Description
The golden onion domes of St Mary Magdalene, built by Russian Tsar Alexander III (1888), are a famous landmark on the Mount of Olives. To reach the convent grounds, take the paved road directly behind the Basilica of the Agony.
This remarkably beautiful church is associated with St Elizabeth Fyodorovna, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and widow of Russian Prince Sergei (assassinated in 1905). After her husband's death, she became a nun and served the Russian poor. She was executed during the Bolshevik revolution on 17 July, 1918, along with her friend, St Barbara. Both are buried in this church.