Garden of Gethsemane

Gethsemane (Greek) ΓεΘσημανἰ, Gethsēmani Hebrew גת שמנים, Aramaic :גת שמני, Gath-Šmânê, Assyrian ܓܕܣܡܢ, Gat Šmānê, lit. "oil press") is a garden at the foot of theMount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.

Etymology

Gethsemane appears in the Greek of theGospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark as Γεθσημανἱ (Gethsēmani). The name is derived from the Assyrianܓܕܣܡܢ (Gaṯ-Šmānê), meaning "oil press". Matthew (26:36) and Mark (14:32) call it χωρἰον (18:1), a place or estate. The Gospel of John says Jesus entered a garden (κῆπος) with his disciples.

Location

While tradition locates Gethsemane on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives, the exact spot remains unknown. According to the New Testament 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 12191. Nearby is the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene with its golden, onion-shaped domes Russian Tsar Alexander III in memory of his mother. (Byzantine/Russian style), built by