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In the [[Gospel of John]] of the Christian [[New Testament]], in his discussion with the [[Samaritan woman at the well]], [[Jesus]] reveals his feeling about worshipping in either Mount Gerizim (as the Samaritans did) or Jerusalem (as the Jews then did):{{blockquote|Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."|{{bibleref2|John|4:21–24}} }}
In 36 CE, unrest flared in Samaria when a charismatic figure rallied Samaritans to Mount Gerizim, claiming to unearth sacred vessels buried by [[Moses]]. [[Pontius Pilate]], Roman governor of [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]], alarmed by the growing assembly, deployed troops to block their ascent. This led to clashes, fatalities, and arrests, prompting Samaritan leaders to accuse Pilate of brutality. In response, [[Vitellius]], the legate of Syria, appointed Marcellus to govern Judaea and recalled Pilate to Rome for investigation by Emperor [[Tiberius]], who died before Pilate's arrival.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Guy MacLean |title=For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66-74 CE |date=2021 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24813-5 |location=New Haven |pages=75-76}}</ref>
Eventually, when [[Christianity]] became the [[state church of the Roman Empire]], Samaritans were barred from worshiping on Mount Gerizim. In 475 CE a Christian [[Church (building)|church]] was built on its summit.<ref name="Cheyne">Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref>{{dubious|reason=Was there a church there a decade before Zeno's, or is this just a mistake?|date=September 2023}} In 484, during the reign of Emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]], an octagonal, [[martyrium]]-type church dedicated to the [[Theotokos]], the God-bearing Virgin Mary, was erected at the site.<ref name="Centre" /> In 529, [[Justinian I]] made [[Samaritanism]] illegal, and arranged for a protective wall to be constructed around the church.<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia" /><ref name="Cheyne" /> As a result, the same year, [[Julianus ben Sabar]] led a pro-Samaritan revolt, and by 530 had captured most of [[Samaria]], destroying churches and killing the priests and officials. However, in 531, after Justinian enlisted the help of [[Ghassanids]], the revolt was completely quashed, and surviving Samaritans were mostly enslaved or exiled. In 533 Justinian had a castle constructed on Mount Gerizim to protect the church from raids by the few disgruntled Samaritans left in the area.<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia" /><ref name="Cheyne" /> According to the ''Continuatio of the Samaritan Chronicle of [[Abu'l-Fath]]'', during [[Sukkot]] in the seventh year of [[List of Abbasid caliphs|Abbasid Caliph]] [[al-Mutawakkil]]'s reign (855 CE), the governor of Nablus forbade Samaritans from praying aloud and blowing the [[shofar]]. However, the following Thursday, they ascended the mountain and prayed loudly without interruption.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Levy-Rubin |first=Milka |title=The Samaritans |publisher=Yad Ben-Zvi Press |year=2002 |isbn=965-217-202-2 |editor-last=Stern |editor-first=Ephraim |editor-link=Ephraim Stern |pages=575 |language=he |chapter=The Samaritans during the Early Muslim Period according to the <i>Continuatio</i> to the Chronicle of Abu 'l-Fath |editor-last2=Eshel |editor-first2=Hanan |editor-link2=Hanan Eshel}}</ref>
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