The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Hello all, we have known that a blog has not been published for quite a long time, but we have a new and quite interesting blog for you now and it’s about The Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is situated in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem is known to hold two of the holiest sites in Christianity: The Calvary or Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified) and Jesus’s empty tomb (which is where he was buried and then resurrected). The Church is a large architectural complex that includes several smaller chapels (A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small); in total the area exceeds 5000 sq. m. This Church has been a major pilgrimage destination for the Christians since its creation as the traditional site of the resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of Anastasis (Resurrection).

The Church was built during the fourth century by the emperor Constantine who had accepted Christianity and made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. His mother, Saint Helena had toured the Holy Land and identified the sites in which the events in the New Testament (the second part of the Christian Bible that describes the life of Jesus Christ and the lessons that he taught) took place, and she identified this place as the Calvary.

The construction of the Church was supervised by Qasis of Constantinople, also known as Eustathius. The engineer/designer of this Church was Zanobious from Palmyra (today Tadmur in Syria).

Many changes had gone through the Church over the years. When the church was founded during the Byzantine period (May 11, 330 AD-May 29,1453), it included four elements: atrium, basilica, open courtyard and the Sepulchre or the Holy Tomb. It was shaped into its current form during the Crusader Era (the Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims primarily to secure the control of holy sites considered sacred by both religions). During its early days, specifically in the Byzantine Era, it was larger and known as ‘The Resurrection Church’, commemorating Jesus’s rise from the dead.

The entrance to the Church is by way of a great portal, above which there is a huge stone lintel. The lintel is carved with decoration portraying scenes from the Bible. On entering the portal, there is a staircase that leads up to the site of the Calvary and it is the most decorated part of the Church. Today is has been divided into sections: east and west.

A little to the south, there is the holy dome covered by a large semi-circular stone dome with a cylindrical drum supported by a series of pillars. A central window opens onto the pivot of the dome, which is decorated with twelve petals in gold leaf, symbolizing the 12 apostles (an apostle is someone who preaches or promotes a cause, particularly a religious one) of Christ. In addition to the areas discussed here, there are a few other cells, rooms, halls, and chapels in the Church.

During the 13th century, the responsibility for opening the Church and keeping the Church’s keys (which is made of iron and is twelve inches long) was given to two Muslim families, and they are still, to this day, responsible for the Church’s keys and its opening at dawn and closure at sunset.

That is all I have to say for now. I hope you have learnt something new and interesting from reading this blog.

Thank you for reading and see you next time!