The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is the place of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. It is the most sacred site in the world for millions of Christians.
The church was built during the 4th century by the Emperor Constantine, who accepted Christianity after witnessing the sight of a cross in the sky along with his entire army above which he saw the message:”In this sign you will conquer”. That’s when he made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. His mother, Saint Helena, toured the Holy Land and identified the sites in which the events mentioned in the New Testament took place. She identified this place as the Calvary, where Jesus was crucified and also identified the burial plot of Joseph of Arimathea, who facilitated Jesus’ burial after he was taken down from the cross. Lying within the boundaries of the church are the last stations in Jesus’ Way of Grief- (Via Dolorosa) from the 9th to the 14th station.
During its early days in the Byzantine era, this church was a lot larger and known as “The Resurrection Church”, commemorating Jesus’ rise from the dead. However, many changes took place in the church over the years, and it was formed into its current shape during the crusader era.
Most of the compound is held by the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Church and the Catholic Church, with some limited rights to the Coptic and Syrian Churches.
The Holy Sepulchre is the HIGHLIGHT of visit to the Holy Land.
Edicule
"And they shall whip him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again." Luke 18:33
Jesus' Holy Tomb
Anointing Stone
“Nicodemus brought a myrrh/aloes mixture of about 75 pounds.
Nicodemus and Joseph wrapped Jesus’ body, with the spices, in strips of linen.” John 19:39
Golgotha
In this place the Cross on which Jesus was crucified was found
In 326 AD, St. Helen went to the Holy Land to worship and thank the Lord for the triumphs of her son, Constantine the Great. Both Constantine and his mother were aware that the victory was due to the revelation of the sign of the Holy Cross, which emperor Constantine saw in heaven.
Arriving in Calvary, Helen ordered them to dig in a place where three crosses were drawn. Not knowing which was the Holy Cross, the Bishop of Jerusalem Macarius, touched the body of a revered dead woman in succession of the three crosses. As soon as the woman’s dead body touched the Holy Cross, she was resurrected.
The prison of Christ
The stone column where Jesus was tied to
“And they shall whip him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.” Luke 18:33
Jerusalem's Treasure. A reliquary of various Christian Orthodox Saints
Adam's Chapel
Hi my is Dan,
That is very Holy to me to as i am Catholic. I would love to say prayer there.
Quite touching history of the church
My wife and I were blessed to visit here in 2018, it changed my life forever
I would LOVE to visit this place and worship the LORD!!
What a blessing it would be.
I visited here in 2020. I was very disappointed. It has been overwhelmed with ornamental decorations it leaves the feeling of tourism instead of a sacred place.
It is primarily run by the Orthodox. What were you expecting?
In seminary I went to school there. I spent many a day in some of these very sites. Yes there were places highly ornamented . But I was not disappointed. The presence of God was so extraordinary there .