([[Gospel of John|John]] {{bibleverse-nb||John|13:4-11}})
* some [[resurrection appearances of Jesus]] ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|16:14}}, [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] {{bibleverse-nb||Luke|24:33}}, {{bibleverse||John|20:19}})
* some [[resurrection appearances of Jesus]] ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|16:14}}, [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] {{bibleverse-nb||Luke|24:33}}, {{bibleverse||John|20:19}})

Revision as of 17:47, 22 September 2009

This article is about the location of the Last Supper. For the Parisian literary group, see Cénacle. For the improper noun, see cenacle.
A view of the "Cenacle" in the building on Mount Zion as it exists today, dated to the 14th century.

The Cenacle (from Latin cenaculum), also known as the "Upper Room", is the term used for the site of The Last Supper. The word is a derivative of the Latin word cena, which means dinner.

In Christian tradition, based on Acts 1:13, the "Upper Room" (i.e. the Cenacle) was not only the site of the Last Supper, but the usual place where the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem, and according to the Catholic Encyclopedia[1]: "the first Christian church". Thus the Cenacle is considered the site where many other events described in the New Testament took place[2][3], such as:

Traditional site

Traditionally, Christians have believed that the Cenacle lies in the upper floor of a building on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem; this building is now just outside the Dormition Church, behind the Franciscan house. The present room has gothic vaulting of the style particular to 14th century western France and Cyprus, and nothing visible has the claim to authenticity, even if the history of the site betrays an attachment to the place which is explicable only in terms of the importance the site had in the 1st-century.[4]: 304–305 

In the lower floor of the building is a stone sarcophagus, which a tradition, originating in the 12th century[5], claims to be the tomb of David (hence the sarcophagus is named King David's Tomb); the Bible itself says David was buried elsewhere - in the city of David[6], and the authenticity of the Mount Zion claim is disputed by archaeologists[7][8].

The old walls of the King David's Tomb, underneath the traditional Cenacle room, could belong to a pre-Byzantine assembly building marking the place where the original Upper Room once stood.[4]: 206–207 

History

A view of The Cenacle at it exists today.
A view of The Cenacle at it exists today.

According the archaeologist Bargil Pixner[9], during the centuries many different buildings were erected on the site:

  • The original building was a synagogue later probably used by Jewish Christians. The building was spared during the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus (AD 70)[10], and three walls are still extant: the North, East and South walls of the present King David's Tomb.
  • Roman emperor Theodosius I built an octagonal church (the "Theodosian Church" or "Holy Zion Church") aside the synagogue (that was named "Church of the Apostles"). The Theodosian Church, probably started on 382 AD, was consecrated by John II, Bishop of Jerusalem on 394 AD.
  • Some years later, c. 415 AD, Bishop John II enlarged the Holy Zion Church transforming it in a large rectangular basilica with five naves, always aside the Church of the Apostles. This building was later destroyed by Persian invaders in 614 AD and shortly after partially rebuilt by patriarch Modestus.
  • In 1009 AD the building was razed to the ground by the Muslim caliph Al-Hakim and shortly after replaced by the Crusaders with a three naves basilica entitled to "Saint Mary". This building for the first time included, preserving, the walls of the ancient Judeo-Christian synagogue. On the West side of the synagogue, without touching the East side (now the chambers of the King David's Tomb), the Crusaders built an upper room now known as "Cenacle" and still visited. The basilica was destroyed in 1219 by the Sultan of Damascus.

Franciscan monks cared for the Cenacle, restoring also the building with Gothic vaults, from 1333 to 1552 when the Turks captured Jerusalem and banished all Christians. After the Franciscan friars' eviction, this room was transformed into a mosque, as evidenced by the mihrab in the direction of Mecca and an Arabic inscription prohibiting public prayer at the site. Christians were not allowed to return until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Architecture

The Cenacle is divided by three pillars into three naves. The pillars and the arches, windows and other Gothic style architectural elements, a clear indication the room was built by the Crusaders in the early 13th century, on top of a much older structure. The older structure, according to the archaeological research, was the "church-synagogue" of the Early Christian community of Jerusalem.

Other sites

The Syriac Orthodox Church monastery of Saint Mark near the Armenian Quarter, in the Old City of Jerusalem, is sometime considered as alternative place for the cenacle.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Jerusalem (A.D. 71-1099): "During the first Christian centuries the church at this place was the centre of Christianity in Jerusalem, "Holy and glorious Sion, mother of all churches" (Intercession in "St. James' Liturgy", ed. Brightman, p. 54). Certainly no spot in Christendom can be more venerable than the place of the Last Supper, which became the first Christian church."
  2. ^ "The Cenacle". Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  3. ^ "The Coenaculum". www.goisrael.com. Israel Ministry of Tourism. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  4. ^ a b Bauckham, Richard (1995). The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting. ISBN 9780802847898.
  5. ^ the earliest recorded mention of the tradition is by Benjamin of Tuleda, who, writing in about 1173, reports that the tomb was recently discovered unexpectedly during repairs to the church
  6. ^ 1 Kings 2:9
  7. ^ Kathleen Kenyon, Archaeology in the Holy Land (1985), page 333
  8. ^ Hershel Shanks, Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 1995, page 64
  9. ^ Bargil Pixner, The Church of the Apostles found on Mount Zion, Biblical Archaeology Review 16.3 May/June 1990 [1]
  10. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Jerusalem (A.D. 71-1099): "Epiphanius (d. 403) says that when the Emperor Hadrian came to Jerusalem in 130 he found the Temple and the whole city destroyed save for a few houses, among them the one where the Apostles had received the Holy Ghost. This house, says Epiphanius, is "in that part of Sion which was spared when the city was destroyed" — therefore in the "upper part ("De mens. et pond.", cap. xiv). From the time of Cyril of Jerusalem, who speaks of "the upper Church of the Apostles, where the Holy Ghost came down upon them" (Catech., ii, 6; P.G., XXXIII), there are abundant witnesses of the place. A great basilica was built over the spot in the fourth century; the crusaders built another church when the older one had been destroyed by Hakim in 1010. It is the famous Coenaculum or Cenacle — now a Moslem shrine — near the Gate of David, and supposed to be David's tomb (Nebi Daud)."; Epiphanius' Weights and Measures at tertullian.org.14: "For this Hadrian..."
  11. ^ "Saint Mark's Syrian Orthodox Church". www.goisrael.com. Israel Ministry of Tourism. Retrieved 20 June 2009.

External links