{"id":4971,"date":"2019-03-25T12:28:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T12:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?page_id=4971"},"modified":"2019-03-27T06:27:16","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T06:27:16","slug":"the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre\/","title":{"rendered":"THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Church

Church of the Holy Sepulchre old city Jerusalem<\/p><\/div>\n

For centuries the heart of Christian Jerusalem<\/a> has been the Church of the Holy Sepulcher<\/strong>. Erected in memory of the final events of Christ\u2019s Passion \u2013 where Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again – this magnificent basilica is a fitting home to the last five Stations of the Cross.<\/p>\n

Associated with legends of Adam\u2019s tomb, a small rise just outside the city walls had long reminded Jerusalem residents of a human skull, Golgotha in Aramaic. An ancient quarry here had been turned into the city\u2019s burial ground, with family tombs cut into the rock (Beth Shearim necropolis, pages 80\/1). Under Roman occupation the \u201cplace of the skull\u201d became where they crucified common criminals \u2013 and Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\"Church

Built in 326 AD, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the focus of Christian pilgrimage.<\/p><\/div>\n

For over a century the early Christians preserved the memory of Christ\u2019s crucifixion and resurrection here despite increasing Roman persecution. Emperor Hadrian finally destroyed Jerusalem in 135 AD and covered the site with a shrine to Venus and a statue of Jupiter. When Constantine adopted Christianity two centuries later, his mother Helena came on a pilgrimage and found that Hadrian had not razed Christ\u2019s tomb as feared, only covered it with rubble. Clearing this away work was completed on the first great basilica here in 335.<\/p>\n

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