home Healthy eating The catastrophe of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Edicule and the Holy Fire of Restoration. Archaeologists: The Holy Sepulcher was undamaged

The catastrophe of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Edicule and the Holy Fire of Restoration. Archaeologists: The Holy Sepulcher was undamaged

On the eve of the great Orthodox holiday For Easter, I decided to reflect on my recent trip to the Holy Land in November 2013. During my week-long trip to Israel, it was planned to devote a lot of time to visiting Jerusalem in general and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in particular. Special attention. But not all plans were destined to come true...

As you know, the overwhelming number of tourists come to Jerusalem for one thing - a walk through the Old City, which necessarily includes a visit to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which, according to legend, was built on the site where several thousand years ago he was crucified, buried, and then Jesus Christ has risen. I was no exception in this regard. By the way, here you can, where I stayed during my stay in Jerusalem.

As a frugal traveler, I immediately abandoned the idea of hiring a guide for a tour of the Old Town. The prices that were written about on the Internet started at $200. So I just downloaded to Google Play an application dedicated to Jerusalem, which included several excursions around the Old City. The general excursion was free, for subsequent ones I paid 30 rubles each. Among them was a separate excursion to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Electronic guide and Church of Christ the Lord

The story about why I got to the main Christian temple later than the scheduled time deserves a separate post, so I’ll say right away that I found myself in front of the entrance to the Temple an hour before it closed. The electronic guide took me first to Calvary, which is located to the right of the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. There was a long line here, but I patiently stood through it and eventually touched the mountain on which, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ was crucified. I won’t say that I experienced any special sensations, but the special solemnity of the moment was still felt. After all, it’s not every day that you have the opportunity to visit a place like this. What was more striking was the fact that the candles that can be placed near Calvary are actually free. That is, you take the required number of candles and throw money into a special box. How much exactly is up to you. I took three candles and threw 15 shekels (about 150 rubles) into the box.

I'll make a good Jew =)

Stone of Confirmation

After I went downstairs, I saw the Stone of Ablution (Confirmation), which I noticed at the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is located opposite the entrance, but my electronic guide took me to Golgotha first. According to legend, it was on this stone that Joseph and Nicodemus washed Christ after removing myrrh and aloes from the crucifixion.

Having kissed the stone, I headed towards left side Temple in order to finally get to Edicule - the place where on the eve of Easter, as today, the Holy Fire descends annually. Imagine my disappointment when, literally in front of my nose, a clergyman came out of the Edicule, announcing that the hours for visiting the sacred place were over. I didn’t argue with the priest and explain that tomorrow morning I was leaving for Eilat. And at first I was very upset, but then, remembering that I am an optimist in life, I thought: this is for the best, there is a reason to return to Jerusalem again))))

Church of the Holy Sepulcher - solemn and beautiful

A little history

The Edicule is a chapel built with a stone slab of the Holy Sepulcher and is considered the main Christian shrine of Jerusalem. Every year on the eve Orthodox Easter(namely Orthodox, not Catholic, which, by the way, are celebrated on the same day this year) the fire lights up in the Edicule and is called the Holy Fire. For the last 12 years, immediately after the descent of the Holy Fire, the lamp with its particle has been sent to Moscow. This year, a plane with a lamp will land at Vnukovo-1 airport approximately at 22.30 Moscow time. Immediately after this, the Holy Fire will be delivered to the Patriarchal Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which will begin at about 23.00 Moscow time.

Once again, happy upcoming holiday to everyone. Christ is Risen!

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Irreparable damage will be caused to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher itself. The word "edicule" comes from the Greek word koubouklion, which translates as "bedchamber." It looks like a chapel made of yellow-pink marble with an area of six by eight meters. It was erected above the Holy Sepulcher and the so-called Angel's chapel - the place where the Archangel Gabriel sat on the stone he rolled away from the door of the tomb, announcing the resurrection of Christ to the myrrh-bearing women. This is especially true for believers Holy place.

A protracted conflict regarding the rights to own a section of the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher could cause irreparable damage to the Christian shrine, the British The Times writes today.

We are talking about urgent repair work that needs to be carried out in the small monastery of Dir el-Sultan, located on the roof of the temple. The emergency condition of the monastery’s premises was announced after another expert report was published the day before, prepared by specialists who examined the temple building in early October.

As it was recently reported, this small monastery could collapse at any moment - fall through the roof. If this happens, thousands of tourists and pilgrims visiting the Christian shrine will suffer. Irreparable damage will be caused to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher itself.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz notes that disputes between different Christian denominations in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher arise regularly. For example, in early XIX century, someone leaned the ladder against the wall near the main entrance to the temple, and since then it can be seen there. Representatives of the various Churches still cannot figure out who is responsible for this ladder and, therefore, who should remove it. But after 200 years, disputes between different Churches could turn into a real disaster.

The Dir El-Sultan Monastery, owned by the Ethiopian community, appeared on the roof of the temple in the 40s of the 19th century, when Copts, Christians from Egypt, ousted the Ethiopians from a large part of the temple. The Ethiopian monks had to move to the roof. Chapels and dozens of cells were built there, in which the monks live to this day.

Last March, the Ethiopian community asked engineer Yigal Bergman of the Israeli Building Control Institute to check the condition of the monastery. Bergman made an unequivocal conclusion: the buildings pose a danger to the monks and thousands of tourists and pilgrims visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The monastic complex of Dir El-Sultan consists of 26 cells, four utility rooms, two chapels and a large open balcony. During the inspection, problems were identified not only in the buildings themselves, but also in the infrastructure of the monastery. Bergman concluded that the electrical wiring and plumbing also needed urgent repairs.

Back in 2004, the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs promised to reconstruct the monastery. However, due to a dispute between the Ethiopian and Coptic churches, which claim rights to the site, renovation work never began. The Ministry of Internal Affairs made it clear official representatives two faiths that Israel is ready to finance repairs if the faiths manage to reach an agreement on this issue.

According to the newspaper Haaretz, a few days ago the head Ethiopian Church In Jerusalem, Archbishop Matthew sent a letter to Israeli Interior Minister Meir Shitrit and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, warning about the deplorable state of the monastery and the unwillingness to compromise with the Copts.

