Citizendia

This article is about the church building in Jerusalem. For other uses, see The Holy Sepulchre (disambiguation).

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Latin: Sanctum Sepulchrum, also called the Church of the Resurrection, (Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως, Naos tis Anastaseos; Arabic,كنيسة القيامة, Kanīsat al-Qiyāma; Armenian: Սուրբ Հարություն Surp Harutyun) by Eastern Christians, is a Christian church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Old City (העיר העתיקה HaIr HaAtika, البلدة القديمة al-Balda al-Qadimah) is a 0 The site is venerated by most Christians as Golgotha,[1] (the Hill of Calvary), where the New Testament says that Jesus was crucified,[2] and is said to also contain the place where Jesus was buried (the sepulchre). "Golgotha" redirects here For other uses see Golgotha (disambiguation. "Golgotha" redirects here For other uses see Golgotha (disambiguation. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Crucifixion (from Latin crucifixio, noun of process crucifixio, from perfect passive participle crucifixus, fixed to a cross from A sepulchre, or sepulcher, is a type of Tomb or Burial chamber The church has been an important pilgrimage destination since at least the 4th century, as the purported site of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era) was that Century The crucifixion of Jesus is an event recorded in all four Gospels (;;) which takes place after his arrest and trial and includes his scourging Within the body of Christian beliefs the resurrection of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend Today it also serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in

Contents

History

Construction

Church of the Holy Sepulchre (1885). Other than some restoration work, it appears essentially the same today.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (1885). Other than some restoration work, it appears essentially the same today.

Eusebius describes in his Life of Constantine [1] how the site of the Holy Sepulchre, originally a site of veneration for the Christian community in Jerusalem, had been covered with earth, upon which a temple of Venus had been built. Venus was a major Roman Goddess principally associated with Love, Beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Although Eusebius does not say as much, this was probably done as part of Hadrian's reconstruction of Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina in 135, following the destruction of the Jewish Revolt of 70 and Bar Kokhba's revolt of 132–135. Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24 76 &ndash July 10 138 as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after Aelia Capitolina ( Latin in full Colonia Aelia Capitolina) was a city built by the emperor Hadrian in the year 131, and occupied Year 70 was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Background After the failed Great Jewish Revolt in the year 70 the Roman authorities took measures to suppress the rebellious province Emperor Constantine I ordered in about 325/326 that the site be uncovered, and instructed Saint Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, to build a church on the site. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine Events By Place Roman Empire Gladiatorial combat is outlawed in the Roman Empire Events By Place Roman Empire Constantine I founds Constantinople and incorporates Byzantium into the new city Saint Macarius of Jerusalem was Bishop of Jerusalem from 312 to shortly before 335 according to Sozomen. Pilgrim of Bordeaux reports in 333: "There, at present, by the command of the Emperor Constantine, has been built a basilica, that is to say, a church of wondrous beauty" (page 594). The Itinerarium Burdigalense (also known as the Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum) is the oldest known Itinerarium, written by an anonymous pilgrim from Burdigala (present-day Socrates Scholasticus (born c. Socrates of Constantinople was a Greek Christian church historian a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret, who used his work he was born at Constantinople 380), in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a full description of the discovery [2] (that was repeated later by Sozomen and by Theodoret) that emphasizes the role played in the excavations and construction by Constantine's mother Saint Helena, to whom is also credited the rediscovery of the True Cross. Events By Place Roman Empire January / February – Emperor Theodosius I is baptized. Salminius Hermias Sozomenus (Σωζομενός (c 400 - c 450 was a Historian of the Christian church Theodoret (c 393 &ndash c 457 was an influential author theologian and Christian Bishop of Cyrrhus Syria (423-457 Saint Helena (Flavia Iulia Helena Augusta also known as Saint Helen, Helena Augusta or Helena of Constantinople (c The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which by a Christian tradition are believed to be from the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified Helena had been directed by her son to build churches upon sites which commemorated the life of Jesus Christ, so the Church of the Holy Sepulchre commemorated the end of the life of Jesus, just as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (also founded by Constantine and Helena) commemorated its beginning. Church_of_the_nativity_bethjpg|thumb|200px|View of The Church of the Nativity from Manger Square]]The Church of the Nativity ( كنيسة المهد) in Bethlehem Bethlehem ( بيت لحم,, lit "House of Meat" Βηθλεέμ Bethleém בית לחם Beit Lehem, lit "House of Bread" is a

The Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre (The Tomb of Christ) with the dome of the rotunda visible above.
The Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre (The Tomb of Christ) with the dome of the rotunda visible above. In Roman religion, an aedicula (pl aediculae) is a small Shrine. A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere. A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan often covered by a Dome.

