Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ’s burial. Since that time Christians have preserved this as the site of Christ's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

Originally the area was a quarry and a cemetery during the time of Jesus and was located outside the city walls of Jerusalem. Today the Holy Sepulchre is in the heart of the Christian quarter in the Old City. It is also considered as a spiritual center for Christians and Roman Catholics and several Orthodox churches share the complex.

The word sepulcher is a Latin word which means "grave" or "tomb." The term "Holy Sepulcher" refers to the tomb of Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christians call this the "Church of the Resurrection."

Photo: Stone of the anointing. Upon entering the church, you will see the the place where Christ's body was laid down after being removed from the crucifix and prepared for burial. He was anointed and wrapped in shrouds as the Jews customarily prepared their dead for burial at the time. The lamps that hang over the stone were contributed by Armenians, Copts, Greeks and Latins. We watched as people knelt down and kissed the stone and prayed. The church was extremely crowded and therefore difficult to take photos.

Photo: At the right of the photo is the Edicule (tomb where Jesus was buried). Only one person at a time is allowed to go inside and there were so many people waiting, we did not have the time to go in. We plan to go back earlier in the day when it isn't so crowded with tourists.

Inside the church is the place where the cross was placed.

There are separate Roman and Greek Orthodox chapels at the Rock of Calvary which demonstrate the division that exists between the various branches of Christianity in the Church. Because the churches were (and still are) so territorial, an agreement was made in 1853 called the "Statue Quo". Each group was assigned certain areas of the church to maintain (such as sweeping the steps, holding religious services and certain days and times to fulfill them.)

The upper area of the church houses Calvary and Golgotha and where the 11th, 12th and 13th stations of the cross is located. Photo: Hallway. When Christians visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the three most important areas within the church are 1) Rock of Calvary where Jesus was crucified, 2)the Stone of Anointing where Jesus was anointed for buriel, and 3) The Edicule (tomb of where Jesus was buried.)

An interesting side note is that two Muslim families were assigned the keys to the entrance in the effort to keep peace between the Christian churches. In 1187 AD, the responsibilities of the entrance was divided between two Muslim families. The Joudeh family keeps the key and brings it twice a day -- once to open the door and once to lock it. The Nuseibeh family actually inserts the key to open and lock the door each day. The same two Muslim families still perform these duties to this day.

Photo: Mass was being held by the Armenian Orthodox church.

Within the church proper are the last four Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus' Passion

Photo: Altar.

Photo: Entrance to the Edicule which contains the tomb.

Photo: This photo (taken from the web) shows the Edicule from above. The majority of Christians believe that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the actual place of Golgatha, the anointing and the burial place of Christ. However, others believe the actual site is just outside the city walls on the road to Damascus at the Garden Tomb which was posted earlier in this blog. The place is not as important as the fact that Jesus died and was resurrected.