The Orthodox Jerusalem Private Tour is a full-day pilgrimage through the holy city with a licensed local guide, centered on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place of Christ's crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Pickup is from your hotel, and the day moves at a private, prayerful pace.
Mount of Olives and the view over the Old City
Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations and the Tomb of the Virgin Mary
Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross
Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Golgotha, the Stone of Unction, the Holy Tomb
Monastery of the Cross
Mount Zion, the Upper Room and the Dormition
The day begins on the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley to the Old City, then descends to Gethsemane, where you pray in the Church of All Nations over the rock of the Agony and venerate the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, held by the Orthodox as the place of her Dormition and burial. You then walk the Via Dolorosa through the Old City, following the Way of the Cross to its end inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Within the Church of the Resurrection you venerate Golgotha, the rock of the crucifixion, the Stone of Unction, and the Holy Tomb itself, the empty tomb of Christ, much of which is held by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. The tour also visits the Monastery of the Cross, built where tradition says the wood of the Cross grew, and Mount Zion with the Upper Room and the Church of the Dormition. An early Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulchre can be attended if you arrange it in advance. The itinerary is a proposal and can be customized for your private group.
