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Today we are visiting the Russian Orthodox Convent and Church of St. Mary Magdalene at the Mount of Olives here in Jerusalem.

Mary Magdalene, was one of the followers of Jesus. She attended both the crucifixion and the burial and was the first to discover the empty tomb, the first to meet Jesus after the resurrection and the first to inform his disciples of such

The structure of the church of Mary Magdalene Jerusalem reminds its visitors of Mother Russia or more precisely the Kremlin complex in Moscow. The Church has seven Onion shaped domes, each crowned by a tall gilded Russian orthodox cross. Above the entrance, there is a gabled roof with a circular blue mosaic framed in Gold depicting Mary Magdalene piously robed in white.

On the main wall we find a painted canvas that depicts Mary Magdalene handing an egg to the Emperor Tiberius. A cording to the legend Mary traveled to Rom to complain about Jesus unfair trial and sentence. She brought with her a white egg symbolizing Jesus pure soul. However, when she handed the egg to Tiberius the egg turned red, thus becoming a living symbol of Jesus' blood and resurrection. Quite possible that this is the source for the Easter tradition of dying eggs in red.
The most sacred item in this church, in a specially carved wooden iconcase, is the miracleworking icon of the Mother of God 'HODIGITRIA'. This icon came from a church in Lebanon back in the 16th century when it miraculously survived a fire that consumed the church. Later it healed many people during a cholera epidemic. To this day believers receive miraculous help from the Mother of God after praying before her holy icon.
Here in the marble sarcophagi, are the remains of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England and the wife of the Grand Dukes Sergei who initiate the construction of this church during the 19th century.

The church stands in the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus spent His last night on earth. Also found on the convent grounds are the remnants of a preRoman road, the biblical entry to Jerusalem through which Jesus walked on during his procession into Jerusalem. Not far from this road is a large stone on to which the Mother of God dropped her cincture to Apostle Thomas on the third day following her Dormition.

There are many caves in the Garden of Gethsemane which the Church tells us were used by Christ and his Disciples for prayer. One large cave in the grounds of the convent is used as a chapel, where the sisters meet to read their evening prayer rule.