History and Ancient Accounts of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre | Middle East And North Africa

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CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

Golgotha

Christian tradition holds that Jesus was crucified by the Romans just outside Jerusalem’s city's walls as they existed 2,000 years ago, and was buried in a cave tomb nearby. The Romans persecuted Jews and early Christian community in Jerusalem, and Emperor Hadrian built pagan temples on places that were sacred to both Jews and Christians. After Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity in the 4th century, his mother, Helena, traveled to the Holy Land to identify sites linked to Jesus and commissioned monumental churches, including a sprawling basilica on the traditional location of the crucifixion and burial. That structure was torched by Persian invaders in 614 and destroyed again in 1009 by the psychopathic caliph al-Hakim, who persecuted Jews, Christians and even fellow Muslims. A 12th-century restoration by the Crusaders gave the Church of the Holy Sepulchre its current appearance. [Source: Associated Press]

A room in the south-east corner of the church has been placed on top of Golgotha, or Calvary, where Christ according to tradition Christ was crucified. The gray rock mass of Golgotha is protected by a plexiglass case. Here, a narrow half circle of stairs leads to a chapel — with a Greek Orthodox side and a Roman Catholic side “placed over the spot where Christ was nailed to the cross.

Kristin Romey wrote in National Geographic: “The most venerated site in the Christian world, the tomb today consists of a limestone shelf or burial bed that was hewn from the wall of a cave. Since at least 1555, and most likely centuries earlier, the burial bed has been covered in marble cladding, allegedly to prevent eager pilgrims from removing bits of the original rock as souvenirs. A window cut into the burial chamber of Jesus’s tomb for pilgrims to see what is believed to be the original stone wall of the burial cave. the Stone of Unction, which commemorates the anointing of Jesus’ body for burial.” [Source: Kristin Romey, National Geographic, October 31, 2016]

Websites and Resources: PBS Frontline From Jesus to Christ pbs.org ; BBC on Christianity bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity ; Candida Moss at the Daily Beast Daily Beast;Christian Answers christiananswers.net; Biblical History: Bible History Online bible-history.com ; Biblical Archaeology Society biblicalarchaeology.org

Early History of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The site was discovered underneath a Temple of Aphrodite by Saint Helena, the mother of Byzantine Emperor Constantine, along with — tradition says — the True Cross, the Crown of Thorns and the lance used by a Roman Soldier to pierce Christ on his way to Calvary. Considering it was her first pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she didn't make out so bad. Upon her return, Constantine, the man who christianized Rome, ordered a building to "surpass the most magnificent monuments any city possesses." Ten years later in A.D. 335 the first Church of the Holy Sepulcher was finished.

Constantine and Helena and the True Cross

The site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is venerated by most Christians as Golgotha, (the Hill of Calvary). The early Christian community of Jerusalem appears to have held liturgical celebrations at Christ's tomb from the time of the resurrection until the city was taken by the Romans in 66 AD. Less than a century later, in 135 AD, Emperor Hadrian filled in the quarry to provide a level foundation for a pagan temple. The site remained buried beneath the pagan temple until Emperor Constantin the Great converted to Christianity in 312 AD. He had the pagan temple to Venus torn down and set the plan to erect the monumental domed Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It soon to become Jerusalem's most sacred place of Christian pilgrimage and has been an important pilgrimage destination since at least the fourth century. [Source: Associated Press, November 10, 2008] Kristin Romey wrote in National Geographic, “Jewish tradition forbade burial within the walls of a city, and the Gospels specify that Jesus was buried outside of Jerusalem, near the site of his crucifixion on Golgotha ("the place of skulls"). A few years after the burial is said to have occurred, the walls of Jerusalem were expanded, putting Golgotha and the nearby tomb within the city. When Constantine's representatives arrived in Jerusalem around A.D. 325 to locate the tomb, they were allegedly pointed to a temple built by the Roman emperor Hadrian some 200 years earlier. Historical sources suggest that Hadrian had the temple built over the tomb to assert the dominance of Roman state religion at the site venerated by Christians. [Source: Kristin Romey, National Geographic, October 31, 2016 ^^^]

