The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem, where we headed immediately after a reception with His Beatitude, Patriarch Benedict, on March 18/31, 1964, located close to the Patriarchal headquarters, is the principal holy site in the Holy Land and the mother of all Orthodox churches
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem, where we headed immediately after a reception with His Beatitude, Patriarch Benedict, on March 18/31, 1964, located close to the Patriarchal headquarters, is the principal holy site in the Holy Land and the mother of all Orthodox churches. Upon the consecration of any new Orthodox church, wherever it is built, the service of the Dedication of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ at Jerusalem, dated in our service books on September 13, the eve of the Exaltation of the Lord’s Cross, is served. And every one of our altar tables, upon consecration, has laid within it those same material symbols of Christ’s suffering that we see in the Church of the Resurrection.
The spot on which the Church of the Resurrection was built was, before Christ’s time, located outside of the city and was considered the lot of the dead ‒ the "valley of dead bodies." It was a natural cliff, reminiscent in its shape of a human forehead or skull, which is why the Jews called it Golgotha, i.e. the place of the skull. After the Crucifixion here of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Resurrection, this previously shameful place became a Christian holy site, just as the cross, previously a shameful method of execution, became a symbol of Christian victory. In 130, the pagan Emperor Hadrian, having destroyed Christian Jerusalem, built a temple to Venus on the place of the Crucifixion, and a temple to Jupiter on the place of the Resurrection. In the 4th century, St. Helen, in addition to the many churches she had built, erected the magnificent Church of the Resurrection, which included within itself the holy sites of the Lord’s Crucifixion and Resurrection. In 614, the church built by St. Helen was razed to its foundations by the Persian conqueror Khosrau II. Shortly after this, Patriarch Modestus had four churches built on the site – one to the Resurrection, one on Golgotha, one on the site of the finding of the True Cross, and one to the Mother of God. Finally, in 1130, the Crusaders united these holy sites under one roof, a single building that incorporates various styles – Roman, Franco-Arabic, and others. The best icons in the church, precious lamps, bells, and serving vessels were almost all donated from Russia. The exterior of the church resembles a castle. It is buttressed from almost every side by various Christian and Muslim buildings, out of the midst of which its two cupolas – one larger, one smaller – are barely visible. The entrance into the church is comprised of two large, iron doors, one of which is always closed, and the second of which only ever has one half open, through which the relatively large number of the faithful and tourists from the countries of the world enter and exit the church.
The doors once held a mosaic icon of the Mother of God, which inspired St. Mary of Egypt to her unbelievable and superhuman spiritual labors. This icon crumbled with time, and its stones were gathered and taken by the faithful. Two signs are inscribed in Arabic on the doors: "O pilgrim, taste thy true desire. Enter into the joy of thy Lord, into the luminous heaven, the Mother of Churches," and the other, "Ye strangers, enter into the courtyards of the Lord, into the tomb of Life, where grace abideth and blessed light prevaileth." Unfortunately, nobody notices or reads these inscriptions, but it is with these same feelings that many of the faithful cross the church’s threshold.
After many years of decay, the church is currently being renovated and it covered in scaffolding. Our architect and engineer T.S. Denke, who labored much on the Mount of Olives to renovate our famous belltower and other buildings thereon, observed that the renovation of the Church of the Resurrection is being carried out thoroughly; complicated braces and supports allow old stones within the walls themselves to be replaced, and the work is being done almost entirely by hand. The work is expected to continue for many years, and requires great financial support. It was with great joy that I presented His Beatitude, the Patriarch, with a humble donation toward this holy undertaking on behalf of our Russian people.
The first holy site which we had a chance to venerate was the Stone of Anointing. It is a rectangular sheet of marble, yellow-rose in color, located under a gold canopy and surrounded by large candlestands and unextinguished matte-colored lamps. The marble covers the spot, the stone on which St. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared the Pure Body of the Savior for burial after His having been removed from the Cross; they anointed Him with myrrh and wrapped Him in burial clothes. Carved around the outside of the marble sheet is an inscription in Greek: "The noble Joseph, taking down Thy most pure Body from the Tree, wrapped it in clean linen and sweet spices and laid it in a new tomb." To the left of the Stone of Anointing is a circular marble slab with a latticework cover. This is the Station of the Holy Women (or the "Place of sorrow"), where the Mother of God stood, surrounded by the holy women and St. John the Theologian, when the Body of the Savior was removed from the Cross.
