The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-11-10

building called by that name which
now occupies the site.
Zahn, too, is of the opinion that the
Dormitio must have been in Jerusa-
lem, for he holds that all the accounts
in Acts points to the residence of John
and the other Apostles ut Jerusalem
until the year A.
Summing up the evidence, it seems
certain that John and the Virgin lived
in Jerusalem until A or As, and this
Pwill account for the postponement of
his activity for so many years, and his
succeeding Timothy as Bishop of
Ephesus ut the death of Paul. 1t was
due to his care of the Virgin that he
waited until after her death to begin
his missionary labors And, besides,
human nature supports the tradition
that Mary did not leave Jerusalem Mt
her advanced age to go to distant
Ephesus, for it was natural that she
should wish to remain in and around
the scenes dear to her.
According to generally received ira
dition, the house of the Apostle John
was on Mount Zion, near the house in
which the Last Supper was held.
There was the first Christian church,
and the tradition of this first Zion
Church is an unbroken one, running
back to the first century. The con-
fusion between the Coenaculum and
DOrmitiO is no earlier than the year
1858, when it was stated that the place
in which the Virgin died is not to be
separated from the Coenaculum, but
this is an error, for the Coenaculum
and Dormitio are not identical, as can
be shown from numerous ancient maps
where they are set down as separate
and distinct.
The Zion Church to which the pill
grim ascends from Siloa is none other
than the ancient Church af the Apos-
ties, the sanctuary of the COenaculun.
The absolute identity of the site of the
ancient church of the Apostle with
that of Zion, the mother of all
churches" of the fourth century, as
well as Of all later churches, is GER
tainly beyond any doubt. But the
DormitiO and COenaculum are two
different places.
Their is no earlier tradition OF the
Virgin having died anywhere else than
in Jerusalem, and the Acts as tradi-
ton point to her having lived with
John and died in his house in Jerusa-
lem ut about sixty years of age. This
being accepted as true. it ought not
to be difficult to decide the exact loca-
ton of this sacred spot.
Judging from the fact that Peter
sought her after his release from
prison and found her when going to
the Coenaculum, it seems clear that
Johns house was near the famous
building. There was but one church
in Jerusalem until after the rise of
Constantine, and that was the Zion
Church OH the site of the Coenaculum,
so it is impossible to find any trace Of
Johns house having been consecrated
into a church until a later date.
In the seventh century, however,
when Bishop Arculfus of Prigueux
tried to identify the sacred sites he
found that there was a distinct tradi-
tion as to separate places of the Last
Supper and the Dormitio. This is ev-
ident from his map.
The Venerable Bede, who gathered
the traditions concerning the holy
places in 72O, has left a plan of the
Zion church showing the place at
which the irgin died in most realistic
fashion.
In the twelfth century we have even
plans and pictures Of the different
churches of the Coenaculum and the
st. Mary's, showing the distinction
made between them.
a quaint plan of the sites in ques-
ton drawn by NIarno Sanuto 131O
shows the house of Caiaphas, the Coe-
naculum and home of Mary, and in
another map of 1850 the two sites are
distinctly shown.
1t seems evident, from this investi-
cation that the site of the house in
which the Virgin lived was near the
Coenaculum, and possibly was the
very site which has~been transferred
to the German Catholics through the
Kaiser. 1t Is interesting to know that
the Sultan has so much reverence for
Christian traditions as to place the
sacred sites in the hands of the faith
full.
ADnYym nTYr nrrrI~1~vrn