The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the place where Christ was crucified and buried

Every Holy Week, Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, events that occurred in Jerusalem.

Abuna Yemata Guh, a remote and ancient church in a very difficult to access location
The Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Crown, a spectacular church attached to a cliff

The capital of the State of Israel houses a Christian temple on the site where Christ was crucified and buried: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Christianity. This church is located in the Old City of Jerusalem and is shared by six Christian denominations: the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Catholic Church is represented by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

This church contains the sites where Christ was crucified (Mount Golgotha, also known as Calvary), where he was buried, and where he rose again on the third day. This explains its important role for Christians of various denominations. It should be noted that after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Romans built a new city called Aelia Capitolina in 130 AD.

As part of this new city, the Romans built a pagan temple on the site of Christ's tomb. This temple lasted until the 4th century, coming to an end during the reign of Emperor Constantine I, who between 324 and 325 ordered it demolished in search of Christ's tomb. There he gave instructions for the construction of a church, which was inaugurated on September 13, 335. The new Christian temple consisted of five naves and stretched from the tomb to Golgotha.

That first Church of the Holy Sepulchre existed until the beginning of the 11th century, when it was demolished by order of the sixth Fatimid Caliph of Egypt, Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who ordered the destruction of all the churches in the Holy Land, especially the one at the Holy Sepulchre. The church was rebuilt years later, being completed in 1048, at the initiative of Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus of the Byzantine Empire, through an agreement with the new Caliph of Egypt, Ali az-Zahir, son of Al-Hakim.

In 1099, the European Crusaders arrived in the Holy Land and conquered Jerusalem, establishing the so-called Latin States. During this time, the church's Chorus Dominorum, used by Western Christians, was built. During the Crusader period, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre became an international center of pilgrimage.

After the defeat and disappearance of the Latin States in 1291, the Islamic authorities allowed Christian pilgrims to continue visiting the temple. The Franciscan order took over the church and renovated it in 1555. However, during the Muslim domination of Jerusalem, there were conflicts over the temple between the different Christian churches, because the Islamic authorities favored some of them to the detriment of the others.

After World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and Jerusalem fell into the hands of the British Command in Palestine. The British authorities favored the Anglican Church's use of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. During this time, significant restoration work was carried out on the temple.

In 1948, the part of the Old City of Jerusalem where the church is located came under the rule of Transjordan (present-day Jordan), a Muslim country that allowed Christians to continue using the church. In 1967, Israel took control of the Old City, with the new authorities maintaining Christian freedom to use the church. In 1960, new restoration work began, which was completed in 1982.

This church has been visited by four popes: Paul VI, in January 1964, was the first pope to visit this place from St. Peter's; St. John Paul II visited it in March 2000; Benedict XVI was there in May 2009; and finally, Francis visited the church in May 2014. As a curiosity, the church has been looked after by two Muslim families for centuries: the Nussaiba and the Husseini, who are in charge of guarding the ancient 30-centimeter iron key to the temple, a task entrusted to him by Sultan Saladin in the 12th century.

To better understand what this important church is like, 13 years ago the YouTube channel Pro Terra Sancta published this video showing what the temple is like and where Mount Calvary and the tomb of Jesus were located:

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Main photo: Mario La Pergola.