ANOTHER Holy Week and Easter has passed in Jerusalem without Christians’ being allowed to pray in the room that many believe is the site of the Last Supper. The problem is that the building on Mount Zion is also venerated by Jews as the site of King David’s Tomb.
Like other disputed buildings and sites in the Holy Land, this property has had a chequered history. A Byzantine church once stood there, to be replaced by a Crusader place of worship. Under the Mamluks, the building became a mosque. Franciscan friars occupied the site in the 14th century, before the hundreds of years of Ottoman domination began. In 1967, the area came under Israeli control.
The dispute now is between the Vatican, which would like to turn the building into a place of Christian worship, and the Israeli authorities, who argue that this would deny Jews free access to one of their significant sacred sites. The view of some archaeologists that both Christians and Jews are mistaken in their belief that this is the location of the Last Supper or that of King David’s tomb has not taken the heat out of the argument.
A decision is expected in June; so, in Holy Week next year, Christians could for the first time be able to pray on the spot where they believe that Christ took bread and wine and gave them to his disciples for the last time.