the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus

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Traditional house of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus. Photograph: Erik Cleves Kristensen.

(This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.9 Generic license.)

The inside of this house has breen converted into a church, based upon a vision received by a German nun, Anna Katherina Emmerich (1774-1824). Following her detailed



description, a search was made for Mary’s house by Lazarian priests and in 1891 this place was found. It reflects the belief that, after the Crucifixion, the Virgin was taken by St John to live with him in Ephesus where both were buried. This is a healing place visited by Muslims as well as Christians.

In Ephesus, the 6th-century Byzantine Emperor Justinian built a substantial Church dedicated to the Virgin, of which the wall of the apse and some columns in the sanctuary have surived.

Ephesus had a thriving church under St John, aided by St Paul’s itinerant preaching and the prophetic ministry of St Philip the deacon’s daughter, Hermione, who built a healing clinic for the poor and homeless and lived to a great age. People came to her from near and far for counsel and to hear her tell about the apostles and the early days of the church.

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