In the first half of the 1st century, there was a great persecution and torture against the first Christians in Jerusalem. Hz. As Jesus was on his way to Golgot in Palestine to be crucified, his mother and St. He turned to Jean and said “Mother, here is your son”, “Here is your mother” and entrusted them to each other.

After Jesus’ crucifixion, 12 apostles traveled to different regions to explain Christianity. St. Jean’s mission was on the Anatolian lands of Asia. Hz. On the death of Christ, St. Jean and Meryemana started to live in Jerusalem for a while, because the persecution of Christians increased in size and they were brutally murdered. Realizing that they cannot stay in Jerusalem any longer, St. Jean came to Ephesus through Syria and Anatolia, taking Saint Mary as well.

Ephesus was a place with high population density and high popularity of the period. Thanks to this St. Jean would be easier to explain Christianity.

The House of the Virgin Mary

A long slope welcomes us when we first arrive at the Meryemana house, located within the borders of Bülbül Mountain in Selçuk district of İzmir. The sounds of birds and insects coming from the forest after passing the square at the end of the slope add a magical atmosphere when combined with the decent and calm environment.

It is known that Saint Mary spent the last period of her life here after coming to Ephesus from Jerusalem. This information came to light with the experiences of a nun named Anna Catherina Emmerick who lived in the 18th century. The nun knows everything about Ephesus, although she has never come and seen it.

Sister Emmerick heard voices that nobody had heard and saw things that nobody saw. He fell ill in 1811 and fell to bed. On December 29, 1812, Emmerick shook with a shudder while praying, and at that moment a beam of light from above opened towards him. As the light touched her, her hands and feet were covered with blood as if pierced by nails. He had experienced the pain of Jesus and was Stigmatized. The people around him were astonished, nobody could explain what had happened. In 1818, a writer wanted to write about the nun’s account, Emmerick began to describe the dreams he had and the voices he heard. First century Christian torture, the arrival of the Virgin Mary to Ephesus, the house belonging to the Virgin Mary and this house St. He described it one by one as if he had lived it was done by Jean. A clergyman named Gouyet, who read what the nun told, decided to go to Ephesus in 1880. He found the house on his journey and although he submitted the report about the house, he could not get the desired result. In 1890, the Lazarist priest H. Jung, who read the same book, comes to Izmir to see the house. The priest and his team, who started researches with a team here, realized that there is no water left while they were doing research near Kırkınca village, they demand water from the villagers and the villagers tell that they can find water from Ayazma. Quenching their thirst, the team begins research in this area and finds a small place of worship and a statue of Mary with broken hands among the plane trees with clear water flowing. The team and the priest were surprised that what Sister Emmerick was saying was exactly opposite.

This place, visited by thousands of tourists every year, is one of the pilgrimage places of the Christian world. Those who come here pray and drink from the water of the fountain, which is considered sacred, and wish them. Every year on August 15, Christians come to the Sumela Monastery and the House of Virgin Mary to commemorate the ascension of Saint Mary to the sky.

Kaynak: Hitit Color, Virgin Mary

• Images: Zeynep Karayel, August, 2020
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