“The conditions put forward by the Ministry of Internal Affairs are unacceptable to us, since we do not recognize the rights of the Coptic Church to this site. Indeed, there are disagreements between our faiths on this issue, but we do not understand what this has to do with repair work”, the letter says.

According to an agreement concluded in 1757 between representatives of different branches of Christianity and the authorities of the Ottoman Empire, which was then in possession of Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was divided between six denominations: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Syrian (Antiochian) and Ethiopian Orthodox churches, each of which has its own chapels and hours for prayer. Thus, the Franciscan Church and the Altar of Nails belong to the Catholic Order of St. Francis, temple Equal to the Apostles Helen and the chapel “Three Marys” - Armenian apostolic church, grave of St. Joseph of Arimathea, the altar on the western part of the Edicule - Coptic Church, Dir El-Sultan Monastery - Ethiopian. But the main shrines - Golgotha, Edicule, Catholicon, as well as the general management of services in the Temple, belong to the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. The publication notes that disputes between Churches flare up regularly.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky expressed his readiness to act as a mediator in negotiations between the two faiths. The Ministry of Internal Affairs told the newspaper that the building is not owned by the state and any action requires an agreement from the heads of the faiths on whose territory the work will take place.

But it is difficult to say when inter-Christian peace will come. Rival denominations often fight each other for access to shrines, and, as The Times notes, the atmosphere of the annual Easter service is sometimes reminiscent of the stands of a stadium where some serious football match is taking place. It is interesting, writes a British newspaper, that the entrance to the temple, starting from the 12th century, has been under the control of a “neutral” - Muslim - family, since Christians themselves do not trust each other.

According to the author of the publication in The Times, Coptic Egyptians enjoyed benefits in Palestine both during the Ottoman Empire, and under the British, and under Jordanian rule. The situation changed after Israel took control of Jerusalem in 1967, during the Six Day War against the united Arab armed forces, including the Egyptian army. Copts then accused Israel of patronizing the Ethiopians, who received Dir El-Sultan for their use in 1970.

Nine years later, when Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David peace accords, the Copts hoped that the rooftop monastery would be theirs again. Israel, however, also remembers its “sensitive” relations with Ethiopia, on whose territory lived hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian Jews who emigrated to the Jewish state in the 1980s and 90s.

According to Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, as quoted by The Times, the situation with the temple was especially problematic while the Israeli government tried to stay out of the conflict. Now we can hope that with the participation of the Israelis a way out of the impasse will be found.

In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, large-scale restoration work is entering an active phase, the task of which is to preserve one of the main shrines of the Christian world, the Edicule - a chapel erected over the burial place of Jesus Christ. Moreover we're talking about, as The Washington Post wrote on Tuesday, not about external renovation, but about serious work to strengthen this building, the safety of which requires special attention today.

It was decided to carry out restoration work after the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, which Orthodox calendar celebrated on May 1st. They will last about nine months. At the same time, pilgrims’ access to the shrine will remain intact during the restoration.

The restoration is carried out by specialists from the National Technical University of Athens, employees of the University of Florence, as well as experts from Armenia. The structures will be strengthened, the seams of the edicule will be updated, and damaged fragments of stone cladding will be replaced. The decoration will be cleaned of accumulated soot.

Scaffolding was installed near the walls of the Edicule back in March.

The word “edicule” goes back to the Greek word koubouklion, which translates as “bedchamber.” This is a chapel made of yellow-pink marble with an area of six by eight meters. It, as mentioned above, was erected above the Holy Sepulcher and the so-called Angel's chapel - the place where the Archangel Gabriel sat on the stone he rolled away from the door of the tomb, announcing the resurrection of Christ to the myrrh-bearing women. For believers this is a particularly holy place. The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Patriarch Theophilos III, speaking about the edicule, told The Washington Post: “There is no doubt that there is some kind of energy here. I’m not going to describe it, but there’s a certain energy emanating from this place.”

According to the Orthodox portal “Rublev”, the author of the current chapel was the Greek architect Nikolai Komninos. It appeared in 1810 and has survived to this day without restoration. It is believed that the chapel was built according to measurements taken from a copy of the Jerusalem shrine erected by Patriarch Nikon in the Resurrection Monastery of New Jerusalem.

For almost 60 years after its construction, the edicule was subject to destruction under the influence of natural factors, since both rain and the scorching rays of the sun penetrated through the dome of the rotunda, which had an open hole in the vault. Earthquakes in 1927 and 1934 led to the threat of partial destruction of the chapel. They severely damaged the building and undermined its stability. In 1947, the chapel was strengthened from the outside with steel supports.

In addition, heat and moisture from burning candles and the breath of numerous pilgrims have a daily destructive effect on the edicule. According to experts, today it is necessary to clean up the soot interior decoration chapels, replace fragments of stone cladding, update external and internal seams. The overall structure itself still needs strengthening, as the steel supports were originally installed as a temporary measure.

A technical examination of the edicule, which resulted in the decision to begin restoration, was carried out from May 2015 to January 2016 by specialists from the National Polytechnic University of Athens (“Metsovion”) on behalf of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. More than 25 professors from five faculties and seven laboratories of the university will be constantly on site during the restoration work. This was reported by the official website of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.

The interdisciplinary group of experts was led by Metsovion seismologist professor Antonia Moropoulou. “It is a great honor and blessing that the Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the consent of the Christian communities administering the Holy Sepulcher, has entrusted us with such a significant global monument connecting different peoples, different religions and different cultures,” Rublev quotes her as saying.

The university itself received the order to conduct a technical examination of the edicule from Patriarch Theophilos in 2011. In October 2015, an agreement was signed between the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the Polytechnic University.

Six months earlier, Israeli scientists took the initiative to close believers’ access to the Edicule for security reasons.

“Then, after contacting the patriarch, I immediately went to Jerusalem, explained to those in charge that there was no immediate danger and that the pilgrimage function should continue,” said Antonia Moropoulou.

Specialists from Greece will work together with experts from Armenia and their colleagues from the University of Florence in Italy. The restoration project was agreed upon by the Jerusalem Patriarchate with the Armenian Patriarchate and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, all holders of rights to the shrine will finance the work: the Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches.

