When he had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. (John 18:1)
Located on the eastern slopes of Mount Zion...A very ancient flight of steps called the Maccabee Steps can be seen in the garden of the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. The steps were certainly in use at the time when the events narrated in the Gospels were taking place. Jesus probably descended on them the evening of his arrest, when He went to pray in Gethsemane.
- Christus Rex
Kidron Valley lies between the Old City of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. It is replete with impressive burial chambers built during the period of the First Temple. Absalom's Pillar, the Tomb of Saint James and the Tomb of Zacharias are the most notable.
On the other side of the Kidron facing the Mount of Olives rises also the area of Sion. Here, besides the Cenacle, one finds also the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. This was built in the 1930's by the Assumptionist Fathers, on the site of an ancient Byzantine basilica which, in turn, a tradition holds that it was built at the site of Caiaphas' house. Its name recalls the threefold denial of Peter, before the cock crew twice, as recounted in the Gospels.
A very ancient flight of steps called the Maccabee Steps can be seen in the garden of the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. The steps were certainly in use at the time when the events narrated in the Gospels were taking place. Jesus probably descended on them the evening of his arrest, when He went to pray in Gethsemane.
A Byzantine shrine dedicated to Peter's repentance was erected on this spot in 457 AD, but was destroyed by Muslim invaders in 1010. The chapel was rebuilt by Crusaders in 1102 and given its present name. After the fall of Jerusalem the church again fell into ruin and was not rebuilt until 1931. Today a golden rooster protrudes prominently from the sanctuary roof in honor of its biblical connection. This spot is also believed to be the location of the High Priest Caiaphas' palace. According to the Pilgrim of Bordeaux in his Itinerarium Burdigalense, "...going up from the Pool of Siloe to Mount Zion one would come across the House of the Priest Caiaphas."
- Wikipedia
On the north side of the church is an ancient staircase that you can walk down towards the valley of Kidron. It is perhaps the passage from the upper city to the lower city during the first temple period.
- Biblewalks.com.
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. (John 18:1)
May the LORD God bless you in the name of St. Judas Maccabaeus.
SOURCE(s): Saint Peter in Gallicantu, Biblewalks.com. (http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/Gallicantu.html)
Jerusalem, the Way of the Cross, Cristus Rex. (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/jvc/TVCgeths2.html)
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