Constantine's church was built beside the excavated hill of the Crucifixion, and was actually three connected churches built over the three different holy sites, including a great basilica (the Martyrium visited by the nun Egeria in the 380s), an enclosed colonnaded atrium (the Triportico) built around the traditional Rock of Calvary, and a rotunda, called the Anastasis ("Resurrection"), which contained the remains of the cave that Helena and Macarius had identified as the burial site of Jesus. The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman In Classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of Columns joined by their Entablature, often free-standing as in the famous elliptically In modern Architecture, an atrium (plural atria is a large open space often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows often situated within an A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan often covered by a Dome. The surrounding rock was cut away, and the Tomb was encased in a structure called the Kουβούκλιον (Kouvouklion; Greek: small compartment) or Edicule (Latin: aediculum, small building) in the center of the rotunda. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The dome of the rotunda was completed by the end of the 4th century. A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere.

Each year, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre) on September 13 (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, September 13 currently falls on September 26 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service usually religious Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used Calendar in the world today

Damage and destruction

This building was damaged by fire in 614 when the Persians under Khosrau II invaded Jerusalem and captured the Cross. Events By Place Europe The Palace of Diocletian is damaged by the Avars who sack nearby Salona. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire Khosrau II or Khosrow II ( Chosroes II or Xosrov II in classical sources sometimes called In 630, Emperor Heraclius marched triumphantly into Jerusalem and restored the True Cross to the rebuilt Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Events By Place Byzantine Empire Serbs settle in the Balkans having been invited by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which by a Christian tradition are believed to be from the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified Under the Muslims it remained a Christian church. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The early Muslim rulers protected the city's Christian sites, prohibiting their destruction and their use as living quarters. In 966 the doors and roof were burnt during a riot. 966 was a year in the 10th century. Events By Place Europe April 14 or April 30 — Mieszko

On October 18, 1009, under the so-called "mad" Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, orders for the complete destruction of the Church were carried out. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid The Caliph is the Head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah Tāriqu l-Ḥākim, called bi Amr al-Lāh ( Arabic: الحاكم بأمر الله; literally "Ruler by God's Command" was the sixth Fatimid It is believed that Al-Hakim "was aggrieved by the scale of the Easter pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which was caused specially by the annual miracle of the Holy Fire with the Sepulchre. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. The Holy Fire ( Greek Ἃγιον Φῶς "Holy Light" is a Miracle The measures against the church were part of a more general campaign against Christian places of worship in Palestine and Egypt, which involved a great deal of other damage: Adhemar of Chabannes recorded that the church of St George at Lydda 'with many other churches of the saints' had been attacked, and the 'basilica of the Lord's Sepulchre destroyed down to the ground'. Lod (לוֹד اَلْلُدّْ al-Ludd; Greco-Latin Lydda) is a mixed Arab - Jewish city about 15 km southeast of Tel Aviv in . . . The Christian writer Yahya ibn Sa'id reported that everything was razed 'except those parts which were impossible to destroy or would have been too difficult to carry away'. "[3] The Church's foundations were hacked down to bedrock. The Edicule and the east and west walls and the roof of the cut-rock tomb it encased were destroyed or damaged (contemporary accounts vary), but the north and south walls were likely protected by rubble from further damage. The "mighty pillars resisted destruction up to the height of the gallery pavement, and are now effectively the only remanent of the fourth-century buildings. "[3] Some minor repairs were done to the section believed to be the tomb of Jesus almost immediately after 1009, but a true attempt at restoration would have to wait for decades. [3]

European reaction was of shock and dismay, with far-reaching and intense consequences. For example, Clunaic monk Raoul Glaber blamed the Jews, with the result that Jews were expelled from Limoges and other French towns. The Abbey of Cluny (or Cluni, or Clugny, pronunciation klyˈni is an abbey in France. MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective Rodulfus Glaber or Ralph Glaber (985&ndash1047 was a Monk and Chronicler of the years around 1000 and is one of the chief sources for the history of PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Limoges ( Lemòtges / Limòtges in the Limousin dialect of Occitan language) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Ultimately, this destruction provided an impetus to the later Crusades. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents

Reconstruction

Main Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Main Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

In wide ranging negotiations between the Fatimids and the Byzantine Empire in 1027-8 an agreement was reached whereby the new Caliph Ali az-Zahir (Al-Hakim's son) allowed the Emperor Constantine VIII to finance the rebuilding and redecoration of the Church (thereby acknowledging his patronage over it). For the Abbasid Caliph see Az-Zahir. ˤAlī az-Zāhir ( 20 June 1005 &ndash 13 June 1036) Constantine VIII ( Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Η΄ Kōnstantinos VIII) (960&ndash November 15, 1028) was Byzantine emperor [4] As a concession, the mosque in Constantinople was re-opened and sermons were to be pronounced in az-Zahir's name. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS [4] Muslim sources say a by-product of the agreement was the recanting of Islam by many Christians who had been forced to convert under Al-Hakim's persecutions. [4] In addition the Byzantines, while releasing 5,000 Muslim prisoners, made demands for the restoration of other churches destroyed by Al-Hakim and the re-establishment of a Patriarch in Jerusalem. Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family [4] Contemporary sources credit the emperor with spending vast sums in an effort to restore the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after this agreement was made. [4] The rebuilding project continued under stringent conditions imposed by the caliphate, and was completed in 1048 by Constantine IX Monomachos and Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople. Constantine IX Monomachos ( Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Θ΄ Μονομάχος Kōnstantinos IX Monomakhos) c [5] Despite the Byzantines spending vast sums on the project, "a total replacement was far beyond available resources. The new construction was concentrated on the rotunda and its surrounding buildings: the great basilica remained in ruins. "[3] The rebuilt church site consisted of "a court open to the sky, with five small chapels attached to it. "[6] The chapels were "to the east of the court of resurrection, where the wall of the great church had been. They commemorated scenes from the passion, such as the location of the prison of Christ and of his flagellation, and presumably were so placed because of the difficulties for free movement among shrines in the streets of the city. The dedication of these chapels indicates the importance of the pilgrims' devotion to the suffering of Christ. They have been described as 'a sort of Via Dolorosa in miniature'. Via Dolorosa ( Latin for "Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering" is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. . .  since little or no rebuilding took place on the site of the great basilica. Western pilgrims to Jerusalem during the eleventh century found much of the sacred site in ruins. "[3] Control of Jerusalem, and thereby the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, continued to change hands several times between the Fatimids and the Seljuk Turks (loyal to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad) until the arrival of the Crusaders in 1099. The Seljuq (also Seljuq Turks, Seldjuks, Seldjuqs, Seljuks; in Turkish Selçuklular; in Ṣaljūqīyān; in Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous [7]

Crusader and later periods

Many historians still maintain that the main concern of Pope Urban II, when calling for the First Crusade, was the threat to Byzantine-controlled Constantinople from the Turkish invasion of Asia Minor in response to the appeal of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Pope The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing Alexios I Komnenos, or Comnenus (Greek Αλέξιος Α' Κομνηνός (1048 &ndash August 15, 1118) Byzantine emperor (1081&ndash1118 Still, historians agree that the fate of Jerusalem and thereby the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was of concern if not the immediate goal of papal policy in 1095. The idea of taking Jerusalem gained more focus as the Crusade was underway. The rebuilt church site was taken from the Fatamids (who had recently taken it from the Abassids) by the knights of the First Crusade on 15 July 1099. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final [3]

The First Crusade was envisioned as an armed pilgrimage, and no crusader could consider his journey complete unless he had prayed as a pilgrim at the Holy Sepulchre. Crusader Prince Godfrey of Bouillon, who became the first crusader monarch of Jerusalem, decided not to use the title "king" during his lifetime, and declared himself Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri, "Protector (or Defender) of the Holy Sepulchre. Godfrey of Bouillon (c 1060 Boulogne-sur-Mer &ndash 18 July 1100, Jerusalem) was a medieval knight who was a leader of the First This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian "

The church, after its 1808 restoration.
The church, after its 1808 restoration.

