Where piety meets power

摘要

At the foot of the Mount of Olives, by the garden of Gethsem-ane where Jesus of Nazareth contemplated his death, there is a compact but magnificent church, surrounded by blazing flowers and well-pruned shrubs. For many Christian visitors to Jerusalem it is the loveliest spot in the entire city.rnThe area around Gethsemane, where Jesus is said to have remonstrated with his faint-hearted disciples, is a place where countless pilgrims have reflected on betrayal and loneliness. But the Mary Magdalene convent has a beauty that speaks both of heavenly kingdoms and of the power of an earthly realm, tsarist Russia. Its golden onion domes and a bronze and marble interior reflect the largesse of the Romanovs.