Kathisma Church

Jerusalem, Israel

Freely accessible

Public space — no opening hours to check.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

The Kathisma Church, a ruined fifth-century Byzantine octagonal church located on the Hebron Road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, was built on the site traditionally identified as Mary's resting place during her journey to Bethlehem, according to the apocryphal Proto-Gospel of James. Constructed following the First Council of Ephesus in 431, it ranks among the earliest known churches in the Byzantine Empire dedicated to the Theotokos, or Mary as the God-bearer. The structure was converted to a mosque in the eighth century, subsequently destroyed during the Crusader period, and remained lost until its accidental rediscovery in 1992.