As it says Scripture The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built on the site of Jesus' crucifixion. It was here, according to legend, that he was buried and then miraculously resurrected. This place is one of the most important for Christians around the world.
The history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is very ancient. The very first church here was built by the mother of Emperor Constantine named Helen, who converted to Christianity at an advanced age. Where the famous Church of the Holy Sepulcher is located today, in those days there was a temple of one of the pagan goddesses - Venus. Entering his dungeon, Elena was the first to discover the entrance to the cave in which the Holy Sepulcher and the cross - the crucifixion of the Savior - were located.
Over the centuries, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was destroyed and reconstructed more than once, and also came under the jurisdiction of either Muslim or Christian rulers. In 1810, the church was restored after a terrible fire.
Nowadays the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem has three parts: the Church of the Resurrection, the Church of Calvary and the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. This territory is divided between the Armenian, Syrian, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian and, of course, Roman Catholic denominations according to an 1852 agreement. Each of these faiths prays in the temple at a strictly defined time for it. To prevent conflicts, the keys to the temple building have been kept in the Muslim family since the 12th century, where they are inherited by the eldest son. Any changes to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher can only be made with the general consent of representatives of all faiths.
Excursion to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
All local excursions begin at the central arched entrance, next to which on the marble floor lies the so-called Stone of Confirmation. It shows Nicodemus and Joseph anointing Jesus' body with oils before burial. The Temple of the Resurrection begins immediately behind the Stone. To the left of the stone is the central part of the temple - the Rotunda - a round room with columns and a dome. The light of the sun penetrates into the opening of this dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and on the eve of Easter - the Holy Fire. The dome depicts 12 rays, symbolizing the 12 apostles, and the division of each ray into three parts is a symbol of the triune God.
The Rotunda houses the Edicule of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This marble chapel is divided into two parts: the first is the Holy Sepulcher, and the second is the so-called Angel Chapel. Through the windows of the latter, the Holy Fire is transmitted, descending to all parishioners on the eve of Holy Easter.
The Holy Sepulcher itself is a small cave, in which 3-4 people can hardly fit. According to legend, the body of Christ rested on this funeral bed. On the walls of the Holy Sepulcher hang Catholic and Armenian icons depicting the resurrection of Christ the Savior and the Virgin Mary with a baby in her arms.
Another shrine of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ is, of course, Golgotha. There were three crosses here. The places of two of them, on which the robbers were executed, are circled in black circles, and the place of the third cross, on which Christ himself was executed, is circled in a silver circle. The top of Golgotha is divided into Catholic and Orthodox parts, in each of which church services take place. An ancient staircase leads to modern Golgotha.
In the center of the third part of the temple, which is called the Temple of the Resurrection, there is a stone vase, symbolizing the “navel of the earth.” It was in this place that God created Adam. It is believed that it was in the dungeon of the Church of the Resurrection that Queen Helen saw the cross. The icons located in the Temple of the Resurrection tell the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
The domes of the Jerusalem temple are decorated with mosaics with images of the Mother of God, Christ the Savior, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, John the Baptist, seraphim and cherubim.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Israel today is the holy center of the Christian religion, to which numerous believers from all over the world make a pilgrimage every year.
Every tourist and pilgrim who comes to Jerusalem tries to visit the Church of the Resurrection, better known as. After all, it was at the place where the temple is located that events took place that changed the course of human history: the execution, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The temple is a huge architectural complex consisting of several dozen buildings.
The main and most revered of them are the altars on Golgotha and the Edicule, where on the day Orthodox Easter Every year the Holy Fire descends.
The word “edicule” translated from Greek means “spoon, peace, royal bedchamber.” Essentially, Edicule is a domed chapel. It is located in the center of the rotunda of the majestic Church of the Resurrection. The dimensions of the chapel are small: six by eight meters. There are two rooms in it: the Holy Sepulcher - a tiny burial chamber (2 × 2 meters), almost half of which is occupied by a stone bed (arkosalium), and a passage room - the chapel of the Angel (3.4 × 4 meters). The latter is named so because it was here, according to the Gospel, that the myrrh-bearing women, who appeared to ritually anoint the body of the crucified Christ, found a sitting angel who announced the resurrection of the Savior: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified; He is not here - He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:2-6). You can get into the burial chamber only through the Angel's chapel.