The chronicler William of Tyre reports on the renovation of the Church in the mid-12th century. This article is about the Archbishop/historian from the 1100s The crusaders began to refurnish the church in a Romanesque style and added a bell tower. Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which These renovations unified the small chapels on the site and were completed during the reign of Queen Melisende in 1149, placing all the Holy places under one roof for the first time. Melisende of Jerusalem (1105 &ndash September 11, 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153 The church became the seat of the first Latin Patriarchs, and was also the site of the kingdom's scriptorium. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title given to the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing" is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European Monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic The church was lost to Saladin, along with the rest of the city, in 1187, although the treaty established after the Third Crusade allowed for Christian pilgrims to visit the site. Salahadin Ayyubi ( Arabic:صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی Selah'edînê Eyubî; c The Third Crusade (1189&ndash1192 also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin Emperor Frederick II regained the city and the church by treaty in the 13th century, while he himself was under a ban of excommunication, leading to the curious result of the holiest church in Christianity being laid under interdict. Frederick II ( December 26, 1194 &ndash December 13, 1250) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was a Pretender to the title In the Roman Catholic Church, the word interdict (in’tér-dikt usually refers to an Ecclesiastical penalty Both city and church were captured by the Khwarezmians in 1244. Khwarezm were a series of States centered on the Amu Darya River delta of the

The Franciscan friars renovated it further in 1555, as it had been neglected despite increased numbers of pilgrims. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic A fire severely damaged the structure again in 1808, causing the dome of the Rotunda to collapse and smashing the Edicule's exterior decoration. The Rotunda and the Edicule's exterior were rebuilt in 1809–1810 by architect Komminos of Mytilene in the then current Ottoman Baroque style. Mytilene ( Greek: Μυτιλήνη - Mitilíni) is the Capital City of Lesbos, a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc The fire did not reach the interior of the Edicule, and the marble decoration of the Tomb dates mainly to the 1555 restoration. The current dome dates from 1870. Extensive modern renovations began in 1959, including a restoration of the dome from 1994–1997. The cladding of red marble applied to the Edicule by Komminos has deteriorated badly and is detaching from the underlying structure; since 1947 it has been held in place with an exterior scaffolding of iron girders installed by the British Mandate. The Palestine Mandate, was a set of protocols or articles that formed a multilateral legal and administrative agreement No plans have been agreed upon for its renovation.

Status quo

The immovable ladder. Detail from photograph of main entrance above, taken in 2005.
The immovable ladder. Detail from photograph of main entrance above, taken in 2005.
The ladder in 1892.
The ladder in 1892.

Since the renovation of 1555, control of the church oscillated between the Franciscans and the Orthodox, depending on which community could obtain a favorable firman from the Sublime Porte at a particular time, often through outright bribery, and violent clashes were not uncommon. A firman is a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in certain historical Islamic states including the Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire, and Iran Ottoman Porte (also Sublime Porte, High Porte, or in Ottoman Turkish, Bab-ı Ali) used to refer to the Divan (court In 1767, weary of the squabbling, the Porte issued a firman that divided the church among the claimants. This was confirmed in 1852 with another firman that made the arrangement permanent, establishing a status quo of territorial division among the communities. Status quo is a Latin term meaning the present existing state of affairs or "the state in which"

The primary custodians are the Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholic Churches, with the Greek Orthodox Church having the lion's share. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Armenian Apostolic Church (Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական Եկեղեցի Hayasdaneaytz Arakelagan In the 19th century, the Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syriac Orthodox acquired lesser responsibilities, which include shrines and other structures within and around the building. History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world Times and places of worship for each community are strictly regulated in common areas.