Responsibility for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is distributed among six denominations - Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syrian and Ethiopian, each of which is allocated its own chapels and hours for prayer. To avoid misunderstandings, interested parties in the distribution of property and order of services comply with the historically established status quo, determined by documents of the 18th-19th centuries. The legal, property and territorial boundaries assigned to each of the faiths are strictly defined. So, for example, not a single icon, not a single lamp can be added or removed without general consent.

The publication cited an excerpt from the report of Professor Antonia Moropoulou about the main, in the opinion of the head of the interdisciplinary group, cause of the destruction.

“The main reason for the displacement of marble blocks is a change in the composition of the solution due to increasing humidity resulting from condensation from the breath of visitors. The use of candles, which burn for hours a few centimeters from the structure, has a strong thermal effect on the marble,” says Antonia Moropoulou.

In addition to thermal stress in the stoves, the result of prolonged burning of candles was the accumulation of oily deposits and soot. In addition to purely aesthetic reasons, there are physical and chemical reasons for their removal. Oily deposits, according to scientists, create a favorable environment for oxidative reactions, leading to further destruction of the chapel surfaces. As a result, the lighting of lamps and candles in the immediate vicinity of the walls of the edicule is proposed to be prohibited in the future or carried out at a sufficient distance from them.

It is also emphasized that only fragile or destroyed parts of the structure will be replaced. Everything else will be cleaned or strengthened during the work. Restoration work will be carried out using a crane. The necessary materials will be stored in special bags and boxes. CCTV cameras will be installed above and around the kukkulya, which will make it possible to document the progress of restoration work. Research is carried out using ground penetrating radar and laser scanners. For external surveillance Camera-equipped drones will even be used, although their flight over the edicule in the interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher will not be easy to control.

The World Monuments Fund wished to provide financial support for the restoration. The issue of placing the project on a crowdfunding platform is also being considered.

The news about the removal of a marble slab from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem has now become the focus of attention even among the atheist public: we are talking about a historical relic associated with the life of the founder of the largest religion on the planet. Important details about it and in general about the reconstruction of the main temple of Christianity were told to Life by the vice-president of the St. Basil the Great Foundation, Mikhail Yakushev, who worked in Palestine first as a diplomat, then as an employee of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation “Ask for the Peace of Jerusalem.”

Ekaterina Korostichenko (Life): Mikhail Ilyich, to what century does the slab from the Holy Sepulcher that is currently being reconstructed belong?

Mikhail Yakushev: We must understand that the marble slab to which pilgrims kiss and which has now been taken for reconstruction to the Athens National Archaeological Institute does not in any way correlate with the one on which the body of the Savior crucified by the Romans was once placed. This is a relatively recent man-made creation, a remake, so to speak. Which, however, does not negate its holiness: after all, under it is the rocky bed where the body of Christ lay.

However, already in 1555, during the reconstruction of the Edicule (crypt or chapel) in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a new slab was laid there at the burial site of the body of Jesus Christ. There is a legend, seemingly even confirmed, that the previous - original - slab was taken to Rus' by the legendary Novgorod hero Vasily Buslaev.

In 1808, a terrible fire occurred in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, when even the dome and columns of the church collapsed, everything burned to the ground, even the stone melted. After the restoration, the entire Edicule - both the external and internal parts - underwent major changes. The new slab was made of the same beautiful white marble that lined the entire internal surface of the Edicule.

Secondly, let me explain that we are not just talking about the restoration of the slab, we are talking about a major overhaul of the Edicule. And the fact that this has happened now is for us, Orthodox people, for all Christians this is a great joy, because this Edicule has long needed major repairs.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher has long required repairs after repeated damage, after the aforementioned fire in 1808, powerful earthquakes in 1837 and 1927 (after the last of them, cracks appeared in the slab), bombings (in 1967, during the Six-Day War, an Israeli shell hit the dome, which was also fire and the interior of the Edicule was damaged). Humidity and soot, constant smoke from thousands of burning candles led to the fact that the condition of the Edicule required immediate efforts for immediate restoration.

Why did this restoration not begin earlier and who is involved in it?

The fact that this could not happen testifies to the contradictions between the governing Christian denominations existing there in the person of the Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate, the Catholic Franciscan Order and the pre-Chalcedonian Armenian Apostolic Church in the person of its Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

Already last year, at a meeting with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III on the eve of Easter, he announced the start of this restoration project, expressing great concern that the Israeli authorities demand that during the period of major repairs, which is expected to last 8-9 months, not allow believers to Edicule, to that slab, which is now also undergoing major renovation. He called on all Christian communities - both Orthodox and non-Orthodox - to raise their voices to influence the decision of the Israeli authorities. As a result, it was possible to achieve the removal of the Israeli demands to prevent believers from worshiping at the Edicule.

The main work on the major overhaul of the restoration of the Edicule is carried out by the Greek side, represented by the Athens National Archaeological Institute. But in order not to leave 100 percent of the repairs to the Greeks, as was the case in 1808, the Franciscan Order and the Armenian Patriarchate were also involved. Each denomination will allocate $3 million for restoration. Perhaps the amount will be required a little more, but these restoration works are estimated at around $10 million.

By agreement, all restoration work will be completed before Easter next year.

Life: Is the Russian Orthodox Church involved in restoration work?

When a secret fundraising for the required $3 million was announced by the Orthodox, represented by the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Russian pilgrims also contributed a lot of money.

Let me also remind you that in 2012, when the question of paying for utility bills arose, Israeli companies presented the Jerusalem Patriarchate with an invoice for nine million shekels (about $2.4 million) as the owner of “ controlling stake” in the temple. The Patriarch then appealed to many leaders of Orthodox states, and only Vladimir Putin responded, after which Israeli companies wrote off their debts. The Russian side has always participated in caring for the Holy Sepulcher: it collected money for the repair of the temple in 1808 and shed blood for the rights of the Orthodox population in Crimean War 1853-1855, which was called “the war for the holy places of Palestine.”

You mentioned Russian legends about the Holy Sepulcher. Could you tell us more about them, in a real historical context?