History of Edicule
During the Second Temple period (516 BC - 70 AD), quarries appeared near Golgotha. Over time, wealthy townspeople began to acquire quarry sites for tombs. One of the owners of such a tomb was Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Christ. They brought the body of the crucified Lord into the cave that belonged to him, and then laid it according to Jewish custom: head to the west, feet to the east.
In 325–335 By order of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother, Queen Helena, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built over the burial place of Christ. In 614, the building was destroyed during the conquest of the Persian king Khosrow II Parviz. Jerusalem Patriarch Modest restored the shrine. However, in 1009, the temple, renovated by Modestus, was destroyed a second time - this time by the Arabs. It was only more than 30 years later that the Byzantine ruler Constantine Monomakh managed to rebuild the chapel at the burial site of the Savior. According to the testimony of pilgrims, the structure was not completed and was in rather poor condition. In the 12th century, the Crusaders brought it into more or less proper form.
In 1555, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, together with the Edicule, was rebuilt under the leadership of Boniface of Ragusa, a member of the Franciscan Order. The new building stood for 250 years. In 1808, the rotunda around the chapel and part of the chapel of Calvary were destroyed by a terrible fire. Two years after the disaster, Edicule was rebuilt according to the design of the Greek architect Nikolai Komin (1770–1821) from the city of Mytilene.
Since then, the Edicule has survived to this day in almost untouched form. Only damaged during the 1927 earthquake, after which it was strengthened from the outside metal ties and beams.
Decoration of the Edicule
The main shrine of the chapel is the bed of the Holy Sepulcher, or, in Old Slavonic, the holy lava. The bed is covered with white marble slabs to protect it from attempts by zealous pilgrims to chip off a piece of the relic. A transverse crack is clearly visible on the top slab, the origin of which is described different legends. According to one of them, the crack appeared during the Arab conquests, when Muslims tried to take the slab to decorate the mosque.
The bed serves as an altar. Three liturgies are celebrated there every day: Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian rites.
Suspended above the holy lava are 43 silver lamps belonging to different Christian denominations (13 each - Orthodox, Catholics and Armenians, and 4 - Copts).
Around the bed there is a small marble cornice, lined with candles and vessels with fresh flowers. There are icons on the walls above the cornice. Opposite the entrance to the burial chamber hangs orthodox icon Mother of God.
There is a Greek inscription carved around the perimeter of the room. This is the troparion of St. John of Damascus, read on Easter: “Like the life-bearer, like the reddest of Paradise, truly the brightest of all royal palaces has appeared, O Christ, Thy tomb, the source of our resurrection.”
The main relic of the Angel's chapel is a marble lectern containing a piece of stone that blocked the entrance to the Savior's burial cave. From the Gospel of Matthew we know that an angel rolled this stone away from the entrance to the cave and sat on it. So, sitting, the myrrh-bearing women found him.
The low passage from the Angel's chapel to the burial chamber is decorated with a finely crafted marble bas-relief with the figures of Christ, the myrrh-bearing women, the face of an angel and plant motifs. The inscription in Greek is carved on the bas-relief: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen."
One more important detail the Angel's chapel - oval openings in the northern and southern walls. It is through them that the heads of Christian denominations transmit the Holy Fire to the parishioners of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday: the Greek patriarch - through the northern hole, the Armenian bishop - through the southern one.
Inside and outside the Edicule is decorated with yellow-pink and white marble. Above the entrance to the chapel there are lamps and a carved silver canopy depicting the Holy Resurrection and the twelve apostles.
On Friday, November 9, the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the Jerusalem Patriarchate began. The Primate of the Russian Church will repeat the historical path of many Russian pilgrims. On the night from Saturday to Sunday he will commit Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Resurrection of Christ) in Jerusalem- this is the main temple of the Christian world, where two shrines and testimonies are located - Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher, as well as other places associated with the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his Passion on the Cross and the Resurrection.
The “Orthodoxy and Peace” portal invites readers to go on a photo journey through the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and its surroundings - together with a photographer.
Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Night.
Cleaning in one of the aisles. Here was the prison in which the Savior was imprisoned before the crucifixion.
The workers turned out to be visitors from Odessa, working for the Glory of God. In the conversation they said that they just came to work, bought a plane ticket and that’s it. Some six months ago, some four months ago. They came to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and turned to those ministers who understood at least a little Russian, and they were taken into obedience.
Near the stairs going down to the Church of St. Helena, the chapel of the Crown of Thorns is located.
