The Holy Sepulchre
This is the Holy Sepulchre; the ædicule or shrine, containing the burial
place of Jesus.
After Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, had satisfied herself
that she had discovered the true site of the resurrection, she had the ground cleared,
leaving only that part which contained the resting place of Jesus; much of the hill and
graves and the pagan temple instituted by Hadrian 200 years previously, were demolished, and in
their place and around that spot she erected, in her son's name, the Rotunda and Basilica
of what has become the most hallowed spot in Christendom - the site of the crucifixion,
burial and resurrection of Jesus. This church, originally extending eastwards as far as
the Byzantine Cardus Maximus, today's Beit Ha-Bad Street, erected over and
eastwards of the actual, traditional sepulchre of Jesus, was virtually destroyed stone by
stone, brick by brick, by Caliph Hakim in 1009 - (it had also been damaged by Persians in
the invasion of 614 CE.). You can examine what it is reliably believed this first
Constantinian church looked like, here
.
After Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, had satisfied herself that she had discovered the true site of the resurrection, she had the ground cleared, leaving only that part which contained the resting place of Jesus; much of the hill and graves and the pagan temple instituted by Hadrian 200 years previously, were demolished, and in their place and around that spot she erected, in her son's name, the Rotunda and Basilica of what has become the most hallowed spot in Christendom - the site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This church, originally extending eastwards as far as the Byzantine Cardus Maximus, today's Beit Ha-Bad Street, erected over and eastwards of the actual, traditional sepulchre of Jesus, was virtually destroyed stone by stone, brick by brick, by Caliph Hakim in 1009 - (it had also been damaged by Persians in the invasion of 614 CE.). You can examine what it is reliably believed this first Constantinian church looked like, here
The present church dates to the Crusaders' period (12th century), who rebuilt on the partial
Byzantine reconstruction, after Hakim, in the 11th century. Some sections of Helena's
original Constantinian church, built between 326 and 335 CE can still be seen in the
present structure.
The last serious reconstruction of the ædicule was in 1834 when
a new, upper section was constructed as a result of a fire which broke out in the Armenian
section of the church at the beginning of the 19th century and spread throughout the whole
church, doing much damage. For curiosity's sake you can compare the accuracy of David
Roberts' drawing with the photograph taken during the 'Nineties, when the Rotunda was
undergoing extensive refurbishment.
The church was built (in its original form), under the instructions of Constantine himself
who wrote in great detail to the Bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, explaining his thoughts
about the church he wanted built.
You can copy/paste this link if you would like to read the letter:
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-03/Npnf2-03-10.htm
