The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

In the beginning…

The church was first erected in 335 A.D. by the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, Saint Helena, and was the largest and the most splendid church in the Holy Land. The church was destroyed and restored several times during the rule of the Byzantine Empire and the Crusaders. In the middle of the 11th century, it was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, having being razed to the ground several decades earlier. The newly built church was smaller, but more elaborately designed, than Queen Helena’s original building.


The burial site (Christ Tomb) and the Edicule   (Photo: Ron Peled)

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is venerated as Golgotha (Hill of Calvary), which literarily means Place of the Skull. It is possible that the site was dubbed that during the Byzantine period, as the structure looked like a skull, but according to some traditions, the name refers to the skull of Adam, who was buried here. It was the Crusaders in the 12th century who gave the church its current appearance, and they were the first to include the site of crucifixion (the Golgotha) and the Holy Sepulchre under the same roof.

The 800-year-old Crusader façade is quite magnificent and has spectacular ornamentation. Two massive wooden doors are located at the entrance to the church, one of which has been blocked since the days of the Muslim ruler Saladin in the 13th century.

The second door is opened and closed on a daily basis in a modest ceremony conducted by a representative of the Muslim family that holds the key to the church. This is a symbol of Muslim dominance in the city since the days of Saladin. To the left of the door stands an ancient marble pillar with graffiti rendered by pilgrims who visited the place hundreds of years ago. One can also see notes and letters placed in the pillar by the pilgrims with their personal requests and prayers, just as Jews put notes in the cracks of the Western Wall, which is also located in the Old City of Jerusalem.


The Stone of the Unction (Anointing)   (Photo: Ron Peled)

Immediately inside the church lies a reddish slab of stone with a row of oil lamps hanging above it. This is the Stone of the Unction (Anointing), where Jesus’ body was laid 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. Many pilgrims kiss the stone or rub it with oil and then wipe it with a cloth.

Behind the stone is a relatively new, large mosaic depicting the three main events that took place 2,000 years ago. On the right is a depiction of the crucifixion at Golgotha. Under the cross lies the skull of the first man, Adam. In the center of the mosaic, the body of Christ is anointed on the Stone of Unction which lies just below the mosaic.


The roof   (Photo: Ron Peled)

To the right of the Stone of Unction several stairs lead us to the upper part of the church. This is the exact spot where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified. We are actually climbing the hill of Golgotha.

A note about Christian denominations and the church: today the church’s custodians are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches. In addition, the Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox have their own chapels in the church.

To the right of the aforementioned landing is a Catholic chapel featuring a mosaic of Jesus being nailed to the cross. To the left is another chapel where we can see the True Cross and the mother rock, the hill of the Golgotha, around which the church was built, with a statue of Mary Magdalene by its side. This chapel belongs to the Greek Orthodox. One church, many denominations... These two chapels are two of the 14 Stations of the Cross of the Via Dolorosa, Jesus’ last journey before he was crucified on this spot.


Sitting on the top of the roof...   (Photo: Ron Peled)

Under Golgotha and adjacent to the Stone of Unction, one can descend to the Chapel of Adam. Here Adam was buried, according to an ancient tradition, and the Messiah atoned for the sins mentioned in the Book of Genesis with his blood when he was crucified. Icons of the crucifixion depicting the blood of Jesus dripping on Adam’s skull, which lies beneath the hill upon which the cross is erected, are displayed in many churches all over the world. All these are representations of what happened right here, where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands.

To the left of the Stone of Unction is the burial site itself. This is an ancient structure covered by a dome called the Rotunda. At the center of the Rotunda is a wood and stone structure that has enshrined the grave for over 300 years. This structure is the edicule. Round holes have been drilled in the sides of the grave. On Easter festivities, tongues of fire burst out of these holes. Several days before this ceremony, the Holy Fire, pilgrims from all over the world position themselves so that they can get a glimpse of the sight. The entrance to the edicule is through a chapel. This chapel – the Chapel of the Angel, named after the angel who sat on that very spot – leads to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains the tomb of Jesus Christ.


Pray for the peace of Jerusalem   (Photo: Ron Peled)

Opposite the entrance to the tomb, which was the 14th and last Station of the Cross is a Greek Orthodox prayer hall, the Catholicon. At the entrance to the Catholicon, a lamp on the floor indicates the center of the world. According to Christian tradition, this is the center of the world; only several hundred meters away is the Temple Mount, which hosts the Foundation Stone from which, according to the Talmud, the world was created. According to Jewish and Muslim tradition the location of the Foundation Stone is the center of the world. The three religions believe that the center of the world is here, in Jerusalem.

Behind the edicule is a small chapel that belongs to the Copts from Egypt. Inside the chapel lies a stone believed to have been placed under Jesus’ head when he was buried. Across from this chapel is the burial cave of Joseph of Arimathea who donated his own prepared tomb so that Jesus could be buried before the Sabbath. Damage from the great fire in 1808 is visible on the walls.


The Stone of the Unction (Anointing)   (Photo: Ron Peled)

Near the grave is a wooden door that is usually closed. Behind it are the sword, medallion and shoes of Godfrey de Bouillon, the Crusader who conquered Jerusalem in 1099. According to tradition he himself is buried besides the Chapel of Adam at the entrance to the church.

A wide hallway leads away from here. It bends to the left and becomes a narrower corridor, the ambulatory (Latin for to wander). Several chapels are located on the left of the ambulatory. Between them are steps leading down. The walls of the stairway are covered in hundreds of crosses carved into the wall – graffiti done by medieval pilgrims.


The Stone of the Unction (Anointing)   (Photo: Ron Peled)

The Chapel of St. Helena is an Armenian chapel located at the bottom of the stairs. A mosaic on the floor depicts various churches in Armenia as well as Noah’s arc with a rainbow through a cloud. According to the Armenian tradition, Mount Ararat, where the arc landed, is located in Armenia, making it a significant event. We will descend several more steps to the Chapel of the Finding of the Cross, where Helena, Emperor Constantine’s mother is believed to have found and identified the True Cross.

The Church of the Holy sepulchre has many more chapels and places to discover. It is a 1,600-year-old structure with a fascinating story, starting at the dawn of Christianity until today.