Russian Orthodox Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene

The Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene rises on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, directly above the Garden of Gethsemane. Its seven gilded onion domes in 16th-century Muscovite revival style — a distinctly Russian profile in a city of domes — catch the late afternoon light from the Old City walls opposite.

Tsar Alexander III commissioned the church in 1885 as an act of filial piety, dedicating it to Saint Mary Magdalene, the heavenly patroness of his mother Empress Maria Alexandrovna. It was consecrated in 1888 in the presence of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Elizabeth, according to convent tradition, is said to have remarked at the consecration that she would like to be buried here.

After her own martyrdom at Alapaevsk in 1918, and the long journey of her relics through Russia, China, and Egypt, she was finally laid to rest in this church in 1921 — a wish fulfilled across three continents and a revolution. Today the convent is a working women's monastic community of around twenty nuns under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, with daily Divine Liturgy and the full cycle of the Hours.

Public visiting is limited; most groups are admitted only on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

The thinness of the Mary Magdalene convent has several layers. The Mount of Olives itself is one of the most densely venerated landscapes in Christianity — Gethsemane lies directly below, the Church of All Nations beside it, Dominus Flevit and the Pater Noster church above, the Tomb of the Virgin a short walk down.

The convent stands within that web, with a view across the Kidron Valley to the Old City and the Temple Mount that pilgrims have stood on for two millennia. Inside, the church holds the relics of two of the 20th century's most venerated Russian Orthodox saints: New Martyrs Elizabeth Feodorovna and Barbara, murdered together with other Romanovs in 1918 and brought to Jerusalem three years later.

For Russian Orthodox pilgrims this is both a Magdalene shrine and a sanctuary of the Romanov martyrology — a place where the wound of the 20th century is liturgically held. The monastic prayer that has continued in this church since the 1930s, through Mandate, Jordanian, and Israeli administrations, gives the building a particular kind of quietness.

Most pilgrims approach the convent either by walking down from the Mount of Olives summit past Dominus Flevit, or by climbing up from the Kidron Valley road past the Garden of Gethsemane. The grades are steep; allow time. The convent entrance opens onto a garden descending toward Gethsemane, with views across the Kidron to the Old City walls.

The church itself is small but luminous, with the iconostasis painted by Vasily Vereshchagin and the wall scenes by Sergei Ivanov — restrained Russian academic style of the 1880s rather than the abstracted forms of older Byzantine work. The shrine of Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara is the devotional focus; many Russian Orthodox pilgrims linger long here, often praying the akathist. The sisters keep the church in a stillness that is striking after the noise of the Kidron road below.

Stay in the public area; the monastic enclosure is not for visitors. After the church, the convent gardens reward an unhurried walk down toward the Gethsemane wall.

Western slope of the Mount of Olives, just above the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. Entrance through the convent gate; church interior accessible during public hours only; gardens descend toward Gethsemane.

The church was built as an act of filial piety. Tsar Alexander III dedicated it to Saint Mary Magdalene, the heavenly patroness of his mother Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who had died in 1880. Construction was funded and administered through the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IPPO), founded in 1882 as the principal vehicle for Russian Orthodox presence in the Holy Land.

The architect David Grimm worked in conscious revival of 16th-century Muscovite forms — seven gilded onion domes, kokoshniki, a distinctly Russian profile against the Jerusalem skyline. Consecration came on 1 October 1888 in the presence of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. After the 1917 Revolution the Russian Orthodox presence in the Holy Land fractured. From 1921 the convent was administered by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), independent of the Moscow Patriarchate.

A women's monastic community grew on the site through the 1920s and 30s and was formally established as a convent in 1934. The 2007 Act of Canonical Communion returned ROCOR to communion with Moscow, and the convent continues under ROCOR jurisdiction today.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Russian Orthodox tradition. Administered by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate since 2007. Distinct from the Moscow Patriarchate's properties in Jerusalem (Gornenskoye Convent at Ein Karem, Trinity Cathedral).

Divine Liturgy in Church Slavonic on Sundays and feasts; the daily Office in the catholicon; akathist to Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara; reading of the Psalter at the relics. The convent has maintained these rhythms uninterrupted since the 1930s, through Mandate, Jordanian, and Israeli administrations of East Jerusalem.

Around twenty sisters live the monastic life on the site, with stewardship of the gardens descending toward Gethsemane and reception of pilgrim groups during the limited public hours. The convent has historically kept a deliberately low public profile, both for monastic reasons and because of the security situation in East Jerusalem.

Visit during the regular public hours (traditionally Tuesday and Thursday mornings; always reconfirm). Enter the church quietly; women should cover their heads (scarves are provided). Move toward the shrine of Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara without crowding others praying there. Leave time for the gardens. If you are not Orthodox, you are welcome to pray and observe; do not enter the sanctuary behind the iconostasis.

For Orthodox pilgrims, the convent will accept a zapiska (a written request for prayer) for nominal donation; the sisters add these to the daily commemorations.

The convent sits within several distinct and sometimes overlapping ecclesial frameworks. Clarity about jurisdictional realities helps pilgrims navigate the layered Russian Orthodox presence in the Holy Land.

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Sources consulted for this page. Source categories describe the publication, not a guarantee that every claim is verified. Traditional accounts and outside interpretations may differ.

1. 01Convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane — Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia — ROCOR / Jerusalem MissionofficialOfficial ROCOR pages describing the convent's foundation, dependencies, and liturgical life.
2. 02Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society — Historical Holdings — Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IPPO)officialFounded 1882; the IPPO funded Russian church-building in the Holy Land including Alexander III's commission for the Mary Magdalene church.
3. 03Church of Mary Magdalene (Jerusalem) — Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributorsencyclopediaBuilt 1885–1888 by Tsar Alexander III in memory of his mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Architect David Grimm. Seven gilded onion domes in 16th-c. Muscovite revival style.
4. 04Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia — Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributorsencyclopediaRomanov grand duchess, founder of Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow, martyred at Alapaevsk (1918), canonised by ROCOR (1981) and by the Moscow Patriarchate (1992). Her relics and those of nun-martyr Barbara are enshrined in the Mary Magdalene church.
5. 05Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem — Wikipedia — Wikipedia contributorsencyclopediaBackground on Russian Orthodox presence in the Holy Land from 1847; helps distinguish ROCOR vs Moscow Patriarchate properties.
6. 06Mount of Olives — Encyclopædia Britannica — Encyclopædia Britannica editorsencyclopediaGeographic and historical context for the cluster of churches on the western slope (Gethsemane, Dominus Flevit, Pater Noster, Russian Mary Magdalene, Ascension).
7. 07Russian Pilgrimage to the Holy Land — Library of Congress / academic surveys — Theofanis G. Stavrou; Elena Astafieva; et al.academicStandard scholarly literature on 19th-c. Russian pilgrimage networks, IPPO funding, and Romanov imperial patronage in Palestine.
8. 08Church of Saint Mary Magdalene — See the Holy Land — Pat McCarthy, See the Holy LandguideReputable ecumenical pilgrim guide; accurate summary of architecture, history, current liturgical schedule (limited Tuesday/Thursday access).
9. 09Church of Saint Mary Magdalene (Gethsemane) — OrthodoxWiki — OrthodoxWiki contributorsencyclopediaOrthodox-internal encyclopedia; jurisdiction history, feast days, current sisterhood.