Friday, March 25, 2016

The Church Of The Holy Sepulchre

Happy Easter.

Probably the most visited holy sight in Jerusalem for Christian pilgrims.  The church supposedly marks the place where Jesus was crucified, removed from the cross, his body anointed and buried.  Control of the church is shared (rather contentiously) by a number of Christian denominations including Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians.  Below is the main entrance to the church where you can see outside the second floor right hand window the famous "immovable ladder."





Just outside the entrance to the church are genuine "Holy Land" souvenirs made from either "real" gold, silver, Roman stone, sections of the cross, olive wood, etc. all religiously crafted in the most holiest land of China.





The first thing you see when you enter is the Stone of Anointing where the faithful pray, kiss and rub the Stone with oil.  Above the Stone are the beautiful lamps and behind the stone is a modern mosaic depicting Jesus's body being prepared for burial.









The Rock of Calvary.



Crusader graffiti.



The entrance to Christ's tomb and Christ Pantocrator mosaic in the small dome.





Israel is amazing.  I so want to go back, so much more to see and learn.

9 comments:

  1. Sorry about the different font sizes, not sure how that happened. Anyway, remember to click on pics for bigger size!

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  2. Happy Easter everyone! Your photos are amazing Fay and Matt!

    Is the 6th pic a fresco? It's stunning. Do you know when it was painted? And the lamps are gorgeous!

    I'm so excited at the thought of going to Israel someday! Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!

    Thanks for including the links too. My Christian education is nil, other than all the books I've read (and reading the New Testament).

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    1. That's the mosaic. Don't recall when it was done, though.

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    2. From a website called Jerusalem 101, this the most info I can find about the mosaic:

      "This modern Greek Orthodox mosaic hangs behind the Stone of Anointing and can be seen as we enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The mosaic shows
      Jesus' body being removed from the cross with the skull of Adam in the ground beneath it (far right). This is why the chapel under the Greek Chapel at Calvary
      is called the Chapel of Adam. According to tradition, Adam was buried under Calvary when he died. But, an even earlier tradition has Adam being buried under
      the Most Holy Place on the Temple Mount. It appears this Jewish tradition followed the Christians from the Temple Mount to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
      To the left of the Calvary scene is the middle scene, showing the anointing of Jesus’ body. The third scene, furthest to the left, is the burial of Jesus’ body in the
      tomb. All three of these events took place under the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher."

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  3. I do not get the point of the crusaders carving crosses in the stone.

    Jesus was here... and so were we!

    Your selection of photos is awesome, Fay. Thanks so much for sharing them!

    I'm not a believer, but I love these two Gospel verses: John 1:1 and 1:14

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

    "The Word" in the original Greek of the Gospels was Logos.

    I always wondered about the whole "Word" thing ever since we sang Cat Stevens' songs in Unitarian Sunday school.

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  4. We're very happy you all enjoy the photos. Thank you, Fay, for posting the photos. I still enjoy seeing them and sharing them.

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  5. Jesus was here... and so were we! LOL lewy. Just marking their turf perhaps?

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  6. Amazing photos Fay! You've brought ancient history alive with those pictures.

    I wish all those celebrating a blessed and Happy Easter.

    And if you're not celebrating I wish you a blessed and happy week anyway. :)

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