It is well known that the most revered shrine of Christians around the world is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher located in Jerusalem. Its ancient walls rise where almost two millennia ago he sacrificed his cross and then rose from the dead Jesus Christ. Being a monument to this most important event in the history of mankind, at the same time it became a place where every year the Lord reveals to the world the miracle of the gift of His Holy Fire.
Temple founded by St. Queen Elena
The history of the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which is commonly called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is associated with the name of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helena. Arriving in the first half of the 4th century on the Holy Land, she organized excavations, as a result of which sacred relics were found, among which the Life-giving Cross and the Holy Sepulcher became the most important.
At her command, the first church was erected at the site of the work, which became the prototype of the future church of the Holy Sepulcher (Israel). It was a very spacious structure that housed Calvary - the hill on which the Savior was crucified, as well as the place where His Life-giving Cross was found. Later, a number of structures were added to the church, as a result of which a temple complex was formed, stretching from west to east.
The temple in the hands of the conquerors
This earliest church of the Holy Sepulcher lasted less than three centuries and in 614 was destroyed by the soldiers of the Persian king Khosrov II, who captured Jerusalem. Damage to the temple complex was very significant, but in the period 616-626. it was completely restored. The historical documents of those years provide an interesting detail - the work was personally financed by the wife of the conquering king, Maria, who, oddly enough, was a Christian and openly professed her faith.
Jerusalem survived the next wave of turmoil in 637, when it was captured by the forces of Caliph Umar. However, as a result of the wise actions of Patriarch Sophronius, they managed to avoid destruction and minimize the number of victims among the population. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, founded by the holy queen Helena, continued to remain the main shrine of Christians for a long time, despite the fact that the city was in the hands of the conquerors.
The death of the former temple and the construction of a new
But in 1009 there was a disaster. Caliph Al-Hakim, instigated by the courtiers, gave the order to destroy the entire Christian population of the city and destroy the temples located on its territory. The massacre lasted several days, and thousands of civilians in Jerusalem became its victims. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was destroyed and in its original form was no longer reborn. The son of Al-Hakim allowed the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VIII to rebuild the shrine, but, according to contemporaries, the erected complex of buildings was largely inferior to the one that was destroyed by his father.
Temple built by the Crusaders
The current Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the photo of which is given in the article, like its predecessors, was built on the site of Christ's sacrifice of the cross and His miraculous Resurrection. In it, under one roof, the shrines associated with these events are combined. The temple was erected in the period from 1130 to 1147 by the crusaders and is a vivid example of the Romanesque style.
The center of the architectural composition is the rotunda of the Resurrection - a cylindrical building in which Kuvukliya is located - a tomb in the rock where the body of Jesus rested. A little further, in the central vestibule, are Calvary and the Stone of Anointing, on which He was entrusted after being removed from the cross.
On the east side, the rotunda is adjoined by a building called the Great Church, or else Katholikon. It is divided into many aisles. The temple complex is complemented by a bell tower, which was once impressive in size, but significantly damaged by the earthquake of 1545. Its upper part was destroyed and has not been restored since then.
Restoration and restoration work of the last centuries
The temple suffered its last disaster in 1808, when a fire broke out within its walls, destroying the wooden roof and damaging Kuvukliya. That year, leading architects from many countries came to Israel to rebuild the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. By their joint efforts, in a short time they managed not only to repair the damaged, but also to erect a hemispherical dome made of metal structures over the rotunda.
After the end of World War II, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher became the site of full-scale restoration work, the purpose of which was to strengthen all the elements of the building, without violating its historical appearance. They do not stop today. It is gratifying to note that in 2013 a bell made in Russia was raised on the bell tower of the temple.
Today's temple appearance
Today, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (photo is given in the article) is an extensive architectural complex. It includes Golgotha - the place of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the rotunda, in the center of which is placed Kuvukliya, or, in other words, the Holy Sepulcher, as well as the cathedral church of Katholikon. In addition, the complex includes the Temple of the Acquisition of the Life-Giving Cross located underground and the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Empress Helena.
In the church of the Holy Sepulcher, where, in addition to the shrines listed above, several more monasteries are located, religious life is extremely full. This is due to the fact that it contains representatives of six Christian faiths at once, such as Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Syrian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian. Each of them has its own chapel and the time allotted for worship. So, the Orthodox can perform the liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher at night from 1:00 to 4:00. Then they are replaced by representatives of the Armenian church, who at 6:00 are giving way to Catholics.
So that not one of the denominations presented in the temple would have priority and all would be on an equal footing, back in 1192 it was decided to make the key keepers the Muslims - members of the Arab family of Jaud Al Ghadiyah. The Arabs, representatives of the Nuside family, were also entrusted with unlocking and locking the temple. Within the framework of this tradition, which has been strictly observed to this day, honorary rights are transferred by members of both genera from generation to generation.
Fire descended from heaven
At the end of the article, we dwell briefly on the convergence of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Jerusalem). Every year, on the eve of Easter, during a special service, a kindled fire is miraculously carried out from Kuvuklia. It symbolizes the True Divine Light, that is, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Historical documents indicate that a similar tradition originated in the 9th century. It was then that on Great Saturday, preceding Easter, the miracle of finding the Holy Fire replaced the rite of blessing of the lamp. Medieval descriptions of how, spontaneously, without human intervention, the lamps, hanging over the Holy Sepulcher, have been preserved. Similar testimonies were left by numerous Russian pilgrims who visited holy places at different stages of history.
A miracle that has become part of modernity
Today, thanks to modern technology, millions of people annually witness the convergence of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Photo and video materials dedicated to this miracle, causing general interest, do not leave television screens and pages of print media. This is not surprising, since not one of the numerous examinations has been able to establish the reason why the fire appears in the locked and sealed Kuvuklia.
Do not lend themselves to explanation and its physical features. The fact is that, according to direct witnesses of the miracle, in the first minutes after taking it out of the Holy Sepulcher, the fire does not burn and those present in awe awash their faces.
In recent decades, it has become a tradition immediately after gaining the Holy Fire to deliver it by air to many countries of the Christian world. The Russian Orthodox Church, supporting this pious tradition, also sends its delegation to Jerusalem every year, due to which many Easter churches of our country are sanctified by fire descending from heaven in the Holy Land on Easter night.