Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Exploring the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The reconstructions and additions that have
shaped this church over the centuries make it
a complex building to explore. Its division into
chapels and spaces allotted to six different
denominations adds a further sense of confu-
sion. The interior is dimly lit, and queues often
form at Christ's Tomb, so that the time each
person can spend inside the shrine may be
limited to just a few minutes. Nonetheless, the
experience of standing on Christianity's most hallowed
ground inspires many visitors with a deep sense of awe.
show that the site lay outside
the city walls until new ones
encompassed it in AD 43; that
in the early 1st century it was
a disused quarry in which an
area of cracked rock had been
left untouched; and that rock-
hewn tombs were in use here
in the 1st centuries BC and AD.
This all tallies with Gospel
accounts of the Crucifixion.
Chapel
door, main
courtyard
CHAPEL OF ADAM
Immediately beneath the
Greek Orthodox chapel on
Golgotha, this chapel is built
against the Rock of Golgotha.
It is the medieval replacement
of a previous Chapel of Adam
that was part of Constantine's
4th-century basilica. It was so
called because tradition told
that Christ was crucified over
the burial place of Adam's
skull - a tradition first recorded
by the Alexandrian theologian
Origen (c.AD 185-245).
The crack in the Rock of
Golgotha, clearly visible in the
apse, is held by believers to
have been caused by the earth-
quake that followed Christ's
death (Matthew 27: 51).
The Greek, Stabat Mater and Roman Catholic altars on Golgotha
1588. The 1937 mosaics en-
circle a Crusader-era medallion
of the Ascension on the ceiling.
The window looks into the
Chapel of the Franks
(see p92)
.
Between these altars is the
Altar of the Stabat Mater, com-
memorating Mary's sorrow as
she stood at the foot of the
cross. It marks the 13th Station
of the Cross. The wooden bust
of the Virgin is 18th century.
Archaeological evidence that
the church rests on a possible
site of the Crucifixion is scant,
but positive. Excavations
GOLGOTHA
Just inside the church's main
entrance, on the right, two
staircases lead up to Golgotha,
which in Hebrew means “Place
of the Skull” and was trans-
lated into Latin as Calvary. The
space here is divided into two
chapels. On the left is the
Greek Orthodox chapel, with
its altar placed directly over the
rocky outcrop on which the
cross of Christ's Crucifixion is
believed to have stood. The
softer surrounding rock was
quarried away when the
church was built and the re-
maining, fissured, so-called
Rock of Golgotha can now be
seen through the protective
glass around the altar. It can
be touched through a hole in
the floor under the altar. The
12th Station of the Cross
(see
p30)
is commemorated here.
To the right is the Roman
Catholic chapel, containing
the 10th and 11th Stations
of the Cross. The silver and
bronze altar was given by
Ferdinand de Medici in
11th-century apse, Chapel of Adam,
built against the Rock of Golgotha
THE STATUS QUO
Fierce disputes, lasting centuries, between Christian
creeds
(see p100)
over ownership of the church were
largely resolved by an Ottoman decree issued in
1852. Still in force and known as the Status Quo, it
divides custody among Armenians, Greeks, Copts,
Roman Catholics, Ethiopians and Syrians. Some
areas are administered communally. Every day,
the church is unlocked by a Muslim keyholder
acting as a “neutral” intermediary. This ceremo-
nial task has been performed by a member
of the same family for several generations.
Coptic priest in ceremonial vestments
For hotels in this area see p256