“According to Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, the Roman temple was razed and excavations beneath it revealed a rock-cut tomb. The top of the cave was sheared off to expose the interior, and a church was built around it to enclose the tomb. The church was completely destroyed by the Fatimids in 1009 and rebuilt in the mid-11th century. Excavations inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during the 20th century revealed remains of what is believed to be Hadrian's temple and walls from Constantine's original church. Archaeologists also documented an ancient limestone quarry and at least half a dozen other rock-cut tombs, some of which can be seen today. ^^^

Throughout its 1650 year history the church has been destroyed and rebuilt many times and has been altered and subdivided countless times by the various Christian sects that lay claim to it. In 613 Constantine’s church was destroyed by Persians. It was rebuilt and razed again in 1009, this time by Saracen Muslims. The church was rebuilt again and greatly expanded by the Crusaders, who gave it its present Romanesque cross-like shape. Much of what you see today dates back to the Crusaders. Several Christian sects warily — sometimes hostilely — share the sanctuary, each presiding over their designated turf. Keys to the church are entrusted to a local Muslim family.

Elizabeth J. Himelfarb wrote in Archaeology magazine: “Since the fifth century, various Christian sects have shared space in the church, but not without contention. Territorial holdings shifted many times when high taxes forced different groups to sell their holdings to one another. In-fighting came to a head in 1852, when the Ottomans, then in control of Jerusalem, issued what is known as the Status Quo agreement. The agreement defined the territorial rights of the competing communities — Greek-Orthodox, Armenian, Latin, Syrian-Jacobite, Coptic, and Ethiopian — within the edifice and set down the order of mass, paths of procession, and timetable of liturgies. Provisions of the agreement continue to govern daily life at the church. Vying for territory remains an issue here — holdings are far from equal.”

Holy Sepulcher Pilgrimage by Russian Abbot Daniel in 1106

Altar of the Crucifixion at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

C. W. Wilson wrote: “Russian pilgrimages to the Holy Land date from the conversion of the Russians to Christianity towards the close of the tenth century. As early as 1022 A.D. allusion is made, in the Life of St. Theodosius of Kiev, to the presence of Russian pilgrims in Palestine; but the first whose name is known is St. Varlaam, Abbot of the Laura of Kiev, who visited Jerusalem in 1062 A.D. The earliest extant record of a Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land is that of Daniel, the Abbot, or Prior {XXXX}, of a Russian monastery, of whom nothing certain is known. It may be inferred from Daniel's reference to the river Snov, as a stream that possessed several of the characteristics of the Jordan, that he came from the province of Tchernigov, in Little Russia, through which the Snov runs; and he is supposed to have been the same Daniel who was Bishop of Suriev in 1115 A.D., and who died the 9th September, 1122 A.D. [Source: “The Pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land” 1106-1107 A. D. By C. W. Wilson. London, 1888, Holy Fire]

“After witnessing the ceremony of the descent of the 'Holy Light,' in the Church of the Resurrection, on Easter Saturday, 1107 A.D., the Russian pilgrim commenced his homeward journey. He travelled by the Convent of the Cross; ‘Ain Kárim, the home of Zacharias and the birthplace of John the Baptist; and 'Amwás, which had been laid waste by the infidels, to Jaffa; and thence by Arsúf, Kaisaríyeh, Haifa, Tyre, and Sidon, to Beirút. Whether he embarked at Beirút or at Suédiah, the port of Antioch, is uncertain; but in either case he followed the coast pretty closely, and after having been robbed by pirates, off the Lycian coast, near Patara, eventually reached Constantinople in safety.

“According to his own account (p. 73) he described nothing that he did not see with his own eyes, and this is supported by the internal evidence of the narrative, for when he cannot visit a place, he frankly admits that he is dependent upon others for his information. Incidentally the Russian Abbot throws some curious light on the unsettled state of the country, and the dangers to which travellers were exposed, on the roads, in the earlier years of the Latin 'kingdom.' At Lydda, on the high road from Joppa to Jerusalem, pilgrims pass the night in great fear of raiding Saracens from Ascalon; brigands frequent the road from Jerusalem to Jericho; on the forest-clad hills near Solomon's Pools, Saracen bands from Ascalon lie in wait for those journeying from Bethlehem to Hebron; the mountains south-east of Bethlehem are so full of brigands that Daniel and his companions have to travel under the protection of a Saracen chief. No one can proceed from Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee without an armed escort; the Saracens of Beisan attack travellers as they ford the streams; impious Saracens massacre Christians going from Mount Tabor to Nazareth; and Lebanon cannot be visited on account of the infidels. We learn, too, that panthers and wild asses still found a home in the Wilderness of Judæa; and that lions in large numbers frequented the jungle in the Jordan Valley; whilst the date-palm, which has since disappeared, flourished in the semi-tropical climate of Jericho and Beisan.”

Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the 12th Century

Tomb of Christ in 1887

C. W. Wilson wrote: “Daniel's description of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and of the buildings and 'Holy Places' connected with it, is of great interest, for he saw them before the Crusaders had carried out those changes which gave the church its present form. A few years previously, in l102, the church had been visited by Sæwulf, whose remarks on the buildings and sacred sites (p. 100) may be compared with those of Daniel. [Source: “The Pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land” 1106-1107 A. D. By C. W. Wilson. London, 1888, Holy Fire]

“At the commencement of the twelfth century the Shrine or Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre was protected by a wall of enclosure, and in close contact with this wall there was an arcade having twelve columns and twelve arches; in three of the intercolumnar spaces, at the east end, the masonry of the wall seems to have been partially replaced by grilles, or screens of open ironwork, in each of which there was a door giving access to the tomb.1 The wall of enclosure was cased with marble; and above it, resting on pillars, there was an upper pavilion with a dome which was surmounted by a silver image of Christ.2 In the interior of the chapel, and on its northern side, there was a bench upon which the body of Christ was laid; this bench, cut in the rock of the cavern, was covered by marble slabs in which there were three small openings that permitted Christians to touch and kiss the sacred rock.1 One of the slabs was removable, and the guardian of the tomb seems to have added to his income by selling portions of the rock to pilgrims. The Angel Chapel had not then been erected, but the stone that was rolled away, upon which the angel sat, was shown three feet in front of the entrance to the sepulchral chamber.2

“Some difficulty arises from the obscurity of Daniel's notice of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. In describing the little building, he says that there were three doors in the pavilion, or turret, above the sacred grotto, and that through these people entered the Sepulchre. Later, in his remarks on the descent of tine' Holy Light,' he says that on entering the church with the king they went to the eastern door of the Holy Sepulchre; Baldwin then proceeded to the place prepared for him, near the altar rail, in front of the east door of the tomb, and the Abbot of St. Sabbas, his monks, and the orthodox priests were ordered to take up a position above the tomb. Daniel was at the same time directed to place himself 'higher up, above the door of the Holy Sepulchre, in front of the high altar,' so that he might see through the doors of the tomb which were sealed up with the royal seal. At the eighth hour the orthodox priests, clergy, monks and hermits above the tomb commenced chanting the Vespers, whilst Daniel from his post kept watch over the three doors; a little later the Bishop left the high altar, and going to the door of the tomb, looked in through the grille; then, at the ninth hour, a fine rain came down through the open roof and wet all those above the tomb.

“There can, I think, be little doubt with regard to the position of the position of the three doors; they must have been in the wall of the enclosure, and not in the turret; and they must have led directly from the floor of the Rotunda to the space in front of the door of the sepulchral chamber which, at an earlier period, was occupied by an apse. When the Angel Chapel was constructed the position of the three doors, indicated on Fig. I (a, b, c), appears to have been preserved, for John of Wirzburg (1130) mentions three doors at the east end, one of which faced the choir; and Edrisi (1154) alludes to two doors, one on the north and one on the south, which were opposite the northern and southern entrances of the church.

“The exact positions occupied by the monks, priests and Daniel are more difficult questions. I am informed that, in each case, all the Russian MSS. read above the tomb in the sense of altitude, and this necessitates the existence of a gallery or terrace above the chapel. There is, however, no allusion to such a gallery in any of the writings that have come down to us; and Sæwulf's description of 'our Lord's Sepulchre, surrounded by a very strong wall and roof, lest the rain should fall upon it,' can hardly be reconciled with its existence. The Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre is, and always must have been, a small building, and there could have been no room above it for the numerous priests, monks and hermits indicated in the text; besides this, the priests would hardly have been allowed to occupy a position that might so easily lend itself to trickery in the production of the Holy Light. The position of Daniel, which enabled him to see through the three doors into the tomb, is also difficult to explain on the supposition that he was above it during the ceremony. It appears to me much more probable that the priests and monks took up a position on the floor of the Rotunda, near the north-east corner of the chapel, as they do now; and that Daniel's place was closer to the high altar and more nearly in front of the east door of the Holy Sepulchre.