The legends are connected, first of all, with the visit of Jerusalem in the 12th century by the Russian pilgrim Abbot Daniel. He described in detail his journey to Jerusalem (it was preserved in ancient Russian chronicles), procession around Edicule. It was then of a completely different form, and then the Orthodox bishop did not go there to receive the blessed fire - the fire itself fell on the candles and bowls of oil. When the fire went down, they received the flame and took it away. Hegumen Daniel also took a piece of the holy blessed fire and took it to Rus'.

There is also an epic legend that has interested many scientists that the hero and traveler Vasily Buslaev from Veliky Novgorod, who supposedly lived in the 14th or 15th centuries, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher and took with him to Rus' a stone, that is, a slab that covered the bed of the Lord. Allegedly, even this slab was later discovered somewhere in Russia. There are even documentary studies on this topic.

Archaeologists working in Jerusalem to restore the tomb of Jesus Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have published a video showing footage of the movement of the marble slab that protected the burial place of Christ. According to RIA Novosti, under it they found a large number of stones.

Scientists now have to figure out what “the original surface of the stone on which, according to legend, the body of Christ was laid” looked like. It is expected that the study will establish what the tomb of Jesus originally looked like.

The Russian Orthodox Church reacted with understanding to archaeological work in the edicule erected over the Holy Sepulcher. Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Missionary Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, Hegumen Serapion (Mitko), stated that the church “has always treated with deep understanding the desire of people to know more, because the very ability to understand the world is inherent in man by the Creator.”

“People have a special inquisitiveness, and it, of course, stems from the ability to understand the world that the Lord gave us. A person wants to know everything, in particular people are interested in how Saint Helena acted when she was looking for the Holy Sepulcher and life-giving cross, which was the tomb of Jesus. And we cannot forbid people to know this,” added Abbot Serapion, emphasizing: “But at the same time, we remember - although we don’t always say it publicly - that the main objective human lies in the knowledge of God, which is realized in our heart.”

On October 27, archaeologists removed a marble slab, which was installed in 1555, from the stone burial bed of Christ. “The marble lining was removed and we were surprised at the amount of material underneath,” said an archaeologist from the National Geographical Society Fredrik Hiebert.

Scientists restoring the tomb of Jesus Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem have, for the first time in several centuries, removed the marble protective slab from the stone on which the body of Christ lay. According to National Geographic magazine, the original surface of the stone will be studied by specialists and pilgrims will be able to see it.

The marble covering was presumably installed in the edicule erected over the burial place of Jesus Christ - one of the main shrines of the Christian world - in 1555.

“The marble lining was removed and we were surprised by the amount of material underneath,” said National Geographic Society archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert, who is involved in the restoration. - It will be a long time scientific analysis, but we will finally be able to see the original surface of the stone on which, according to legend, the body of Christ was laid.”

According to experts, the decisive stage of restoration of the edicule is now underway. “The methods we use to study this unique monument will tell the world about our results, as if people themselves were in the tomb of Christ,” one of the scientists noted.

The restoration is carried out by specialists from the National Technical University of Athens, employees of the University of Florence, as well as experts from Armenia. According to the plan, the structures in the edicule should be strengthened, seams updated, and damaged fragments of stone cladding replaced. The decoration will also be cleaned of accumulated soot. The work is financed by all holders of rights to the shrine: the Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches.

The word “edicule” itself goes back to the Greek word koubouklion, which is translated as “bedchamber”. It looks like a chapel made of yellow-pink marble with an area of six by eight meters. It was erected above the Holy Sepulcher and the so-called Angel's chapel - the place where the Archangel Gabriel sat on the stone he rolled away from the door of the tomb, announcing the resurrection of Christ to the myrrh-bearing women. For believers this is a particularly holy place.

The current cuvuklia is the third chapel erected in the Church of the Resurrection. The first was built in 335 according to the plans of Emperor Constantine the Great. Her sculptural image, made of ivory, is kept today in one of the museums in Munich.

Let us add that responsibility for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is distributed among six denominations - Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syrian and Ethiopian, each of which is allocated its own chapels and hours for prayer. To avoid misunderstandings, interested parties in the distribution of property and order of services comply with the historically established status quo, determined by documents of the 18th-19th centuries. The legal, property and territorial boundaries assigned to each of the faiths are strictly defined. So, for example, not a single icon, not a single lamp can be added or removed without general consent.

Archaeologists researching the shrine of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem said that the tomb is located on the very spot that was designated by Empress Helena as the tomb of Jesus Christ back in the 4th century AD. But scientists will need months more to study all the data collected at the site of the shrine. In addition, without bones and any artifacts, scientists will never be able to say with certainty that this is the tomb of Christ.

At the end of October, scientists removed a marble slab, installed there in 1555, from the burial bed. Underneath it they found another slab of gray marble on which a cross was carved. It dates from the Crusader era. As experts have suggested, the slab itself was installed during the Crusaders' campaigns. Then archaeologists found out that the bed itself remained intact.

As stated by National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert, the found second slab may be “clear evidence that the place where pilgrims now come is exactly the tomb that was discovered in the 4th century by the Roman emperor Constantine and which was worshiped by the crusaders,” TASS reports.

“Earthquakes, fires and conquests repeatedly destroyed the temple. We didn't know if the cuvuklia (the domed chapel of yellow-pink marble that encloses the Holy Sepulcher) was in the right place. Now we have received proof that this is the same burial that was found by Emperor Constantine and which was worshiped by the crusaders,” the British The Independent quotes Hibert.

According to him, after the excavations, the first to enter the tomb were representatives of the Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches, as well as the Franciscans - they are in charge of the shrine. They came out of the edicule without hiding their smiles. He added that no human remains were found in the tomb.

It was extremely difficult to reach an agreement on excavations, since any issue concerning the temple requires endless coordination between faiths. As an example, the archaeologist cited a staircase that had not been moved for 240 years.

According to the Gospel tradition, after his death on Golgotha, Christ was taken down from the cross and buried in a nearby cave. Three days later, when the disciples came for his body, they did not find Jesus and realized that he had ascended to heaven.

In 326, Emperor Constantine sent his mother, Empress Helena, to Jerusalem to find the Holy Sepulcher and the cross on which Jesus was crucified. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the tomb was discovered under the pagan temple of Aphrodite, recalls NEWSru Israel.

