House of Virgin Mary
HOUSE
OF VIRGIN MARY
The resolutions
of the council of 431 held that the Virgin Mary came to Ephesos. According to
them, she came here together with Saint John, four to six years after the death
of Christ. After the proclamation of Pope Paul VI in 1967, Pope John Paul II
came to Ephesos and declared the House of Mary to be a place of pilgrimage for
Christians. The house on the top of Bülbüldağ is believed to be the last home
of the Virgin Mary. It is a world-famous place of pilgrimage. The structure
is a church that dates to the seventh century, and was restored in 1951. The
church was supposedly built on top of the house in which the Virgin Mary lived.
The structure is cruciform, and has a domed roof. The nave and its apse are
accessible from the vestibule. The House of Mary is a place of pilgrimage not
only for Christians, but also for Muslims. Muslims use the room to the south,
which is believed to be the bedroom of the Virgin Mary, as a prayer chapel.
Translations of the Quranic suras that mention Mary are on display here. After
the proclamation of Pope Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II came here in 1979 and
declared the House of Mary to be a place of pilgrimage for Christians. The resolutions
of the council of 431 held that the Virgin Mary came to Ephesos. According to
them, she came here together with Saint John, four to six years after the death
of Christ. Excavations in this area uncovered architectural components from
the fırst to seventh centuries. The first major Church of Mary and the tomb
of Saint John on Ayasuluk could be evidence of the resolutions of the council.
This house, where the Virgin Mary is supposed to have lived during her last
days, and to have died with Johanna at her side, is situated 7 km south of the
antique city of Ephesus in İzmir.
The German Nun Katharina Emmerich (1774-1824) described the surroundings of
the house from a dream she had. Lazarist monks in İzmir set out in 1891 to find
the house based on sister Emmerich's description. They found the remains and
built a chapel here. Pope John XXIII declared it a pilgrimage site in 1961.