[1][nb 1] It is believed to be located on the site of house of Mary, mother of Mark the Evangelist; Syriac Christians believe that it was the place where the Last Supper was shared by Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, where the Apostles hid after the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus, and where Jesus appeared to the Apostles after the Resurrection (whereas Catholics and other Christians believe that these events were held at the nearby Cenacle, on Mount Zion).

Proclaimed a church by the holy apostles under the name of the Virgin Mary, mother of God, after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven.

[7] The inscription details that the house was converted into a church in the name of the Mother of God by the Apostles after the Ascension of Jesus and rebuilt in 73 AD following the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.

[10] It has been suggested that the monastery was identified with the "House of Mary, the mother of the disciple John Marcus" during this period.

[15] The monk Yuhanna of Aleppo was appointed as the monastery's abbot in 1726 by Gregorius ‘Abd al-Ahad, metropolitan bishop of Jerusalem, and served until his death in 1728.

[17] Cyril Jirjis also purchased an iron gate for the monastery from his own funds after the old wooden door had been smashed in an incident in July 1729.

[18] The monk ‘Abd al-Ahad was chosen to administer the monastery and diocese by Cyril Jirjis after having fulfilled the role for over nine years.

[20] Cyril Jirjis, following his appointment as metropolitan bishop of Jerusalem in 1748, immediately travelled to Egypt to collect alms for the monastery's reconstruction for which he subsequently spent 1000 zur mahbub or approximately four or five hundred golden liras.