Unique Original Articles » The history of the Holy Sepulchre

There is evidence of early Christians at the site of the church of the holy sepulcher long before the Roman occupation, from the time of the resurrection.
Emperor Hadrian executed a pagan temple “temple to Aphrodite” to cover the church, keeping it buried for over 300 years, until Emperor Constantine the Great turned a believing Christian. He followed the Holy sites of huis religion and constructed new churches all over the holy land, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, around 326 AD, undoubtedly his most important work. The tomb of Christ was unearthed and a church constructed around it while doing that the Rock of Golgotha was found.
According to the legend during the excavations, Constantine's mother St. Helena supposedly found the True Cross near the tomb, an old sick man was asked to touch it and had healed was the seal of approval of the discovery. The early (and larger) Church of Constantine suffered severe damages by fire in 614AD at the time of the Persian invasion, taking the True Cross that was restored by Emperor Heraclius 15 years later, to the rebuilt Church.
Muslims conquered Jerusalem in 638. Caliph Omar refrained from praying in the Church, hence didn’t convert it into a worship place for his followers. The Church remained a Christian place of worship until 1009, when Caliph Hakim brutally and repeatedly tried to destroy the Church’s east and west walls, but the north and south walls were likely protected by the rubble from suffering any more damage.
In1048 Emperor Constantine Monomachos gave the money to the unfortunate Christian population of the Holy city for reconstruction under strict conditions forced upon by the caliphate. As money was scarce they only rebuilt a small portion of the original Church. Resulting so only the courtyard and the rotunda remained. The rotunda was converted into a church.
After seizing Jerusalem 1099 this was the church to which the knights of the First Crusade arrived to sing their Te Deum. Godfrey of Bouillon, chief Crusader (who became the first king of Jerusalem), declared himself Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. The Crusaders only began work in 1112. First building a monastery where the Constantinian basilica used to be, The Constantinian courtyard was converted into a Romanesque church (1149), connecting to the rotunda by an arched opening. The bell tower was added in 1170.
The primary custodians of the church, first appointed when Crusaders held Jerusalem, are the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches. During the 19th century, the Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syrian Orthodox were granted lesser responsibilities, including secondary structures within and around the building. Hours and places of worship for each Church are regulated.
It is a rather unique place, lacking the glamour of other Churches as it is a mess of construction periods and influencesarchitectures of many different beliefs, but at the center still lays the Stone of the Sepulcher, a holy stone rubbing on a holy feeling to all who come in contact with it.

By Michelle Aqua, http://www.sepulchrestone.com , "Sepulchre Stone- a gift from Jerusalem"
Authentic old city Christian ornaments and tokens, from vendors near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, rubbed against the Holy Sepulchre Stone and send it to you via registered air-mail. See our collection Or send us your item:


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