To the right of the Stone of Anointing is a marble staircase leading to Golgotha, which at the current time resembles something of a church, divided into two parts, north and south. Each part contains an altar table for the celebration of the Liturgy. The north part belongs to the Greeks. Below a tall, Greek Orthodox altar table, which stands on four columns and is surrounded by precious lamps, is a marble opening, silver-plated and the width of several human hands. This is the place on which the Cross of the Lord was raised. In the Catholic part is the spot on which the Lord was nailed to the Cross. Kneeling under the Greek altar table, one can insert his hand into that holiest of openings and share the feeling experienced by the Apostle Thomas: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing" (John 20:27).
Descending from Golgotha, we enter into the Church of the Resurrection itself, located in the center of the whole church. The Church of the Resurrection, which is fairly spacious, is the cathedral church of the Jerusalem Patriarchate and is built in the usual custom of Orthodox churches. It was in this church on the night of March 30/April 12 that we attended Matins in the altar, which was served by the Greek clergy under the direction of the Greek Bishop Chrysanthos, who then celebrated Liturgy on the Tomb of Christ. The Greek choir, comprised of young monks and novices, sang inspiredly.
The corridor between Golgotha and the Church of the Resurrection is abutted by several chapels, each dedicated to an event that took place on Great Friday.
The Chapel of the Derision or of the Crown of Thorns – this is the spot where the Lord, upon arriving at the place of His Crucifixion, suffered mockery at the hands of the Roman soldiers, who vented their hatred for the Jews on Him, as well as the hatred of the Jews who participated in the Crucifixion themselves. Their hatred was so great that Crucifixion was not sufficient for them; they needed to mock and deride the Divine Sufferer. This concept is impressed upon this chapel. From there a staircase descends into the Chapel of St. Helen. This is a large cave with two altars – the one on the left in memory of the penitent thief, and the one on the right in memory of St. Helen, Equal-of-the-Apostles. Below the right apse is an underground chapel: "The Chapel of the Invention of the Cross" – the spot where the Life-Giving Cross of Christ was found. During Christ the Savior’s Crucifixion, this spot was an abandoned cistern into which the Lord’s Cross and the two thieves’ crosses were thrown from Golgotha, and where they lay for over 300 years under piles of garbage and rubble.
The third chapel – The Chapel of the Division of Robes ‒ marks the spot where the Roman soldiers divided the Lord’s garments and cast lots for his outer garments, sewn by the Mother of God for Her Son, as was prophesied by the Prophet David: "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture" (Psalm 21:19). The fourth chapel – The Chapel of St. Longinus the Centurion, the commander of the Roman garrison, who upon Christ’s Crucifixion believed on Him and cried out, "Truly this was the Son of God! (Matthew 27:54). At the insistence of the Jews, the centurion Longinus was beheaded for this as punishment. The fifth chapel is The Chapel of the Bonds. Here is a stone slab with openings for one’s legs, in which the Savior’s legs were bound with iron chains. The sixth chapel is The Prison of Christ. According to Tradition, this is where the Savior was held with the two thieves while the soldiers prepared the instruments of execution. The Mother of God stayed here when they took Her Son to be executed, and She lost all feeling when She saw Her Son raised up on the Cross. The seventh chapel is The Arches of the Virgin Mary. This is where, according to Tradition, the Mother of God remained after the Lord’s burial and during His stay in the tomb; it is here that the Lord appeared to the Mother of God after His Resurrection from the dead. According to Tradition, here the Patriarch Macarius and St. Helen performed the miracle of resurrecting the dead man by touching the three crosses to him. Here too are the remnants of the columns to which the Lord was chained during His flagellation.
In addition to these chapels is the Catholic Church of Mary Magdalene, where according to Tradition the Lord appear to Mary Magdalene after His Resurrection. This church is very well adorned. Some of the chapels belong to the Armenians, Syrians, and Copts, who perform their divine services therein.
Returning to Golgotha, one must also note that, under the north altar of Golgotha, the part belonging to the Greeks, are the chapels of Adam and St. John the Baptist. According to Tradition, it was on this spot that Noah the Patriarch buried the bones of Adam, and the blood of the Savior, running down from Golgotha, bedewed the skull of Adam. Here too is the burial place of the king and high priest Melchizedek, Christ the Savior’s antitype and the founder of the Holy City of Jerusalem.