Establishment of the status quo did not halt the violence, which continues to break out every so often even in modern times. On a hot summer day in 2002, the Coptic monk who is stationed on the roof to express Coptic claims to the Ethiopian territory there moved his chair from its agreed spot into the shade. This was interpreted as a hostile move by the Ethiopians, and eleven were hospitalized after the resulting fracas. [3]

In another incident in 2004 during Orthodox celebrations of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a door to the Franciscan chapel was left open. In the Christian Liturgical calendar, there are several different feasts known as Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the This was taken as a sign of disrespect by the Orthodox and a fistfight broke out. Some people were arrested, but no one was seriously injured. [8]

The most recent of these incidents occurred on April 20, 2008 (palm sunday), where a brawl broke out due to a Greek monk being ejected from the building by a rival faction. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Palm Sunday is a Christian Moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter. MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective Police were called to the scene but were also attacked by the enraged brawlers. [9]

Under the status quo, no part of what is designated as common territory may be so much as rearranged without consent from all communities. This often leads to the neglect of badly needed repairs when the communities cannot come to an agreement among themselves about the final shape of a project. Just such a disagreement has delayed the renovation of the edicule, where the need is now dire, but also where any change in the structure might result in a change to the status quo disagreeable to one or more of the communities.

A less grave sign of this state of affairs is located on a window ledge over the church's entrance. Someone placed a wooden ladder there sometime before 1852, when the status quo defined both the doors and the window ledges as common ground. The ladder remains there to this day, in almost exactly the same position. It can be seen to occupy the ledge in century-old photographs and engravings.

None of the communities controls the main entrance. In 1192, Saladin assigned responsibility for it to two neighboring Muslim families. Salahadin Ayyubi ( Arabic:صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی Selah'edînê Eyubî; c The Joudeh were entrusted with the key, and the Nusseibeh, who had been the custodians of the church since the days of Caliph Omar in 637, retained the position of keeping the door. Nusseibeh ( عائلة نسيبة) is the name of the oldest Arab family in Jerusalem, The Nusseibeh family has long history and tight bonds with the Holy Land This arrangement has persisted into modern times. Twice each day, a Joudeh family member brings the key to the door, which is locked and unlocked by a Nusseibeh.

The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre

Constantine set up The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre to guard and maintain the Church. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Sanctum Sepulchrum also called the Church of the Resurrection, ( Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως Naos tis Anastaseos [10]

Modern arrangement of the church

Floor plan of the church.
Floor plan of the church.

The entrance to the church is through a single door in the south transept. Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. This narrow way of access to such a large structure has proven to be hazardous at times. For example, when a fire broke out in 1840, dozens of pilgrims were trampled to death. In 1999 the communities agreed to install a new exit door in the church, but there was never any report of this door being completed. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)

The Stone of the Anointing.
The Stone of the Anointing.
Tomb of Jesus.
Tomb of Jesus.

Authenticity

As noted above, both Eusebius and Socrates Scholasticus record that the tomb of Jesus was originally a site of veneration for the Christian community in Jerusalem and its location remembered by that community even when the site was covered by Hadrian's temple. Socrates of Constantinople was a Greek Christian church historian a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret, who used his work he was born at Constantinople Eusebius in particular notes that the uncovering of the tomb "afforded to all who came to witness the sight, a clear and visible proof of the wonders of which that spot had once been the scene" (Life of Constantine, Chapter XXVIII [4]).

Archaeologist Martin Biddle of Oxford University has theorized that this "clear and visible proof" might have been a graffito to the effect of "This is the Tomb of Christ", scratched in the rock by Christian pilgrims before the construction of the Roman temple. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property Similar ancient graffiti are still visible in the Catacombs of Rome, indicating the tombs of especially venerated saints. The first Burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome.

Floor plan of the site in the 4th Century
Floor plan of the site in the 4th Century

In the nineteenth century, a number of scholars disputed the identification of the Church with the actual site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial, on the basis that the Church was inside the city walls, while early accounts (e. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar g. , Hebrews 13:12) described these events as outside the walls. The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbr Heb for Citations is one of the books in the New Testament. On the morning after his arrival in Jerusalem, General Gordon selected a rock-cut tomb in a cultivated area outside the walls as a more likely site for the burial of Jesus. Major-General, CB ( 28 January 1833 &ndash 26 January 1885) known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha This site is usually referred to as the Garden Tomb to distinguish it from the Holy Sepulchre, and it is still a popular pilgrimage site for those (usually Protestants) who doubt the authenticity of the Anastasis and/or do not have permission to hold services in the Church itself. The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem is considered by some to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

