Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located in the Christian quarter of Old Jerusalem. It is believed that it was here that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and then miraculously resurrected. Every spring, the attention of most of the inhabitants of the earth is focused on the events taking place in an amazing temple in Israel. This happens on Easter night, when millions of believers are anxiously and hopefully awaiting the descent of the Holy Fire. The place where this happens is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

History of creation

The place where the Savior spent the last hours of his earthly life was worshipped by the first Christians. For this, the Roman authorities subjected them to torture and painful executions. It became possible to build the first church of the Holy Sepulchre only under Emperor Constantine the Great, who was the first to recognize and accept Christianity. It was he who instructed his mother Elena to find the grave of Christ and build a Christian church on this site. After the sacred site was found, the emperor ordered the pagan temple of Venus located there to be demolished and a Christian sanctuary built on this site, within which Golgotha and the burial place of the Savior were enclosed. It happened around the year 326. The consecration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre took place on September 13, 335. During the entire period of its existence, the church was destroyed, rebuilt and rebuilt for various reasons. But at any time, the temple remained a sacred shrine for all faiths, for the right to possess which went to real wars.

The struggle for the shrine

Since the seventh century, Jerusalem has been repeatedly invaded by Arabs united by the new Islamic religion for several centuries. During the battles, many representatives of the Christian population are killed, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is significantly damaged. And in 1009, under Caliph Al-Hakim, the church was destroyed so badly that detached buildings resembling small chapels appeared in its place. Starting in 1071, infidels, that is, Christian pilgrims, were forbidden to visit the Holy City. It was the news of the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the prohibition of access to Jerusalem that became the main ideological reasons for organizing the Crusades.

The Crusaders

Crusades under the slogan of the struggle for the liberation of the Holy Land from Muslims lasted from 1096 to 1272. The main goal of the European knights was the desire to pray at the Holy Sepulchre. As a result of the campaigns, all Christians were given the right to freely visit Jerusalem and the temple, which was rebuilt by the Crusaders. The majestic Romanesque cathedral was consecrated in 1149, and all the holy places associated with the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ were united under its arches.

Modern look

Since then, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been repeatedly damaged by earthquakes, fires and wars. But each time the shrine was lovingly restored. The last large-scale reconstruction of the temple was completed in 2017. The temple is divided between six denominations of the Christian Church, each of which has its own chapels and prayer times. It is open to pilgrims from all over the world, and people from different countries come here every year.