In less than ten years, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was erected on this site. The burial place of Christ was marked by a rotunda - a cuvuklia. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and only now has confirmation been received that its location has not changed.

The tomb of Christ has been preserved in its original form, studies in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have shown. Archaeologists working at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem have discovered, beneath two marble slabs and a layer of stone fragments, an intact limestone bed believed to contain the body of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth. Scientists admit that they have no evidence that Christ was buried in this tomb, but, according to them, there is no reason to believe that this was not the case.

The first 60 hours that the researchers spent studying the great Christian shrine turned out to be incredibly fruitful. Archaeologists were able to see the stone on which the body of the crucified Christ lay, and obtain the first data about it.

Let us remember that scientists had to lift a marble slab erected over the burial place of Jesus Christ. This slab is believed to have been installed in 1555 and was supposed to protect the tomb bed from overzealous pilgrims who might try to break off pieces of the shrine to take with them.

According to National Geographic, after removing a layer of stone fragments, another marble slab was discovered with a cross carved into its surface. And on the night of October 28, just a few hours before the moment when the tomb was to be sealed again, an intact limestone bed appeared before archaeologists.

“I'm completely shocked. My knees are even shaking a little because I didn’t expect this. We can’t be 100% sure, but this seems to be visible evidence that the location of the tomb has been pinpointed – something historians and scientists have been thinking about for decades,” archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert told reporters.

In addition, scientists were able to verify that the edicule was built around a cave with limestone walls, that is, the temple literally surrounds the original tomb.

“This is the Holy Sepulcher, which has been venerated for many decades. And only now we can really see it,” says the chief scientific director of the expedition, Professor Anthony Moropoulou, who is overseeing restoration work on the cuvuklia.

As National Geographic notes, it is archaeologically impossible to prove that the tomb discovered in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was indeed the burial place of the Jewish citizen known as Jesus of Nazareth, but there is reason to believe that 300 years after evangelical events Queen Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, managed to correctly determine the location of the shrine.

The earliest accounts of Jesus' burial are recorded in the canonical Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, which were compiled several decades after Christ's crucifixion. It is known that Christ was buried in a rock tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Jesus.

Archaeologists have identified more than a thousand similar rock tombs in the Jerusalem area, recalls archaeologist Jody Magness. Each of these family graves consisted of one or more burial chambers with long niches cut into the walls to accommodate individual bodies.

“All of this is consistent with what we know about how wealthy Jews buried their dead in Jesus' time. This is not direct evidence that the events described in the Bible are historical. But the way they are described indicates that the evangelists were familiar with this tradition and these burial customs,” says Magness.

Jewish tradition prohibits burial within city walls, and the Gospels indicate that Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem, near the site of his crucifixion on Calvary. A few years after this happened, the walls of Jerusalem were expanded, and Golgotha, along with the nearby tombs, was within the city.

When representatives of Emperor Constantine arrived in Jerusalem around 325 to find the tomb of Christ, they turned their attention to the temple built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian 200 years earlier. Historical sources testified that this temple was built over a tomb revered by Christians.

According to Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, the Roman temple was destroyed, and during excavations a tomb was discovered under its foundation. Top part the cave was cut away to provide access to the burial chamber, and the church was built around the walls of the tomb. This church was completely destroyed in 1009 by Muslims and restored in the mid-11th century by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos.

During excavations that were carried out inside the Holy Sepulcher during the 20th century, supposed fragments of the Temple of Hadrian and the walls of the church from the time of Emperor Constantine were discovered. Archaeologists have also documented an ancient limestone quarry and at least half a dozen other rock tombs, some of which can still be seen today. The presence of other burials from the same period is extremely important, Magness notes. They indicate that the area where the edicule is located was a Jewish cemetery in the time of Jesus and was located outside the walls of Jerusalem.

“We cannot be absolutely sure that the site under the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the burial place of Jesus, but we have no reason to reject its authenticity,” said Dan Bahat, former chief archaeologist of Jerusalem.

Over the past few days, researchers have been working to return the marble slabs to their place and preserve the tomb, designed to last for many centuries and even millennia. “Our actions are aimed at preserving the architecture of the structure forever,” says Moropoulou. Before the tomb was resealed, scientists obtained and recorded a huge amount of data about it.

Archaeologist Martin Beadle, who published a now classic monograph on the history of the edicule in 1999, believes that the only way, which will allow you to understand why this tomb is considered the burial place of Christ, and not others, is to study the signs and inscriptions that have been preserved on the funeral bed and the walls of the cave.

“We know there are at least half a dozen other rock tombs beneath other parts of the temple. So why did Bishop Eusebius identify this particular grave as the tomb of Christ? He didn't explain and we don't know. I don’t think Eusebius was wrong, he was a very good scientist after all, so he probably had some evidence,” says Beadle.

Meanwhile, a team from the National Technical University of Athens continues to restore the edicule. Archaeologists will have to strengthen the foundation of the temple, clean and document every inch of the sanctuary, which, along with data collection, will take another five months.

Let us remember that the word “edicule” itself goes back to the Greek word koubouklion, which is translated as “bedchamber”. It looks like a chapel made of yellow-pink marble with an area of six by eight meters. It was erected above the Holy Sepulcher and the so-called Angel's chapel - the place where the Archangel Gabriel sat on the stone he rolled away from the door of the tomb, announcing the resurrection of Christ to the myrrh-bearing women. For believers this is a particularly holy place.

In 1009, the first edicule was destroyed by Muslims. By the middle of the 11th century, the shrine was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomakh. Franciscan Boniface of Ragusa rebuilt the chapel in 1555, and he also placed a protective slab on the stone bed. In 1808, the second edicule, along with other temple structures, was destroyed by fire. The author of the current chapel was the Greek architect Nikolai Komninos. It appeared in 1810 and has survived to this day without restoration. It is believed that the chapel was built according to measurements taken from a copy of the Jerusalem shrine erected by Patriarch Nikon in the Resurrection Monastery of New Jerusalem.