Layout of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the 12th Century

C. W. Wilson wrote: ““The 'Sepulchre' stood in the centre of the Church of the Resurrection, which was a circular building with a series of chapels attached to it; the probable form of the church at the time of Daniel's visit is shown in the accompanying plan, Fig. 2, which is a slight modification of Fig. 3, Plate I., in Professor Willis's 'Architectural History of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.' [Source: “The Pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land” 1106-1107 A. D. By C. W. Wilson. London, 1888, Holy Fire]

Layout of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today

“The walls of the church were divided into three stories, ground-floor, triforium, and clerestory. On the ground-plan there were, according to Daniel, twelve columns and six pillars; but the numbers were more probably ten and eight, arranged as shown on the plan. At the eastern end there was a wider arch, rising into the triforium, which opened into a short chancel terminated by an apse; in this apse was the high altar (2), and here the Latin priests stood (3) during the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Light; a raised step, or seat (4), without the altar rails was reserved for the King. The great arch and the apse were decorated with mosaics; in the spandrils of the arch was a representation of the 'Annunciation,' on the soffit a mosaic of the 'Ascension,' and the apse was adorned with an ' Exaltation of Adam.' Traces of the two first were seen and described by Quaresmius (1616-26); the third was destroyed when the Crusaders removed the apse and built their choir at the east end of the Rotunda, but a copy appears to have been put up over the high altar in the sanctuary of the new church.1 In the triforium there were sixteen columns, one over each of the columns and piers beneath, except over the two lofty piers at the east end; and in communication with the triforium gallery, probably where the Greek monastery now stands, there were apartments in which the patriarch resided. In the clerestory wall, above the triforium, there were sunk arched panels, which were ornamented with figures in mosaic: in the panel above the high altar was the figure of Christ; in the panels on the north and south, Helena and Constantine; and in the others, the Apostles and Prophets. These mosaics are mentioned by several pilgrims, and a full description of those that remained in his day is given by Quaresmius.1

“The roof of the church was of wood, 'built of 131 squared cedars, in the form of a single cone truncated at the top, where the light was admitted through a circular aperture, twelve feet, or perhaps more, in diameter.'2 This opening, first mentioned by Sæwulf, appears to have been retained in all repairs and alterations, for it is frequently alluded to by the later pilgrims. The Rotunda was partly encircled by a vaulted side-aisle, in the wall of which were the three apses mentioned by Arculfus3 as containing altars; the portions of the aisle at the east end were of square form, and connected, as shown on the plan, with the chapels to the north and south. Daniel states that the church had six doors, and he particularly mentions one on the west, through which he passed with King Baldwin to witness the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Light. The probable position of four of the doors may be seen on the plan (Fig. 2), and a fifth may have been the door on the north, mentioned by Edrisi;4 the sixth, or west door, if 'west' be not a copyist's error, must have led from Christian Street to the triforium, and thence by a flight of steps to the floor of the church. The narrative, however (p. 77) seems to indicate that Baldwin, on entering the church, went straight to the Holy Sepulchre without descending any steps; and in this case the door must have been on the south side.

Holy Places in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the 12th Century

Cavalry stone

C. W. Wilson wrote: “The Holy Places mentioned by Daniel are: “1. 'The Navel of the Earth' was in a small oratory just outside the wall of the eastern apse (7); it is mentioned as the centre of the earth by Arculfus and Bernhard, and is 'the place called Compas' of Sæwulf. When the church was enlarged by the Crusaders it was included in the choir, where it is now pointed out to pilgrims. [Source: “The Pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land” 1106-1107 A. D. By C. W. Wilson. London, 1888, Holy Fire]

“2. 'Golgotha' and 'Calvary' were in a small building (8, 9) outside of the church, and there was, as at present, an upper and a lower chapel; the chapels are respectively called Golgotha and Calvary by Daniel, and, perhaps more correctly, Calvary and Golgotha by Sæwulf.

