St. James Cathedral (Jerusalem)

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View into the cathedral
Map of the Armenian Quarter with the Cathedral

The St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem is the cathedral of the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem . It is located in the Armenian quarter of the old town . The seat of the patriarch and numerous other institutions of the Armenian patriarchate are located in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral.

A first building was destroyed when the Persians invaded in 614. The current three-aisled dome structure essentially dates from the 12th century. The porch was added in the 17th century. The vaults are decorated with decorative khachkars ("cross stones").

St. James' Cathedral with central dome and eastern lantern on the paved courtyard (bottom right in the photo), aerial photo 1931

The church is dedicated to the Apostle James the Elder and Saint James the Righteous . According to tradition, Herod Agrippa I had the apostle executed by the sword here ( Acts 12.2  EU ) and Mary was sitting here when the apostle's head was brought to her. The skull relic is in the church, the other relics of St. James are, according to tradition, in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela . The relics of James the Righteous, who is called the Lord's brother in the Bible and who was the first bishop of the early Jerusalem community, are also in the church. The relics were initially under one of the two ornate thrones in front of the main altar, later they were brought under the main altar.

See also

literature

  • Denys Pringle: The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. A Corpus , Vol. 3: The City of Jerusalem, Cambridge 2010, pp. 168-182.

Web links

Commons : Church of St. James (Jerusalem)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 31 ° 46 ′ 28.4 "  N , 35 ° 13 ′ 44"  E