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Holy Sepulcher |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 16. |
Entrance to the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
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A narrow passage and flight of steps lead down to the courtyard in front of the
entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . . . .The open court is the
favourite resort of pedlars from Bethlehem, who expose their wares for sale on
the pavement . . . .The façade of the church occupies the entire northern side
of the court. There are two doorways, one open and one closed by the masonry of
the Chapel of Calvary, and above each door is a window. The whole dates from the
twelfth century, and forms part of the work of the Crusaders when they
remodelled the church. Some of the ornamentation is very similar to that which
may be seen in many churches in Normandy at the present day, and a bas-relief
over one of the doors, representing with much spirit the entrance of Christ into
Jerusalem, is supposed to have been executed in France. The string courses above
the doors and windows are partly made up of blocks of stone belonging to a very
beautiful cornice of classical design, almost identical with that of the cornice
of the Golden Gate in the east wall above the Haram esh Sherif. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp. 14, 18.) |
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Chapel of Calvary, or Golgotha |
Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p.
77. |
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The traditional site [of Calvary] is within
the Church of the Sepulchre. The approach to
it is by a flight of steps from the south
transept. Going up, we enter a vaulted
chamber, now named the Chapel of the Elevation
of the Cross. It is about fourteen feet higher
than the floor of the church. At its eastern
end is a platform ten feet long and eighteen
inches high. In the centre stands the altar,
richly decorated. Under the altar is a hole in
the marble slab, communicating with a similar
one in the natural rock below. In this hole,
it is said, the cross of our Lord was fixed.
Near it, on the right, is an opening in the
marble revealing the rent in the rock
occasioned by the earthquake, as recorded by
St. Matthew (xxvii. 51). The holes for the
crosses of the two malefactors are shown to
the right and left, at the ends of the altar,
about five feet distant from that in the
centre. (Source: Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p. 165.) |
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Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem,
p. 76. |
Interior of the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher |
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Beyond it lies the Rotunda, which is
sixty-seven feet in diameter. The Rotunda
formerly had twelve large columns which
supported the dome, but there are now eighteen
piers which carry a clerestory and a dome open
at the top . . . .In the centre is the Shrine
of the Holy Sepulchre . . . built, in the very
worst taste, of the ruddy coloured limestone
known at Jerusalem as "Santa Croce" marble.
The building is about twenty-six feet long and
eighteen feet wide. Its western end is
polygonal in shape, its eastern, square; and
the interior is divided into two chapels, one
on the east, known as the Chapel of the
Angels, the other containing the Sepulchre of
Christ . . . .The tomb chamber is entirely
lined with marble, and from its roof hang
forty-three lamps . . . These lamps are kept
burning day and night. The tomb is a raised
bench two feet high, six feet four inches
long, and three feet wide, covered by a marble
slab which has a groove cut transversely
across the centre. Above the tomb are three
bas-reliefs in white marble representing the
resurrection. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp. 18-20.) |
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The Chapel of Helena, Church of the Holy
Sepulcher |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 19. |
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The Chapel of Helena . . . .is divided
into three aisles by four stunted columns with
heavy-looking capitals, which carry a dome
that rises above the level of the courtyard of
the Abyssinian Monastery, and gives light to
the chapel below. There are two apses
containing altars dedicated respectively to
St. Helena and the Penitent Thief. The
position of the third apse is occupied by an
opening through which a flight of steps leads
down to the Chapel of the Invention of the
Cross . . . .In the Chapel of St. Helena the
place is pointed out where the Empress sat
whilst the workmen were searching for the
cross in the cave below . . . .According to
tradition, the search instituted by the
Empress Helena led to the discovery of the
three crosses; but . . . it was at first
impossible to distinguish the cross upon which
our Saviour died. This difficulty was overcome
by taking the three crosses to a noble lady of
Jerusalem who was afflicted with an incurable
illness; the crosses of the thieves had no
effect, but on being touched with the true
cross her disease left her, and she sprang
from her couch whole and well. (Source:
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp. 22-23.) |
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See
Authenticity of the Holy Sepulcher,
History
of the Holy Sepulcher,
Via Dolorosa,
Holy Fire Ceremony,
Antonia
Fortress,
Gordon's Calvary,
Tombs and
Burial Customs, or
Garden of
Gethsemane |
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