“3. The 'place of the descent from the cross,' which appears to have been 'the Church of St. Mary, close to Calvary,' of Sæwulf was perhaps on the spot (11) now occupied by the Chapel of St. Mary of Egypt. It seems not impossible that the Crusaders, during their reconstruction, moved the stone of unction to the interior of their church, and that the tradition of the Church of St. Mary adhered to the original spot and gradually took its present altered form.1

“4. The 'Altar of Abraham' (10) was close to the place of Crucifixion; Arculfus places it between the Basilica of Constantine and the church on Calvary; Antoninus, at one side of the rock on which Christ was crucified, and Sæwulf, on Mount Calvary. It is now shown in a separate chapel a few feet to the south-east of the place where the cross is said to have been set up.

“5. The places of 'the parting of the vestments,' 'the crowning with thorns,' 'the mocking,' 'the smiting' (13), and of 'the prison' (12), are stated to have been under one roof to the north of, and not far from, the place of Crucifixion; according to Sæwulf the prison was in the court of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the other

Stone of Anointing

“6. The Church and Convent of the Virgin at the place called 'Spudi' (20), whence Mary witnessed the crucifixion, and where the friends and acquaintances looked on from afar. This seems to have been the 'church in honour of St. Mary, with a most noble library,' which is said by Bernhard to have adjoined the 'hostel' founded by Charlemagne. According to Sæwulf, the church, which was called Sta. Maria Latina, was beyond the gate of the Holy Sepulchre to the south; it adjoined the Church of St. Mary the Less, and close to this last building was the Hospital and the celebrated Monastery of St. John the Baptist. In 'La Citez de Iherusalem,' the Church and the Monastery of Sta. Maria Latina, in which was the place called 'Spud,' are said to have been situated between the Church and Nunnery of St. Mary the Greater and the Hospital of St. John the Baptist; and they must therefore have occupied either the present site of the Greek 'Convent of Gethsemane,' or of the Mosque of El Omary.1

“7. The place where St. Helena found the Holy Cross, or of 'the Invention of the Cross,' was east of the place of Crucifixion; at the time of Daniel's visit there was only a small church (14) at the spot, but there had been a very large one which Sæwulf says was built in honour of St. Helena, and had been utterly destroyed by the Infidels. It is not unlikely that this large church, mentioned by Sæwulf and Daniel, was the Basilica of Constantine, and that the small church of the latter was the present Chapel of St. Helena, which, in all essential particulars, is a Byzantine building.

The 'doorway' to which Mary the Egyptian came (15) was east of the place of 'the Invention of the Cross.' According to Sæwulf, the picture of the Virgin, before which Mary prayed, was on the western wall of the Chapel of St. Mary, attached to the northern side of the Rotunda, and the doorway must therefore have been the northern one.1 At a later period the tradition went round to a door on the west of the church that appears to have been the door which led directly to the triforium.2 The place is now pointed out at the south door.

Description of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Sæwulf, A.D. 1102

“'The first place to visit is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is called the "Martyrium," not only on account of the arrangement of the streets, but because it is of greater renown than all other churches… In the middle of this church is the Sepulchre of the Lord, surrounded by a very strong wall, and covered over, lest rain should fall upon the Holy Sepulchre, for the church above is open to the sky In the court of the Church of the Lord's Sepulchre some very holy places are to be seen, namely, the prison in which, according to the testimony of the Assyrians, our Lord Jesus Christ was confined after He was betrayed; then, a little above,3 is the place where the holy cross and the other crosses were found, and where a large church was afterwards built in honour of Queen Helena, but which has since been utterly destroyed by the Pagans; below (i.e., to the west), but not far from the prison, is the marble column to which Jesus Christ our Lord was bound in the prætorium, and scourged with most cruel stripes. Near at hand is the spot where our Lord was stripped of His garments by the soldiers; and next the place where He was clad in a purple robe by the soldiers and crowned with the crown of thorns, and, casting lots they divided His garments. [Source: “The Pilgrimage of the Russian Abbot Daniel in the Holy Land” 1106-1107 A. D. By C. W. Wilson. London, 1888, Holy Fire]

“'Next we ascend Mount Calvary, where the patriarch Abraham, having raised an altar, would have sacrificed his own son at the command of God; there the Son of God whom he prefigured, was afterwards offered up as a sacrifice to God the Father for the redemption of the world. The rock of that mountain bears witness to the Lord's Passion; it is much cracked near the cavity in which the Lord s cross was fixed, because it could not bear the death of its Maker without splitting, as we read in the Passion, "and the rocks rent."1 Below is the place which is called Golgotha, where Adam is said to have been raised from the dead… Near the place of Calvary is the Church of St Mary, on the spot where the Lord's body, having been taken down from the cross, was anointed and wrapped in a linen cloth or shroud before it was buried.