However, it has since been determined that the site was indeed outside the city walls at the time of the crucifixion. The Jerusalem city walls were expanded by Herod Agrippa in 41–44, and only then enclosed the site of the Holy Sepulchre, at which time the surrounding garden mentioned in the Bible would have been built up as well. For other with this name see Agrippa (disambiguation. Agrippa I also called the Great (10 BC - 44 AD) King of the Jews, Year 41 was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 44 was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. To quote the Israeli scholar Dan Bahat, former City Archaeologist of Jerusalem:

"We may not be absolutely certain that the site of the Holy Sepulchre Church is the site of Jesus' burial, but we have no other site that can lay a claim nearly as weighty, and we really have no reason to reject the authenticity of the site. "[11]

Influence

Plan of Santo Stefano in Bologna. (4) is the church of the Holy Sepulchre, inspired in the Anastasis.
Plan of Santo Stefano in Bologna. (4) is the church of the Holy Sepulchre, inspired in the Anastasis.

Since the 9th century, the construction of churches inspired in the Anastasis was extended across Europe. [12] One example is Santo Stefano in Bologna, Italy, an agglomeration of seven churches recreating shrines of Jerusalem. Santo Stefano is a complex of religious edifices in the city of Bologna, Italy. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy

Several churches and monasteries in Russia have been modelled on the Church of the Resurrection, some even reproducing other Holy Places for the benefit of pilgrims who could not travel to the Holy Land. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Holy Land ( Arabic: الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah;Ancient Aramaic: ארעא קדישא Ar'a Qaddisha; Hebrew: ארץ_הקודש

Image gallery

The Stone of the Anointing.

The Angel's Stone.

The Catholicon.

The omphalos and the North wall of the Catholicon. An omphalos is an ancient religious stone artifact, or Baetylus.

Greek altar at Calvary. An altar is any structure upon which Sacrifices or other offerings are made for religious purposes or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place "Golgotha" redirects here For other uses see Golgotha (disambiguation.

The place were it is believed Jesus died, now under the Eastern Orthodox altar on Calvary.

The cracked Rock of Golgotha, seen from the Chapel of Adam. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a See also Adam and Eve Adam ( Hebrew: אָדָם was according to a literal interpretation of Genesis, the first man created by

Stairway to Golgotha.

St Helen Chapel.

The Holy Prison, or Prison of Christ

Treasure Room. In center: the True Cross. The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which by a Christian tradition are believed to be from the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified Near the walls: other relics. A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
  2. ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Sepulchre
  3. ^ a b c d e f Colin Morris (2005). This article identifies the burial places of founders of world religions. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a Catholic Chivalric order of Knighthood that traces its roots to Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (c 1060 Boulogne-sur-Mer &ndash 18 July 1100, Jerusalem) was a medieval knight who was a leader of the First The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in The Eastern Orthodox Churches trace their roots back to the Apostles and Jesus Christ. The Temple Church is a late 12th century church in London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Early Christian art and architecture is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from about the year 100 to about the year 500. Persecutions See also Persecution of Christians The first recorded significant persecution of Christians at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Empire The art of the crusades, meaning primarily the art produced in Middle Eastern areas under Crusader control encompassed roughly two artistic periods in Europe, the The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem is considered by some to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. The Talpiot Tomb (or Talpiyot Tomb) is a Tomb discovered in 1980 in the East Talpiot Israeli neighborhood five kilometers south of the Old The Sepulchre of Christ and the Medieval West. Oxford University Press.  
  4. ^ a b c d e Yaacov Lev (1991). State and Society in Fatimid Egypt. Brill.  
  5. ^ Frederick John Foakes-Jackson (1921). An Introduction to the History of Christianity. Macmillan Company.  
  6. ^ James Fergusson (1887). History of Architecture in All Countries. Dodd.  
  7. ^ Dore Gold (2007). The Fight for Jerusalem. Regnery Publishing.  
  8. ^ Punch-up at tomb of Jesus | World news | The Guardian
  9. ^ Armenian, Greek worshippers come to blows at Jesus' tomb - Haaretz - Israel News
  10. ^ A History of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
  11. ^ Bahat 1986
  12. ^ Monastero di Santo Stefano: Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano: Storia, Bologna.

References

External links

General sites

Custodians

Primary sources and scholarly articles

Photo galleries

Miscellaneous

An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Synaxarium, Synaxarion, Synexarium, Synexarion, pl Synaxaria ( Greek: Συναξάριον, from συναγειν
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