Underground Church of St. Helena currently belongs to the Armenians, who acquired it, according to one version, from the Georgian Orthodox community, according to another, from the Ethiopians. The temple has two altars: the northern altar is dedicated to the Prudent Thief; main, central, - to the queen of St. Helena and her contemporary St. Gregory the Illuminator. According to Armenian legend, when St. Gregory, after a long prayerful feat, came to venerate the Holy Sepulcher, and was honored by the descent of the Holy Fire.
The small cross-domed temple (20x13 m) was originally the crypt of the basilica of Emperor Constantine. The dome in the center is supported by 4 ancient monolithic columns; the vaults were erected no earlier than the 12th century. The plane of the floor between the columns is covered with mosaics, the subjects of which are taken from the history of Armenia.
A special niche and stone seat in the temple mark the place behind the altar dedicated to St. Helena, where the queen sat during the excavations.
There are 3 unquenchable lamps burning in the window.
Church of St. Helena with 13 steps.
On the right you can see the entrance down... Church of St. Helena is connected to Catholic Church The Finding of the Cross, located at the lowest point of the entire temple complex. Behind the stone throne stands on a high pedestal a large bronze statue of St. Helena with the Cross she found in her hands, donated by the Austrian Archduke Maximilian.
In the right corner of the aisle, under a low-hanging rock, lies a small marble slab with a white 8-pointed orthodox. cross on a black background, indicating the place where the Honest Tree was discovered.
Inside the temple, opposite the entrance, lies the Stone of Anointing, covered with a red marble polished slab (30 cm thick), on the sides of which Greek is carved around the perimeter. text of the troparion of St. Joseph of Arimathea (“Noble Joseph”). The corresponding Gospel text (John 19.38-40) is written in Greek on a marble plaque hanging on the right. The descent from the Cross, anointing the body with incense and the position in the tomb are depicted on a large mosaic panel, stylized as a Byzantine pattern, on the wall directly behind the Stone of Anointing (the mosaic was made with the blessing of Patriarch Diodorus in 1990 by V. Tsotsonis). Above the Stone there are 8 lamps (4 – Greek, 2 – Armenian, 1 – Latin, 1 – Coptic).
In the photo, a Coptic monk lights a lamp.
There is no evidence reaching us about exactly where the body of the Lord was prepared for burial. But already from the 5th century. in succession good friday The rite of Burial of the Shroud stands out. In the temple it is performed as follows: the shroud covered with rose petals is carried by six bishops from Golgotha to the Stone of Anointing; after the litany at the Stone, the shroud is solemnly transferred with a threefold litany around the Edicule and placed on the Triday Bed, then taken to the altar of the catholicon.
Courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Servants of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, guards.
The facade of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from the entrance (south side) is a typical work of Romanesque architecture of the 12th century. In the double lunettes of the portal there were originally marble bas-reliefs depicting “The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem” and “The Burial of the Savior” (transferred for storage to the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem).
Queue at the Edicule.
Mosaics of the Katholikon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord).
Catholicon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord) in the present day. time is called the “middle” volume of the complex, enclosed by special walls that do not reach the vaults, built after the fire of 1808 (initially the temple complex of the Holy Sepulcher consisted of several separate sanctuaries: the rotunda directly containing the Edicule, Calvary (Orthodox and Catholic) chapels and the cathedral the temple of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate; the basilica of the crusaders united these objects into one. internal space). The Greek reconstruction changed the composition of the building: in addition to the side walls, a high iconostasis appeared, but from a liturgical point of view, the unity of the temple space was achieved, and the necessary prayer atmosphere for Orthodox worship was created.
The dome of the katholikon, the smaller of the 2 domes of the temple, is located above the western part. Precisely under the dome, on a special vase-stand, there is a marble hemisphere, indicating a place called “mesomphalos” - “the navel of the Earth”. However, if the idea of Jerusalem as the center of the earth and the economy of salvation (Ps 73.12) is 1 thousand years older than Christianity, then the marble flowerpot appeared in the temple no earlier than 1810. The dome contains a mosaic image of the blessing Pantocrator surrounded by the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, 12 saints. Between the 8 windows of the drum, in the niches, there are images of seraphim and cherubs (the mosaic work in the dome of the catholicon was completed in 1994).
