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On the way to the shrine, visitors pass a key hole-shaped baptismal pool, larger than the one located at the basilica in Ephesus. It is thought that an early community of Christians may have lived or were baptized here in seclusion in order to escape the nearby Romans. She responded to Pope Leo XIII’s call for French missionaries to help in the Middle East. In 1886, she was assigned to a French hospital in Smyrna (now Izmir), Turkey.
Tours to Ephesus
Many years after her death a priest read and followed her descriptions and as a result, discovered the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A day trip from Istanbul to the ancient city of Ephesus and the House of Virgin Mary, nestled in the Solmissos Mountains, offers a mesmerizing dive into the rich tapestry of ancient history and culture. This journey transports you through time, from the bustling streets of modern Istanbul to the quiet solitude of the Virgin Mary’s final resting place and the grandeur of the ancient city of Ephesus. The Virgin Mary’s House has been further substantiated by archeological research.
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He even intended also to remove from the Breviary the lessons which mention Mary's death in Jerusalem but died before carrying out this intention. On July 29, by donkey, three Catholics, one Greek Orthodox and one Muslim finally found the house. Archaeologists identified the ruins of a first-century house, with a church from the fourth century having been built over it. Although the Roman Catholic Church has never confirmed this to be the place of her assumption, three popes have visited, and the Church takes responsibility for running the house through donations and funding.
The Sacred Sanctuary
Extensive cleanup and restoration efforts were made, and excavations were conducted to find the Virgin Mary’s grave based on visions from Catherine Emmerich, but no conclusive results were found. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the site was reconstructed as a chapel and a residence for guests and sisters. For Christians, the House of the Virgin Mary holds immense religious importance as it symbolizes Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus Christ. Many believe that being in the presence of where Mary once lived brings them closer to the divine and strengthens their faith. The visit to Virgin Mary’s House ends on the right side of the house, down a few steps, where three fountains are located. One reflects wealth, another signifies health, and the last one is fertility.
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A mere glance at the laws and culture regarding booze reveals much about any Muslim country. During the early days of the Church, Ephesus was the seventh largest city in the Roman Empire, with as many as a half million residents. It was one of the first major cities outside of the Holy Land mentioned in the New Testament, and it served as a missionary base for Paul in Western Asia Minor.
On April 6, 1868, the cornerstone was laid for the first church, located at 228 West 45th Street, which is today the site of the Booth Theatre. The first church was designed by William T. Hallett, and was dedicated on December 8, 1870, the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Potter was unable to officiate at the service, but his place was taken by Horatio Southgate, the Episcopal Church's former missionary bishop to the Ottoman Empire. In Christianity, Mary is the virgin mother of Jesus Christ who is venerated in several different roles, including that of protector of women and children. Some scholars believe that she was one of Christ’s disciples who, along with other women such as Mary Magdalene, followed him in his travels and had a role in the healings and teachings that he performed. She is recognized by many to be the Christian incarnation of pagan mother goddesses.
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After that, I went on to purchase an icon and a scented rosary at the souvenir stand, which fortunately took Visa. For two weeks, I myself was numbered among the tourists, having had glimpses of life there. The Meryama was later visited by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who confirmed its appropriateness as a place of pilgrimage.
The great ecclesiastic Hagios Paulos’ letter to Ephesians which is found in the new Testament was written after Paulos visited Ephesus twice. In the New Testament, Ephesus is referred to for 12 times and there are 5 chapters directly written to Ephesians, these prove the significance of the city in those times. The House of Mother Mary has been a Catholic pilgrimage site since 1896 when the first Pilgrimage was made.
History of the Virgin Mary’s House near Ephesus
But in the meantime, the House of the Virgin Mary is visited by millions of Christian pilgrims, as well as many Muslims, each year. But a rumor alone, that the Mother of God may have set foot anywhere, is still enough to draw the faithful from all over the world. And we know that no land which Our Lady has ever touched will ever escape her loving embrace. Whether Meryemana Evi is indeed the house in which Our Lady had lived has neither been declared, nor denied, by the Church. The Church, in her prudence, requires much evidence before declaring that any miracle took place, or that any person is indeed a saint, or that any site is indeed a holy place.
The interior consists of a central room and a small altar, while the exterior features a courtyard and a prayer wall where visitors leave their petitions and prayers. Pope Leo XIII formally recognized Mary’s House as an official place of pilgrimage in 1896. A decade later, Pope John Paul II visited the shrine where he celebrated an outdoor mass for thousands of pilgrims. Selçuk area has been an attractive settling place for centuries with its abundant nature and history. Every year, on 15th August, a great religious mass to honor the holy mother of God’s son is performed on Mount Bulbul and in the House of Virgin Mary.
Emmerich, an invalid and stigmatist German nun, was said to have had many visions during the early 19th Century. Imams there are considered civil servants, educated and hired by the Directorate of Religious Affairs (called the Diyanet), which does much to curb potential radicalization of the population. There is a fountain, and a wishing wall, just outside and below the house. Visitors commonly take water from the fountain, and leave their written petitions in one of the many crevices of the wishing wall (a pre-Islamic Turkish tradition).
Finally, she was accepted by the Poor Clares in Münster, provided she would learn to play the organ. Despite her weak health, she became known for the strict observance of the order's rule. Emmerich was also a stigmatic as the wounds corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ started to appear on her body from 1813. My tour group boarded the bus, and left to visit the nearby ruins of Ephesus. Hardly any Christian monks, and only a small token population of Christians, live in Turkey today. The Christian heritage of Turkey today is largely the domain of curious archaeologists, historians, tourists and pilgrims.
Staying in Selcuk allows for easy access to Ephesus and allows one to explore other nearby attractions, such as the Basilica of St. John and the Ephesus Museum. After leaving the house, you will find verses from the Qur’an and the Bible about the Virgin Mary, after spending time here reading verses in every language. The annual pilgrimages to the House of St. Mary began in 1896, leading to its restoration and transformation into a pilgrimage center operated by the Lazarist order.
You can purchase empty bottles from this gift shop.The water from the nearby springs is believed to have healing powers, so visitors drink from the fountains and fill their bottles to take home. According to local urban legends, each tap represents an aspect of life, with one reflecting wealth, another health, and the last one fertility. Although they are not labeled, whichever tap you drink from is said to come true. Catherine Emmerich, born in 1774, was a German Augustinian nun and mystic known for her vivid visions and religious experiences. In the early 19th century, she became renowned for her accounts of the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
Sometime around the middle of the 1st century they arrived in Ephesus, where she spent the rest of her life in John’s care. Afterwards, John remained in western Asia Minor, alternating between his home in Ephesus and exile on the Isle of Patmos. After the death of the Emperor Domitian in 96 AD he returned to Ephesus permanently where he spent the rest of his life. In the grove to the south-east of the house, there is a rectangular atrium with a medieval water reservoir, discovered in 1964.
The earliest reference to the possibility of St. Mary residing in Ephesus can be traced back to the synodal letter of the Council of Ephesus in 431. This letter mentions the city of Ephesians as the place where John the Theologian and St. Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, lived and were buried. Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion on political grounds as the “King of the Jews” made his family and followers suspicious of the authorities. While some, like Jesus’ brother James, remained in Jerusalem, others scattered worldwide. Thomas went east, Mark south, and various followers dispersed around the Mediterranean.
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