Back كنيسة كرسي مريم Arabic Kathisma-Kirche German Iglesia del Trono de María Spanish Église de la Kathisma French הקתיסמה HE Kathismakerk Dutch Igreja do Trono de Maria Portuguese Церква Катизми Ukrainian
Ecclesia Kathismatis | |
 Church of the Seat of Mary - Church of the Kathisma | |
  Church of the Seat of Mary Shown within Israel  Church of the Seat of Mary Church of the Seat of Mary (Jerusalem) | |
| Location | Between Jerusalem and Bethlehem |
|---|---|
| Region | Byzantine Empire |
| Coordinates | 31°44′21″N 35°12′46″E / 31.7392°N 35.2128°E |
| Type | Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 456 CE |
| Abandoned | 10th century |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1997 |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
The Church of the Seat of Mary (Latin: Ecclesia Kathismatis, from Greek: κάθισμα, romanized: kathisma, lit. 'seat'), Church of the Kathisma or Old Kathisma being the name mostly used in literature, was a 5th-century Byzantine church in the Holy Land, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, on what is today known as Hebron Road. It was built on the alleged resting place of Mary on the road to Bethlehem mentioned in the apocryphal Proto-Gospel of James. The church was built when Marian devotion first rose to great importance, following the First Council of Ephesus of 431. It is one of the earliest churches known to have been dedicated to the Theotokos (Mary the God-bearer) in the entire Byzantine Empire.