Let us add that responsibility for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is distributed among six denominations - Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syrian and Ethiopian - each of which is allocated its own chapels and hours for prayer. To avoid misunderstandings, interested parties in the distribution of property and order of services comply with the historically established status quo, determined by documents of the 18th-19th centuries. The legal, property and territorial boundaries assigned to each of the faiths are strictly defined. So, for example, not a single icon, not a single lamp can be added or removed without general consent.

There is no doubt that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is one of the most important shrines located in Israel. Today, many pilgrims do not miss the moment to visit this attraction. It is worth saying that this is the place where the life of Christ ended, and it is also where subsequent events took place after his execution. This temple is a center of pilgrimage and one of the most beautiful and most important shrines in the history of mankind.

If we look at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in more detail, we should pay due attention to the Edicule; it is one of the decorations of this temple. The Edicule itself is a small chapel, which is very beautifully decorated with marble.

Location in the temple

Stone of Anointing in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

It must be said right away that the temple is a rather extensive structure, which includes about forty buildings. Of course, a great help when orienting yourself in a given area will be a map or plan that will help you see what is in Edicule and quickly find the necessary structure. By the way, at the entrance to the Edicule, on both sides there are beautiful candlesticks and lamps, and on the walls there are ancient icons which are of extraordinary value. If we look at everything more carefully, we can see that this complex includes:

the rotunda, on the territory of which the Edicule is located;
Calvary;
ancient temple Katholikon;
underground temple of the Acquisition of the Life-Giving Cross;
churches;
chapels.

The Edicule itself of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a photo of which is posted in any tourist guide, consists of two rooms, this is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and a room called the Angel's Chapel.

In one of the parts of the Edicule there is the Holy Sepulcher, which is the name of a separate room where the corresponding exhibit is located. According to religious data, it is in this room that the burial place of Christ is located. It is a stone bed covered with a white marble slab, which is located with right side from the entrance. According to religious data, the resurrection of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion took place at this place. By the way, this room is not that big in size; according to eyewitnesses, it can only accommodate a few people.

Important! Inside the Edicule, it is the Holy Sepulcher that represents the main altar of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, and there are simply an incredible number of people who want to get here.

Edicule

Inside the Edicule there is also the Angel's Chapel; this building has a more extensive scale and is located on the eastern side. It is believed that the Angel who sat on this very stone announced the resurrection of Christ. It is part of this stone that is embedded in the pedestal located in the middle of the aisle. By the way, in this room there are two holes that are used to transmit the Holy Fire. The Patriarch passes the fire through one hole to the Christians, and through the other, the clergyman passes it to the Armenians. Between themselves, these two rooms, which belong to the chapel, are connected by a very low arch.

Historical facts

The burial place of Christ has been revered since ancient times; we can say that even the very first Christians considered this place to be the holiest. Even during the construction of a huge church by Constantine I, his mother Elena carried out excavations, with the help of which they managed to obtain the Holy Sepulcher, nails and three crosses.

The Edicule in all the photos is presented in its most beautiful form, but few people know that the old building was destroyed in a fire that happened in 1808. Already in 1810, a new structure was built, which retains its appearance to this day. When renovating the building, the parameters of the cuvuklia, which is located in the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery, were taken as a basis. Unfortunately, in 1927, due to an earthquake, the condition of the structure was damaged. This event led to the fact that the building had to be strengthened along the side walls with beams. Thus, today pilgrims all over the world have the opportunity to venerate this landmark.

Existing parts

It is worth saying right away that 6 churches share their powers in this shrine, and they also represent three main directions of religion:

Catholic Church;
Greek Orthodox;
Ethiopian;
Syrian;
anti-Chalcedonian Armenian;
Coptic

This distribution has its own rules that all church representatives must follow. Thanks to the historical statute, order in ownership and service is perfectly preserved. It must be clarified that all possessions are strictly negotiated, and no changes are made without notifying church members. As for the common possession, it extends only to the stone of anointing. To understand the essence of this arrangement, it is necessary to consider the three main religions on which this area rests:

Orthodox Church. It must be said that this direction protects the most important shrines that are located in the temple. It is this church that is the first to begin its services on Holy Saturday. If we consider those parts that belong to her possessions, then these are the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, the northern chapel of Mount Calvary, one of the tiers of the rotunda, the underground chapel of the Finding of the Cross, the chapel of Adam's Mount, as well as the Virgin of Sorrows;
Roman Catholic direction. Churches of this direction have authority over such exhibits as the throne of St. Mary Magdalene, the tier of the gallery rotunda, the southern part of Calvary and the underground chapel of the Finding of the Cross (this shrine is divided between the two directions);
the third direction includes all other churches. This formulation of the question suggests that these churches have their own purposes.

Features of Edicule

The Edicule of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has its own peculiarity, which is different beautiful jewelry. One of them is a Russian carved silver canopy, which is presented in the form of twelve icons with the holy apostles.

The visit began on Friday, November 9 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Primate of the Russian Church will repeat the historical path of many Russian pilgrims. On the night from Saturday to Sunday he will commit Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Resurrection of Christ) in Jerusalem- This main temple the Christian world, where two shrines and testimonies are located - Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher, as well as other places associated with the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his Passion on the Cross and the Resurrection.

The “Orthodoxy and Peace” portal invites readers to go on a photo journey through the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and its surroundings - together with a photographer.

Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Night.

Cleaning in one of the aisles. Here was the prison in which the Savior was imprisoned before the crucifixion.

The workers turned out to be visitors from Odessa, working for the Glory of God. In the conversation they said that they just came to work, bought a plane ticket and that’s it. Some six months ago, some four months ago. They came to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and turned to those ministers who understood at least a little Russian, and they were taken into obedience.

Near the stairs going down to the Church of St. Helena, the chapel of the Crown of Thorns is located.

Underground Church of St. Helena currently belongs to the Armenians, who acquired it, according to one version, from the Georgian Orthodox community, according to another, from the Ethiopians. The temple has two altars: the northern altar is dedicated to the Prudent Thief; main, central, - to the queen of St. Helena and her contemporary St. Gregory the Illuminator. According to Armenian legend, when St. Gregory, after a long feat of prayer, came to venerate the Holy Sepulcher, and was honored by the descent of the Holy Fire.