“'At the head of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the wall outside, not far from the place of Calvary, is the spot which is called Compas, where Jesus Christ our Lord indicated with His own hand, and measured, the centre of the world, as the Psalmist bears witness, "For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth."2 But some say that in that place the Lord Jesus Christ first appeared to Mary Magdalene when she sought Him weeping, and thought he had been the gardener, as is related in the Gospe . These most holy oratories are situated in the court of the Lord's Sepulchre, on the east side. But two most beautiful chapels in honour of St Mary and St. John3 are attached to the sides of the church itself, one on either side, as these witnesses of the Lord's Passion stood one on either hand of Him (when on the cross). On the west wall of the Chapel of St. Mary, on the Outside, is the picture of the Lord's mother, which, by speaking through the Holy Ghost, marvellously comforted Mary the Egyptian... as we read in her life.

“'On the other side of the Church of St. John is the fine Monastery of the Holy Trinity, in which is the place of the baptistery; the Chapel of St. James the Apostle, who first filled the Pontifical chair at Jerusalem, adjoins the monastery. These are all so built and arranged that anyone standing in the farthest church can clearly see all the five churches from door to door.

“'Without the gate of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to the south, is the Church of St. Mary, which is called Latina, because the monks there perform divine service in Latin; and the Assyrians say that the blessed mother of God stood, during the crucifixion of her Son, our Lord, on the spot now occupied by the altar of this church. Adjoining this church is another Church of St. Mary, which is called the Little, where nuns devoutly serve the Virgin and her Son. Near this is the hospital where there is the celebrated monastery founded in honour of St. John the Baptist.' JOHN OF WIRZBURG. CH. XII. THE CHAPEL1 (monumentum) OF THE SEPULCHRE OF THE LORD; THE ALTAR OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE; THE: INSCRIPTIONS; THE NEW CHURCH; THE CHOIR2; THE ALTAR OF THE: RESURRECTION; THE PROCESSION.

people lined up to touch the Rock of Cavalry

“The chapel, in which the Lord's Sepulchre is contained, is almost round in form; and it is decorated on the inside with mosaic work. It is entered from the east through a small door, in front of which there is an almost square covered area with two doors. By one of these doors persons entering the Chapel of the Sepulchre are admitted by the other those leaving it are passed out. In that covered area also the guardians of the Sepulchre reside. And it has a third little door towards (opposite) the choir. Outside the chapel, and attached to the west side, that is, at the head of the Sepulchre, there is an altar with a certain square superstructure, the three walls of which are of network beautifully made of iron,1 and the altar is called the 'Altar of the Holy Sepulchre.' This chapel has, above it, a pretty large sort of 'ciborium,'2 which is round, and has its upper surface covered with silver; it is raised upwards towards that wide opening to the air, high above, in that larger building.3 This building is circular, like a rotunda; it is pretty wide round the chapel, and the enclosing wall is continuous,4 largely painted and ornamented with various figures of the saints, and lighted by a number of lamps. In the narrower circuit of the same larger building, eight round marble columns, and the same number of square pillars, externally decorated with the same number of square marble tablets, and arranged in a circle, support a higher mass5 under the roof, which, as we have said, is open in the middle... We have said that the columns, to the number mentioned, are arranged in a circle; but at the east end alone their arrangement and number are changed on account of the addition of the new church, to which one passes from that point. And that new and recently added building contains a pretty wide choir (chorus Dominorum), and a pretty long sanctuary,6 containing a high altar consecrated in honour of the Anastasis, that is, of the holy resur- rection, as is also shown by a mosaic picture placed above it. For there is contained in the picture a figure of Christ rising from the dead, having broken the bars of hell, and dragging thence our old father Adam.1 Beyond this sanctuary of the altar, and within the circuit of the wall of enclosure, there is a pretty wide space, suitable for a procession,2 round this new building, as well as round the old building of the chapel already mentioned.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Egeria's Description of the Liturgical Year in Jerusalem” users.ox.ac.uk ; Complete Works of Josephus at Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), translated by William Whiston, ccel.org , Wikipedia, BBC, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Live Science, Encyclopedia.com, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider, AFP, Library of Congress, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024