Before starting the topic of the Stone of Anointing in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we turn to the Gospel words spoken by the Creator of the whole universe.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem beating the prophets and stoning those who were sent to you with stones! Jesus crucified before the crucifixion about this city! He repeatedly wanted to gather his children, as a bird gathers his chicks under his wings. But they did not want to do this. Therefore, the Lord left their house empty until they exclaim: "Blessed is He who is in the name of the Lord!"
Jerusalem
His voice was a voice of compassion, mercy and great love for people. That is exactly what St. John Chrysostom noted in his interpretation of the gospel. It was as if in front of a woman who was loved so much and who, with contempt, bestowed on her lover. And for this she will be punished. That is how the Lord mourned for people who refused help. With these words, he foretold the terrible punishment of God that befell Jerusalem in 70. Then the Romans devastated and destroyed the city.
Anointing Stone in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The city of Jerusalem is located on the plateau of the Judean Mountains, on the watershed between the Dead and Mediterranean Seas. This city has become sacred to such major religions as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
As stated in the Bible, about 1000 before the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, King David, who led the Jews, conquered the city from the Jebusites. He built his fortress here, which became known as the “City of David”. The ruler proclaimed this city the capital of the kingdom of Israel, where the greatest shrine of the Jews - the Ark of the Covenant - was kept. Thus, David created a city where the religious belief with the shrines of all twelve tribes of Israel was fully represented.
Anointing Stone. Jerusalem. Temple
The very history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher begins with the reign of Emperor Constantine and Queen Elena. The construction of the temple was entrusted to two architects - Eustachus and Zinovy.
It consisted of three parts: Anastasis, presented in the form of a rotunda, the Garden of Joseph of Arimathea and Golgotha. Here you can see the basilica of five naves, which are elongated rectangular structures. In 335, September 14, the new temple was solemnly consecrated in the presence of the emperor himself.
The construction of a new temple
The temple stood beautiful and majestic until in 614 the Persians captured the city. Emperor Roman began to restore the shrine in 1031. But after three years, a strong earthquake destroyed the building.
Then in 1048 the restoration of the temple begins by Emperor Constantine. But soon the crusaders began to rebuild it. This story has survived to this day.
Today, a huge number of pilgrims and tourists come to Israel. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in our time is a huge architectural structure with a dome, under which is Kuvukliya, the Catholicon (patriarchal cathedral of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church), then there is the underground temple of the Acquisition of the Life-giving Cross, then the church of St. Equal to the Apostles Elena and a few more limits.
Description and Main Relics
Here you can see the most holy relics of the world and touch the most ancient values that became dumb witnesses of those great events that tell about the life of Jesus Christ.
The Anointing stone in the Church of the Sepulcher is presented in the form of a slab on which the Savior's bloodied and tormented body was laid.
The followers of the teachings of Christ Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, having removed the body of Jesus from the cross, laid Him first on a stone slab, then to carry out the ceremony of anointing. And only then he was transferred to the tomb, which Joseph prepared for himself. This man was a secret disciple of the Lord, a rich and noble member of the Sanhedrin.
Joseph and Nicodemus
Kind and truthful, he was not afraid to ask Pilate to take the body of the crucified Nazarene. Having received permission, he removed the Lord from the cross. He wrapped his shroud around him and carried out the funeral rite laid down by the Jews, he transferred the body of the Savior to the coffin carved in the rock, and rolled a stone to it. The whole world knows this shroud under the name of Turin. In the biblical prophecies of Isaiah it is written: "He was appointed a coffin with villains, but He was buried by the rich."
The gospel says that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloe to anoint the body of the Savior.
Shrine Description
As mentioned above, the Anointing Stone is in the temple of the Holy Sepulcher right in front of the entrance. It was specially coated on top with a smoothly polished marble slab 30 cm thick. An authentic pink limestone stone is stored under the slab. Its size is 2.7 m long and 1.3 m wide. The text of the troparion to righteous Joseph is carved in Greek on the sides of the panels on a marble board. Behind the stone, you can see a colorful stylized mosaic in the Byzantine style pan depicting the removal from the cross, anointing of the body with incense and the process of burial of the Savior. With the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Diodorus, a wall was erected between the confessional plots.
Religious denominations owning a stone
In general, there are six denominations in the temple of the Lord. They are the owners of its premises and relics located on their territory. All this has already been agreed upon and agreed upon in ancient statutes. The Anointing stone in the temple of the Holy Sepulcher is considered the property of four churches at once. And each has its own special items near the stone. The Greek church owns four icon lamps above the stone. Armenian belong to two lamps. Catholic and Coptic - one.
This sacred relic was lined with black marble and was the property of Catholics from the Order of St. Francis of Assisi. This fact was confirmed by the drawing on it - two crossed arms.
Healing properties
In some amazing divine way, this stone has miraculous power.
Pilgrims from all over the world, who consider this their primary duty, go to bow to the Anointing stone in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here sins are blotted out and blessed. Consecration on a stone occurs naturally even without the help of priests. The Stone of Anointing is streaming.
New Jerusalem
It is also worth noting that there is an anointing stone in the New Jerusalem Monastery, which is located in the Moscow region, in the city of Istra. On the territory of this monastery is located the Resurrection Cathedral, which was built in 1658-1685. The idea was this: create a copy of the Jerusalem Temple of the Holy Sepulcher. However, it turned out, one might say, a new artistic transformation. This temple was built in special sizes, which were brought from Jerusalem. The first stage of construction was controlled by Patriarch Nikon himself. He chose craftsmen from his patriarchal court. But then legalists took up arms against Nikon and sent him into exile.
In 1679, by decree of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, grandiose construction continued on.
Today we can see how the “Royal Arch” unites the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher. In the center is the Kuvukliya chapel, which means “bedchamber”. From it descends on Easter the Heavenly Fire. It consists of a cave of the Holy Sepulcher and an aisle of the Angel. This Jerusalem prototype is similar to the original wooden tent. Later, the rotunda over Kuvukliya was made of brick, which could not withstand its weight and collapsed in 1723. Thank God no one was hurt, as all the people were at the Ascension Day at the Chapel of Olives. Then there was a fire. After about 10 years, under the leadership of Rastrelli, everything was rebuilt in the Baroque style with wooden tiles.
Parting words
People of the whole world should always remember that by His infinite mercy, the Lord is trying to save us all. All that remains for us is to truly believe and accept the Lord's call for salvation. He will always help those who want to live by His commandments, repent and pray. Only in this way can we achieve the kingdom of heaven.