The small cross-domed temple (20x13 m) was originally the crypt of the basilica of Emperor Constantine. The dome in the center is supported by 4 ancient monolithic columns; the vaults were erected no earlier than the 12th century. The plane of the floor between the columns is covered with mosaics, the subjects of which are taken from the history of Armenia.

A special niche and stone seat in the temple mark the place behind the altar dedicated to St. Helena, where the queen sat during the excavations.

There are 3 unquenchable lamps burning in the window.

Church of St. Helena with 13 steps.

On the right you can see the entrance down... Church of St. Helena is connected to Catholic Church The Finding of the Cross, located at the lowest point of the entire temple complex. Behind the stone throne stands on a high pedestal a large bronze statue of St. Helena with the Cross she found in her hands, donated Austrian Archduke Maximilian.

In the right corner of the aisle, under a low-hanging rock, lies a small marble slab with a white 8-pointed orthodox. cross on a black background, indicating the place where the Honest Tree was discovered.

Inside the temple, opposite the entrance, lies the Stone of Anointing, covered with a red marble polished slab (30 cm thick), on the sides of which Greek is carved around the perimeter. text of the troparion of St. Joseph of Arimathea (“Noble Joseph”). The corresponding Gospel text (John 19. 38-40) is written in Greek on a marble plaque hanging on the right. The descent from the Cross, the anointing of the body with incense and the position in the tomb are depicted on a large mosaic panel, stylized as a Byzantine pattern, on the wall directly behind the Stone of Anointing (the mosaic was made with the blessing of Patriarch Diodorus in 1990 by V. Tsotsonis). Above the Stone there are 8 lamps (4 – Greek, 2 – Armenian, 1 – Latin, 1 – Coptic).

In the photo, a Coptic monk lights a lamp.

There is no evidence reaching us about exactly where the body of the Lord was prepared for burial. But already from the 5th century. in succession good friday The rite of Burial of the Shroud stands out. In the temple it is performed as follows: the shroud covered with rose petals is carried by six bishops from Golgotha to the Stone of Anointing; after the litany at the Stone, the shroud is solemnly transferred with a threefold litany around the Edicule and placed on the Triday Bed, then taken to the altar of the catholicon.

Courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Servants of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, guards.

The facade of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from the entrance (south side) is a typical work romanesque architecture XII century In the double lunettes of the portal there were originally marble bas-reliefs depicting “The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem” and “The Burial of the Savior” (transferred for storage to the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem).

Queue at the Edicule.

Mosaics of the Katholikon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord).

Catholicon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord) in the present day. time they call the “middle” volume of the complex, enclosed by special walls that do not reach the vaults, built after the fire of 1808 (initially the temple complex of the Holy Sepulcher consisted of several separate sanctuaries: the rotunda directly containing the Edicule, Calvary (Orthodox and Catholic) chapels and the cathedral Church of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate; the basilica of the Crusaders united these objects in a single internal space). The Greek reconstruction changed the composition of the building: in addition to the side walls, a high iconostasis appeared, but from a liturgical point of view, the unity of the temple space was achieved, and the necessary prayer atmosphere for Orthodox worship was created.

The dome of the katholikon, the smaller of the 2 domes of the temple, is located above the western part. Exactly under the dome, on a special vase-stand, a marble hemisphere is placed, indicating a place called “mesomphalos” - “the navel of the Earth”. However, if the idea of Jerusalem as the center of the earth and the economy of salvation (Ps 73.12) is 1 thousand years older than Christianity, then the marble flowerpot appeared in the temple no earlier than 1810. The dome contains a mosaic image of the blessing Pantocrator surrounded by Mother of God, St. John the Baptist, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, 12 saints. Between the 8 windows of the drum, in the niches, there are images of seraphim and cherubs (the mosaic work in the dome of the catholicon was completed in 1994).

The Catholicon is cathedral Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is expressed by the presence of 2 throne seats in its eastern part (the thrones of the Patriarch of Jerusalem at the southern pillar and his epitrope, the Metropolitan of Petro-Arabia, at the northern one). Above the iconostasis there is a gallery with three pulpits (small balconies) protruding into the temple, from which the ancient Byzantine side is located. As a rule, the deacon must read the Gospel. All east part of the catholicon, including the iconostasis, soleya with 4 steps, 6 columns on it, north. and south The entrances to the altar are a single ensemble of pink marble.

The Catholicon, like the rotunda, is surrounded by spacious galleries, which house several chapels. All in. In the gallery of the temple there is a place called the Arcades of the Virgin: huge tetrahedral pillars supporting high arches, interspersed with columns, between which stands out a white marble fragment of the imperial building. Adriana. It is assumed that of the 7 columns, the 4 central ones belong to the Triporticus of Constantine.

Edicule

Entrance to Edicule. A Greek monk keeps order.

The Edicule (8.3×5.9 m) consists of two parts: the western, hexagonal in plan (2.07×1.93 m), where the Holy Sepulcher is located, and the eastern (3.4×3.9 m) , where the Angel's chapel is located. A pedestal with a part of the sacred stone rolled away by an angel is located in the middle of the chapel and serves as a throne during the performance of the bishop's liturgy. Liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher (in this case the Triday Bed itself becomes the altar). The chapel has 15 lamps in three rows - according to the number of main confessions. In the northern and southern walls there are oval windows for the transfer of the Holy Fire on Holy Saturday (the southern one is for Armenians, the northern one is for Orthodox Christians). The entrance from the Angel's chapel to the Cave of the Holy Sepulcher is decorated with a marble portal. On the left at the entrance are depicted the myrrh-bearing women, on the right is the Archangel Gabriel stretching out his hand to them (according to the inscription), at the top of the portal is a marble canopy with an inscription in Greek, reproducing the words of the angel: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen."

The cave of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a small chamber, almost half occupied on the right by a stone bed covered with a marble transenna slab. The slab appeared in Edicule in 1555. Maxim Simeos, who was the last to see the Savior’s stone bed without a slab covering it in 1810, testified that it was severely damaged by the unreasonable jealousy of countless “God-lovers” who strove to break off, bite off, and take away a particle at any cost. shrines. In the western part of the slab, due to the zeal of the pilgrims, a noticeable depression was formed. On the marble shelf running along the sides of the Triday Bed, there are three icons of the Resurrection - from each of the Christian confessions. The ktitor inscription above the door names the creator of Edicule - the Greek architect N. Komninos, who was tortured by the Turks in Constantinople during the Morean uprising on Easter 1821.

