A holy hill in the heart of Jerusalem, Mount Zion has been central to the entire history of salvation: the city of David, the site of the Temple, and a symbol of the divine presence (Psalm 48:2-3; Isaiah 2:3). It was in the Upper Room on Mount Zion that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, instituted the Eucharist, and washed the feet of his disciples (John 13:1-15). It was in this same upper room that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and Mary on the day of Pentecost in the form of tongues of fire, establishing the universal Church (Acts 2:1-4). Jesus also appeared there on Easter evening, behind closed doors, breathing on his disciples and giving them the Holy Spirit (John 20:19-22). The Upper Room in Jerusalem is today one of the most venerated pilgrimage sites in Christendom, and the Feast of Pentecost resonates there with particular intensity.
Beautiful in its altitude, joy of all the earth, the mountain of Zion, in the north, is the city of the great King.
Mount Zion became the theological name for the hill in Jerusalem where David established his city and where the Temple would be built. The Psalms sing of Zion as the dwelling place of God, mother of all nations (Psalm 87:1-6) and the place of the Law (Isaiah 2:3). Zion symbolizes the election of Israel, the divine presence in the midst of his people, but also the place of judgment when Jerusalem falls into corruption.
In the New Testament, the Upper Room on Mount Zion is traditionally the site of the Last Supper and Pentecost (Acts 2). The Epistle to the Hebrews affirms that Christians have approached «Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem» (Hebrews 12:22). The Book of Revelation describes the vision of the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000 (Revelation 14:1). Zion becomes a fulfilled heavenly reality.
Augustine sees in Zion the figure of the Church and the holy city assembled by God. The mountain becomes for him the symbol of inner elevation, of the stability of faith and of the communion of saints.
Zion is both a historical mountain and a theological symbol: the dwelling place of God, the place of the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2), the eschatological homeland of the redeemed (Revelation 14:1). It invites us to contemplate the unity of sacred history, from earthly David to heavenly Christ.
8 characters linked to Mount Zion
Jacob Pinkerfeld (1948-51): remains of a Byzantine synagogue under the Cenacle room.
reside
Dormition Abbey (Benedictine); Cenacle; Tomb of David.
