Ascension of Jesus

=== Olivet and the Chapel of the Ascension ===
{{Main article|Chapel of the Ascension (Jerusalem)}}
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The traditional site of the ascension is [[Mount Olivet]] (the "Mount of Olives"), on which the village of Bethany sits. Before the conversion of [[Constantine the Great]] in 312 AD, early Christians honored the ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount, and by 384 the ascension was [[venerated]] on the present site, uphill from the cave.{{sfn|Murphy-O'Connor|2008|p=142}}

Around the year 390 a wealthy [[Roman Empire|Roman]] woman named Poimenia financed construction of the original [[Church (building)|church]] called "[[Eleona Basilica]]" (''elaion'' in Greek means "olive garden", from ''elaia'' "olive tree", and has an oft-mentioned similarity to ''eleos'' meaning "mercy"). This church was destroyed by [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid Persians]] in 614. It was subsequently rebuilt, destroyed, and rebuilt again by the [[Crusaders]]. This final church was later destroyed by Muslims, leaving only a 12×12 meter octagonal structure (called a ''martyrium''—"memorial"—or "[[edicule]]") that remains to this day.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Christ Church Angelus|url=http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs015/1102441252649/archive/1105697406908.html|website=archive.constantcontact.com|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>{{better source|date=October 2018}} The site was ultimately acquired by two emissaries of [[Saladin]] in the year 1198 and has remained in the possession of the Islamic [[Waqf]] of Jerusalem ever since. The [[Russian Orthodox Church]] also maintains a [[convent]] of the ascension on the top of the Mount of Olives.