Exploring Greece, Israel, and Jordan– Part Fifty Five

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which goes back to the time of Queen Helena at least in the 4th century, is the probable locale of Golgotha. It is in fact not one church but many, claimed by so many Orthodox and Catholic denominations that this man has to hold the key to the main door— he’s a Muslim and this tradition goes back in his family to the middle ages! I asked the man sitting at the door— where’s the key? He said– ‘at home’! Well, of course. He unlocks and locks it up. Here’s the so-called front entrance… Since there have been numerous disputes about who owns which bit, various necessary repairs have been lagging and lacking. Notice the small ladder up above the door, which no one is allowed to move because its ownership is in dispute! It’s a terrible witness to Christianity that we can’t work together for the common good.

Every day there are pilgrimages to this very spot….. When one enters the front door, one sees a slab, where supposedly Jesus’ body was laid when he was taken down from the cross. Notice the devout kissing the stone…. Notice the mural behind it depicting the laying out of Jesus’ body.

If one wants to see something more authentic…. some of the original chapels were carved directly out of the limestone There are various chapels within the church, and the central orthodox one is said to be the location of Golgotha itself…. Originally, the site of the crucifixion would have been much lower than this… and evidence of crucifixions can be found in the basement area of this church… Here’s the central dome… And the area around it….

Here’s the Syrian orthodox chapel, with priest in place….

For Jonny-come-latelys like the Ethiopian Orthodox, who have no historic claim in the church, they have built their own little chapel on the roof! If you can’t join them… go over their heads!
They’ve planted some greenery up there, not far from one of the church’s domes…

Frankly, I have little sympathy for dueling Orthodox traditions, none of which have any sort of historical basis to make an exclusive claim on this spot. If you want to see Christians behaving less badly visit the church of all nations at the Mt. of Olives.