The Catholicon is cathedral Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is expressed by the presence of 2 throne seats in its eastern part (the thrones of the Patriarch of Jerusalem at the southern pillar and his epitrope, the Metropolitan of Petro-Arabia, at the northern one). Above the iconostasis there is a gallery with three pulpits (small balconies) protruding into the temple, from which the ancient Byzantine side is located. As a rule, the deacon must read the Gospel. All east part of the catholicon, including the iconostasis, soleya with 4 steps, 6 columns on it, north. and south The entrances to the altar are a single ensemble of pink marble.
The Catholicon, like the rotunda, is surrounded by spacious galleries, which house several chapels. In the north In the gallery of the temple there is a place called the Arcades of the Virgin: huge tetrahedral pillars supporting high arches, interspersed with columns, between which stands out a white marble fragment of the imperial building. Adriana. It is assumed that of the 7 columns, the 4 central ones belong to the Triporticus of Constantine.
Edicule
Entrance to Edicule. A Greek monk keeps order.
The Edicule (8.3×5.9 m) consists of two parts: the western, hexagonal in plan (2.07×1.93 m), where the Holy Sepulcher is located, and the eastern (3.4×3.9 m) , where the Angel's chapel is located. A pedestal with a part of the sacred stone rolled away by an angel is located in the middle of the chapel and serves as a throne during the performance of the bishop's liturgy. Liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher (in this case the Triday Bed itself becomes the altar). The chapel has 15 lamps in three rows - according to the number of main confessions. In the northern and southern walls there are oval windows for transmitting the Holy Fire to Holy Saturday(southern – for Armenians, northern – for Orthodox). The entrance from the Angel's chapel to the Cave of the Holy Sepulcher is decorated with a marble portal. On the left at the entrance are depicted the myrrh-bearing women, on the right is the Archangel Gabriel stretching out his hand to them (according to the inscription), at the top of the portal is a marble canopy with an inscription in Greek, reproducing the words of the angel: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen."
The cave of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a small chamber, almost half occupied on the right by a stone bed covered with a marble transenna slab. The slab appeared in Edicule in 1555. Maxim Simeos, who was the last to see the Savior’s stone bed without a slab covering it in 1810, testified that it was severely damaged by the unreasonable jealousy of countless “God-lovers” who strove to break off, bite off, and take away a particle at any cost. shrines. In the western part of the slab, due to the zeal of the pilgrims, a noticeable depression was formed. On the marble shelf running along the sides of the Triday Bed, there are three icons of the Resurrection - from each of the Christian confessions. The ktitor inscription above the door names the creator of Edicule - the Greek architect N. Komninos, who was tortured by the Turks in Constantinople during the Morean uprising on Easter 1821.
In the western part, the Chapel of the Head, belonging to the Coptic Church, is attached to the edicule. According to legend, the second angel sat here (“at the head”) (John 20:12). According to Armenian sources, the chapel was built by the king of Cilician Armenia Etum II in 1300. Subsequently, the Armenians gave this chapel to the Copts, receiving in return one of the monasteries in Egypt. Coptic monks cite a legend that during the reconstruction of the edicule in 1810, the niche of the Holy Bed was truncated in the western part, so that the place where the head of the Savior rested ended up in the Coptic chapel. Since Byzantine times, a small throne existed on this site. The Crusaders called the chapel "cavet" ("head" in Norman dialect) because it was located at the head of the Edicule. In 1810, the Greeks reconstructed the Edicule without the Copts. chapel, restored thirty years later at the direction of the then ruler of Palestine, Ibrahim Pasha, son of the Egyptian Khedive Muhammad Ali.
Archaeologists who examined the shrine of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem after the marble slab covering it was removed for the first time in 450 years found that the burial Bed of Christ remained intact. National Geographic magazine reported this on Monday.
The slab from the Holy Sepulcher in Old Jerusalem was removed on October 26 (for the first time in 450 years). Specialists of the National technical university Athens, with the support of Israeli and Armenian archaeologists, carried out research papers in Edicule for the next 60 hours.
The Holy Sepulcher is a tomb carved into natural rock from the Second Temple period, which contains a stone burial bed (200 by 80 cm, height from the floor 60 cm). The current room, like the previous cave destroyed in 1009, is called the Holy Sepulchre. This room, located in the Edicule, symbolizes the cave in which the Body of Christ was buried. Only the bed itself, part of the cave walls and part of the entrance have survived to this day. By the middle of the 16th century, the bed was severely damaged by pilgrims who tried to break off a piece of the relic. To prevent these attempts, it was covered with a slab of white marble in 1555.
