The Upper Room
Traditionally, the Upper Room or the Cenacle (Latin cenaculum for “dinner”) is the site of both the Last Supper and the place of assembly of disciples of Jesus on the Pentecost day. The building was spared during the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus (AD 70) and became the site of the first Christian church. It was later destroyed by Persian invaders and rebuilt by a monk called Modestus. During the Crusades, the building was razed to the ground by Muslims and replaced by the Crusaders with a basilica. Franciscan monks cared for the Cenacle 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. Following a visit by Pope John Paul II, the Israeli government arranged for its ownership to be transferred to the Catholic Church in return for a church in Toledo, Spain which had originally been a synagogue.[citation needed]
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 structur
Some Christians believe it lies in the second floor of a building on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, just outside the Dormition Church behind the Franciscan house on Sion, and south of the Zion Gate in the Old City walls. In the basement of the building is what is supposed by Jewish leaders as King David's Tomb, although the Bible says David was buried in the city of David, which is south of Mount Moriah.
If the above assumptions are true, one striking fact is that the last discourse of Jesus in the Gospel of John in which he promises the Holy Spirit was done in the Upper Room. This promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled in the same place where it was promised. What a coincidence – or is it an indication the Lord fulfills his promises at the same place where it was made?
(Can you see in the background a vine with fruits? Remember the last discourse, John 15, I am the vine and you are the branches.)
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. Following a visit by Pope John Paul II, the Israeli government arranged for its ownership to be transferred to the Catholic Church in return for a church in Toledo, Spain which had originally been a synagogue.[citation needed]
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 structur
Some Christians believe it lies in the second floor of a building on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, just outside the Dormition Church behind the Franciscan house on Sion, and south of the Zion Gate in the Old City walls. In the basement of the building is what is supposed by Jewish leaders as King David's Tomb, although the Bible says David was buried in the city of David, which is south of Mount Moriah.
If the above assumptions are true, one striking fact is that the last discourse of Jesus in the Gospel of John in which he promises the Holy Spirit was done in the Upper Room. This promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled in the same place where it was promised. What a coincidence – or is it an indication the Lord fulfills his promises at the same place where it was made?
(Can you see in the background a vine with fruits? Remember the last discourse, John 15, I am the vine and you are the branches.)
