House of the Virgin Mary

Exterior of the restored house now serving as a chapel

The House of the Virgin Mary (Turkish: Meryemana or Meryem Ana (Mother Mary's) Evi (House)) is a Christian and Muslim shrine located on Mt. Koressos (Turkish: Bülbüldağı (Mountain of Nightingale)) in the vicinity of Ephesus, Turkey (7 km from Selçuk).

It is believed by many Christians and Muslims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John, after what Christians believe to be the crucifixion of Jesus and Muslims believe the rise of Jesus to heaven, and lived there until her Assumption into Heaven according to Catholics and Dormition according to the Orthodox.

Discovery

On October 18th, 1881, a French priest, the Abbé Julien Gouyet of Paris, discovered a small stone building on a mountain overlooking the Aegean Sea and the ruins of ancient Ephesus in Turkey. He believed it was the house where the Virgin Mary had lived in the final years of her life on earth as described in the visions of the German nun Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824), who had never been to Ephesus during her lifetime, published in detail in a book by Clemens Brentano. His discovery was not taken seriously at the time but ten years later, in 1891, two Lazarist missionaries from İzmir rediscovered the building, using the same source for a guide. It was then learned that the four-walled, roofless ruin had been venerated from time immemorial by the members of a distant mountain village (then called Kirkince but now Şirince) who were descended from the Christians of Ephesus. They called it Panaya Kapulu (Chapel of the Most Holy), believed it was there that She had died and had every year made a pilgrimage to it on August 15th, the date on which the rest of the Christian world celebrated Mary's Assumption from Jerusalem.

The discovery in fact revives and strengthens a constant and ancient Christian tradition, 'the tradition of Ephesus', which has always competed with and confuted the generally accepted 'Jerusalem tradition' concerning in particular, the place of the Blessed Virgin's passing from this world.

The chapel. Note the red line separating the restored part from the original remnants

Archaeology

The remnants of the discovered structure have been dated to 6th - 7th centuries, with parts of the foundation and coal found on the site dated to the 1st century. The current chapel at the site is the result of a restoration work completed in 1950, built on top of original remains, for making the site suitable for pilgrimage after it has been declared an official Catholic pilgrimage site. The restored part of the chapel is distinguished from the original remnants of the structure by a line running in between, painted in red.

Authenticity

The Roman Church has never pronounced on the authenticity of the house, and is unlikely ever to do so, for lack of scientifically acceptable evidence. It has, however, from the blessing of the first pilgrimage by Pope Leo XIII in 1896, taken a very positive attitude towards the probability that the house was in fact the last home of the Theotokos (Mother of God). Pope Pius XII, in 1951, following the definition of the dogma of the Assumption in 1950, elevated the house to the status of a Holy Place, a privilege later made permanent by Pope John XXIII.

It maintains its holiness for the Muslims as well as for the Christian world. People believing in the sanctity of the Virgin Mary come here and drink from the spring running under the house which is believed to have healing properties. A liturgical ceremony is held here every year on August 15, to commemorate Virgin Mary and her passage into Heaven.

Some sources express doubt about the association of this site in Ephesus with Virgin Mary, like Georges Henri Tavard, stating that "the tradition of Mary's residence in this city of Asia Minor arose only in the twelfth century. The universal tradition among the Fathers of the Church places her residence, and thereby the locus of her Dormition when one begins to speak of it, in Jerusalem".

Pilgrims drinking from the spring believed to be sacred

The supporters of the belief that Virgin Mary lived her last years and died in her hut near Ephesus base their theory on two main points:

1. The presence of the Tomb of St. John and St. John's Basilica in Ephesus: Jesus Christ, before dying on the cross, entrusted to St. John his mother (John 19:26-27). It is believed that after the crucifixion of Jesus, St. John left Jerusalem and came to Ephesus, one of the biggest and safest cities of its time (capital of the Asia Minor province of the Roman Empire), and built a small hut for Virgin Mary just outside Ephesus in order to protect her from the non-Christian community of Ephesus.
2. The presence of Church of Mary, the first basilica of the world dedicated to Virgin Mary, in Ephesus: In the early centuries of Christianity, places of worship were dedicated only to persons who lived or died in the locality.

Official visits by Popes

Pope Paul VI visited the shrine on July 26, 1967, and 'unofficially' confirmed its authenticity. Pope John Paul II also visited the shrine, on November 30, 1979. Pope Benedict XVI visited this shrine on November 29, 2006 during his four-day pastoral trip to Turkey.

See also

• Church of Mary
• Ephesus
• Islamic view of Virgin Mary

External links

• All About Ephesus Region
• House of the Virgin, guide with map and pictures of the site
• House of Virgin Mary
• The House of Virgin Mary in 3D Virtual Reality, 3D view of the interior

37°54′41.84″N 27°20′2.50″E