When scientists removed the marble lining and a layer of stone fragments from the coffin, they saw underneath another marble slab with a cross carved on its surface. Historians suggest that it was made during the Crusades.
The burial bed itself turned out to be completely intact, despite the fact that the walls of the cave in which it was located were destroyed along with the original building of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the 11th century.
Archaeologists then brought the slab to the surface to clean and digitize it before reinstalling it. “It's absolutely amazing. My knees are shaking because I did not expect this... We cannot say with one hundred percent certainty, but at first glance, there is clear evidence that the tomb has not been damaged during all this time. After all, scientists and historians have been asking this question for many decades,” said archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert in an interview with the magazine.
In addition, archaeologists confirmed the presence of limestone in the walls of the cave inside Edicule, and also made a small window so that believers could see the shrine for the first time in several centuries.
In the Gospels, we recall, it is reported that Jesus was buried outside of Jerusalem, not far from the site of his crucifixion on Golgotha. A few years after the burial, the borders of Jerusalem were significantly expanded so that Golgotha and the nearby tomb were within the city.
In the 4th century, Saint Helen, Equal to the Apostles, ordered excavations to begin at Golgotha. As a result, the cross on which Jesus was crucified was found. The queen ordered the foundation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on this site.
On the eve of the great Orthodox holiday For Easter, I decided to reflect on my recent trip to the Holy Land in November 2013. During my week-long trip to Israel, it was planned to devote a lot of time to visiting Jerusalem in general and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in particular. special attention. But not all plans were destined to come true...
As you know, the overwhelming number of tourists come to Jerusalem for one thing - a walk through the Old City, which necessarily includes a visit to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which, according to legend, was built on the site where several thousand years ago he was crucified, buried, and then Jesus Christ has risen. I was no exception in this regard. By the way, here you can, where I stayed during my stay in Jerusalem.
As a frugal traveler, I immediately abandoned the idea of hiring a guide for a tour of the Old Town. The prices that were written about on the Internet started at $200. So I simply downloaded an app on Google Play dedicated to Jerusalem, which included several tours of the Old City. The general excursion was free, for subsequent ones I paid 30 rubles each. Among them was a separate tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Electronic guide and Church of Christ the Lord
The story about why I got to the main Christian temple later than the scheduled time deserves a separate post, so I’ll say right away that I found myself in front of the entrance to the Temple an hour before it closed. The electronic guide took me first to Calvary, which is located to the right of the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There was a long line here, but I patiently stood through it and eventually touched the mountain on which, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ was crucified. I won’t say that I experienced any special sensations, but the special solemnity of the moment was still felt. After all, it’s not every day that you have the opportunity to visit a place like this. What was more striking was the fact that the candles that can be placed near Calvary are actually free. That is, you take required quantity candles and throw the money into a special box. How much exactly is up to you. I took three candles and threw 15 shekels (about 150 rubles) into the box.
I'll make a good Jew =)
Stone of Confirmation
After I went down, I saw the Stone of Ablution (Confirmation), which I had noticed at the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is located opposite the entrance, but my electronic guide took me to Golgotha first. According to legend, it was on this stone that Joseph and Nicodemus washed Christ after removing myrrh and aloes from the crucifixion.
Having kissed the stone, I headed to the left side of the Temple to finally get to Edicule - the place where, on the eve of Easter, as today, the Holy Fire. Imagine my disappointment when, literally in front of my nose, a clergyman came out of the Edicule, announcing that the hours for visiting the sacred place were over. I didn’t argue with the priest and explain that tomorrow morning I was leaving for Eilat. And at first I was very upset, but then, remembering that I am an optimist in life, I thought: this is for the best, there is a reason to return to Jerusalem again))))
Church of the Holy Sepulcher - solemn and beautiful
A little history
The Edicule is a chapel built with a stone slab of the Holy Sepulcher and is considered the main Christian shrine of Jerusalem. Every year on the eve of Orthodox Easter (precisely Orthodox, not Catholic, which, by the way, are celebrated on the same day this year), the fire lights up in the Edicule and is called the Holy Fire. For the last 12 years, immediately after the descent of the Holy Fire, the lamp with its particle has been sent to Moscow. This year, a plane with a lamp will land at Vnukovo-1 airport approximately at 22.30 Moscow time. Immediately after this, the Holy Fire will be delivered to the Patriarchal Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which will begin at about 23.00 Moscow time.
Once again, happy upcoming holiday to everyone. Christ is Risen!
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