Church of the Holy Archangels, Jerusalem, Armenian Orthodox church in the Armenian Quarter of Old City, Jerusalem.
The Church of the Holy Archangels, called Deir ez-Zeitun ("Monastery of the Olive Tree") in Arabic, is an Armenian Orthodox church at the southeastern edge of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. Tradition identifies the site as the house of High Priest Annas, and one of its chambers is held to have been the prison of Christ. The monastery was founded in the 12th or 13th century.
The monastery was founded in the 12th or 13th century, and the site is identified by tradition as the house of the High Priest Annas. Earlier traditions placed that house elsewhere, on Jehoshaphat Street or on Mount Zion. One chamber is held to have been the prison of Christ, a claim the Armenian Monastery of Saint Saviour also makes for its own prison chapel.
The church is also called Deir ez-Zeitun, "Monastery of the Olive Tree", an Arabic name used alongside its Armenian title Srbots Hreštakapetats. Tradition identifies the site as the house of High Priest Annas, and one chamber is held to have been the prison of Christ. The Armenian Monastery of Saint Saviour, the "House of Caiaphas", makes a rival claim to that prison.
The church sits in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City and is reachable on foot through narrow streets and passages. Visitors should be prepared for low doorways and tight interior spaces, particularly in the older chambers within the structure.
The monastery is also called Deir ez-Zeitun, "Monastery of the Olive Tree", a name that points to the olive tree tradition attached to the site. One of its chambers is identified by tradition as the prison of Christ, though the Gospels differ on whether Jesus was taken to Annas or Caiaphas, and the Armenian Monastery of Saint Saviour makes the same claim.
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