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Jerusalem is the third most sacred city in Islam after Mecca and Medina. When Mohammed was still living, he instructed his followers to face Jerusalem when they prayed five times a day. He called Jews and Christians “People of the Book” and originally urged Moslems to respect them. Before his death, Mohammed had a vision in which he ascended to heaven from Jerusalem mounted upon a horse. After his death, under the leadership of Omar, the Moslems took Jerusalem in 636 AD from the Byzantine Empire. Later, from 685-691 AD, Caliph Abd al-Malik constructed the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount on which had stood the Second Jewish Temple until its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD. The Dome of the Rock used Byzantine features, a dome above an octagon, which the Byzantines employed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and other churches marking off a sacred area. It is not a mosque but is meant to commemorate Mohammed’s ascension to heaven in his vision. Mohammed himself had died before the conquest of Jerusalem but, in popular Moslem belief, he is thought to have ascended to heaven from the spot marked by the Dome of the Rock. By the time the Dome of the Rock was constructed, Moslems no longer prayed in the direction of Jerusalem but rather to Mecca.

When the Crusaders took Jerusalem they constructed a small shrine on the Mount of Olives in the traditional place where Jesus’ Ascension took place. They also used a dome and an octagon to mark the rock where Jesus’ foot had left an imprint. When the Moslems retook Jerusalem, the Shrine of the Ascension was made into a mosque. Except during times like the Intifada, the Christian communities of Jerusalem were allowed to gather at the Shrine of the Ascension and celebrate their liturgies in tents on the grounds. The Greeks, the Copts, the Syrians, the Melkites, the Ethiopians, the Maronites, and the Latin Catholics would all gather and celebrate where Jesus had first ascended to His Father. Each year we look to Jerusalem where Jesus returned to heaven and pray for peace among all peoples. The dome and the octagon represent heaven and earth coming together. May it be so today. 

 Fr. George                          

Rev. Michael McDermott, Associate Pastor

Mr. James Malloy, Deacon

Mr. Anthony Bianco, Deacon

Mr. John  Yaeger, Deacon

Mrs. Maritza Ortiz, CRE St. John's

Mrs. Dawn Curtis, CRE, St. Bernadette's

Mr. Henry Grabowski, Business Manager

Mrs. Bonnie Demar, Administrative Assistant

Mr. C. Gene Wright, Finance Executive Officer

Ms. Cathy Crusco, Director of Music

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