In the western part, attached to the edicule, is the Chapel of the Head, belonging to Coptic Church. According to legend, the second angel sat here (“at the head”) (John 20:12). According to Armenian sources, the chapel was built by the king of Cilician Armenia, Etum II, in 1300. Subsequently, the Armenians gave this chapel to the Copts, receiving in return one of the monasteries in Egypt. Coptic monks cite a legend that during the reconstruction of the edicule in 1810, the niche of the Holy Bed was truncated in the western part, so that the place where the head of the Savior rested ended up in the Coptic chapel. Since Byzantine times, a small throne existed on this site. The Crusaders called the chapel "cavet" ("head" in Norman dialect) because it was located at the head of the Edicule. In 1810, the Greeks reconstructed the Edicule without the Copts. chapel, restored thirty years later at the direction of the then ruler of Palestine, Ibrahim Pasha, son of the Egyptian Khedive Muhammad Ali.

On Friday, November 9, the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the Jerusalem Patriarchate began. The Primate of the Russian Church will repeat the historical path of many Russian pilgrims. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, he will celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Resurrection of Christ) in Jerusalem- this is the main temple of the Christian world, where two shrines and testimonies are located - Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher, as well as other places associated with the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his Passion on the Cross and the Resurrection.

The “Orthodoxy and Peace” portal invites readers to go on a photo journey through the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and its surroundings - together with a photographer.

Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Night.

Cleaning in one of the aisles. Here was the prison in which the Savior was imprisoned before the crucifixion.

Near the stairs going down to the Church of St. Helena, the chapel of the Crown of Thorns is located.

A special niche and stone seat in the temple mark the place behind the altar dedicated to St. Helena, where the queen sat during the excavations.

There are 3 unquenchable lamps burning in the window.

Church of St. Helena with 13 steps.

On the right you can see the entrance down... Church of St. Helena is connected to the Catholic Church of the Finding of the Cross, located at the lowest point of the entire temple complex. Behind the stone throne stands on a high pedestal a large bronze statue of St. Helena with the Cross she found in her hands, donated by the Austrian Archduke Maximilian.

In the photo, a Coptic monk lights a lamp.

There is no evidence reaching us about exactly where the body of the Lord was prepared for burial. But already from the 5th century. In the observance of Good Friday, the rite of Burial of the Shroud is highlighted. In the temple it is performed as follows: the shroud covered with rose petals is carried by six bishops from Golgotha to the Stone of Anointing; after the litany at the Stone, the shroud is solemnly transferred with a threefold litany around the Edicule and placed on the Triday Bed, then taken to the altar of the catholicon.

Courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Servants of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, guards.

The facade of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from the entrance (south side) is a typical work of Romanesque architecture of the 12th century. In the double lunettes of the portal there were originally marble bas-reliefs depicting “The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem” and “The Burial of the Savior” (transferred for storage to the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem).

Queue at the Edicule.

Mosaics of the Katholikon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord).

Catholicon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord) in the present day. time they call the “middle” volume of the complex, enclosed by special walls that do not reach the vaults, built after the fire of 1808 (initially the temple complex of the Holy Sepulcher consisted of several separate sanctuaries: the rotunda directly containing the Edicule, Calvary (Orthodox and Catholic) chapels and the cathedral Church of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate; the basilica of the Crusaders united these objects already in a single internal space). The Greek reconstruction changed the composition of the building: in addition to the side walls, a high iconostasis appeared, but from a liturgical point of view, the unity of the temple space was achieved, and the necessary prayer atmosphere for Orthodox worship was created.

The dome of the katholikon, the smaller of the 2 domes of the temple, is located above the western part. Exactly under the dome, on a special vase-stand, a marble hemisphere is placed, indicating a place called “mesomphalos” - “the navel of the Earth”. However, if the idea of Jerusalem as the center of the earth and the economy of salvation (Ps 73.12) is 1 thousand years older than Christianity, then the marble flowerpot appeared in the temple no earlier than 1810. The dome contains a mosaic image of the blessing Pantocrator surrounded by the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, 12 saints. Between the 8 windows of the drum, in the niches, there are images of seraphim and cherubs (the mosaic work in the dome of the catholicon was completed in 1994).

The Catholicon is the cathedral of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is expressed by the presence of 2 throne seats in its eastern part (the thrones of the Patriarch of Jerusalem at the southern pillar and his epitrope, the Metropolitan of Petro-Arabia, at the northern one). Above the iconostasis there is a gallery with three pulpits (small balconies) protruding into the temple, from which the ancient Byzantine side is located. As a rule, the deacon must read the Gospel. All east part of the catholicon, including the iconostasis, soleya with 4 steps, 6 columns on it, north. and south The entrances to the altar are a single ensemble of pink marble.

Edicule

Entrance to Edicule. A Greek monk keeps order.

In the western part, the Chapel of the Head, belonging to the Coptic Church, is attached to the edicule. According to legend, the second angel sat here (“at the head”) (John 20:12). According to Armenian sources, the chapel was built by the king of Cilician Armenia, Etum II, in 1300. Subsequently, the Armenians gave this chapel to the Copts, receiving in return one of the monasteries in Egypt. Coptic monks cite a legend that during the reconstruction of the edicule in 1810, the niche of the Holy Bed was truncated in the western part, so that the place where the head of the Savior rested ended up in the Coptic chapel. Since Byzantine times, a small throne existed on this site. The Crusaders called the chapel "cavet" ("head" in Norman dialect) because it was located at the head of the Edicule. In 1810, the Greeks reconstructed the Edicule without the Copts. chapel, restored thirty years later at the direction of the then ruler of Palestine, Ibrahim Pasha, son of the Egyptian Khedive Muhammad Ali.

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Location in the temple

Historical facts

Existing parts

Features of Edicule

Mosaics of the Katholikon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord).

Edicule

Mosaics of the Katholikon (Church of the Resurrection of the Lord).

Edicule