Church of the Flagellation

Church conviction, Jerusalem

Website of the Sanctuary

+972 2 6270 444

Sanctuary Visiting Hours Summer: 8:00am to 6:00pm. / Winter: 8:00am to 5:00pm

Church of the Flagellation

Christian tradition places here two moments from the Passion of Jesus: the flagellation and the condemnation to death.

The two sanctuaries are annexed to the Franciscan convent, seat of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. In the floor of the Condemnation are conserved several stones of the “Lithostrotos”. The imposition of the cross is indicated on the external wall of the Sanctuary of the Condemnation at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa.

“But pitiless as they were, hard as they were, un just as they were, I love the bonds of those scorge; for to them it was given to touch Thy most sacred Body.” Bonaventure

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The Christian tradition

The “Lithostrotos” and “Pilate’s house or pretorium where the Lord was judged” were neglected in the fourth century (according to the anonymous pilgrim from Bordeaux and Cyril of Jerusalem). In the fifth century a church was built here and we find it a little later bearing the name of Saint Sophia (“wisdom” in Greek) because “the First of the friends of wisdom there heard his condemnation” (Sophron of Jerusalem, early 7th century).

Nothing is known of this church later on; the memory of the Lithostrotos was associated with Mount Zion for a time and then (at the end of the 12th century) placed near the Antonia fortress, which overlooked the Temple in the northern part of the city in the time of Christ.

The church of the Flagellation was originally built by the Crusaders in the 12th century and then was abandoned for many centuries. In 1838 it was acquired by the Franciscans and re-opened for worship, thanks to the generous gift of Maximilian of Bavaria, as is noted on a stone in its facade.

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The architect A. Barluzzi restored it in 1929, retaining the medievel style. Of particular note are the stained glass windows by A. Cambellotti depicting Pilate’s judgement, the flagellation of Jesus and the liberation of Barnabas. A painting (by M. Barberis) on a side wall commemorates Saint Paul’s imprisonment in the Antonia fortress.

The Sanctuary of the Condemnation was rebuilt in 1904 by Brother Wendelin Hinterkeuser on the ruins of a medievel church that had fortuitously been discovered a few years earlier. The name of the ancient church is unknown. The new one received this name because of its floor, paved with large stones, that continues beneath the neighboring Ecco Homo sanctuary, then considered part of the Lithostrotos where Pilate sat in judgement over Jesus and from where Jesus set out, carrying the cross.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

From the Bible: Jesus before Pilate

So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. […] But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!”

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”

(John 18:28 – 19:17)

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

By plane
Israel’s main entry point for the international traveller, the newly built Terminal 3 atBen Gurion International Airport (IATA: TLV), named after Israel’s first Prime Minister, is situated near Lod and next to the highway linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (highway no. 1).

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Plan of the place

Imposition of the Cross – The second station of the Way of the Cross is indicated on the external wall of the Sanctuary of the Condemnation. The first station is located in the courtyard of the el-’Omariyya Muslim school across from the Franciscan convent. In 1923, the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Faculty of Biblical Science and Christian Biblical Archaeology, was established in the Flagellation convent.
– Sanctuary of the Flagellation (architect A. Barluzzi, 1929)
– Sanctuary of the Condemnation (architect Brother Wendelin Hinterkeuser, 1904)
– Lithostrotos – paved Roman road
– The Struthion – an ancient cistern

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

The Christian tradition

The “Lithostrotos” and “Pilate’s house or pretorium where the Lord was judged” were neglected in the fourth century (according to the anonymous pilgrim from Bordeaux and Cyril of Jerusalem). In the fifth century a church was built here and we find it a little later bearing the name of Saint Sophia (“wisdom” in Greek) because “the First of the friends of wisdom there heard his condemnation” (Sophron of Jerusalem, early 7th century). Nothing is known of this church later on; the memory of the Lithostrotos was associated with Mount Zion for a time and then (at the end of the 12th century) placed near the Antonia fortress, which overlooked the Temple in the northern part of the city in the time of Christ.

The church of the Flagellation was originally built by the Crusaders in the 12th century and then was abandoned for many centuries. In 1838 it was acquired by the Franciscans and re-opened for worship, thanks to the generous gift of Maximilian of Bavaria, as is noted on a stone in its facade. The architect A. Barluzzi restored it in 1929, retaining the medievel style. Of particular note are the stained glass windows by A. Cambellotti depicting Pilate’s judgement, the flagellation of Jesus and the liberation of Barnabas. A painting (by M. Barberis) on a side wall commemorates Saint Paul’s imprisonment in the Antonia fortress.

The Sanctuary of the Condemnation was rebuilt in 1904 by Brother Wendelin Hinterkeuser on the ruins of a medievel church that had fortuitously been discovered a few years earlier. The name of the ancient church is unknown. The new one received this name because of its floor, paved with large stones, that continues beneath the neighboring Ecco Homo sanctuary, then considered part of the Lithostrotos where Pilate sat in judgement over Jesus and from where Jesus set out, carrying the cross.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Posted in The Holy Land