Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross
The Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross (Hebrew: קפלת ההרשעה וכפיית הצלב) is a Roman Catholic church located within the Franciscan monastery that also contains the Church of the Flagellation in the old city of Jerusalem. The monastery stands at the traditional Second Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa. Tradition vs research The church marks the spot traditionally held to be where Jesus took up his cross after being sentenced to death by crucifixion. This tradition is based on the assumption that an area of Roman flagstones, discovered beneath the building and beneath the adjacent Convent of the Sisters of Zion, are those of Gabbatha, the pavement which the Bible describes as the location of Pontius Pilate's judgment of Jesus. Archaeological investigation now indicates that these slabs are the paving of the eastern of two second-century forums built by Hadrian as part of the Aelia Capitolina. The site of the forum had previously been a large open-air pool, the Strouthion Pool, which was constructed by the Hasmoneans, and mentioned by Josephus as being adjacent to the fortress in the first century. It is still present beneath Hadrian's flagstones. Like Philo, Josephus testifies that the Roman