Editing Church of the Holy Sepulchre

{{Short description|Church in Jerusalem}}
{{Redirect|Holy Sepulchre|an overview of sites believed to be Jesus's burial place|Tomb of Jesus|other uses|Holy Sepulchre (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox church
| infobox_width    = 
| name             = Church of the Holy Sepulchre
| image            = Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Gerd Eichmann (cropped).jpg
| caption          = The church in 2010, from left to right: the [[#Bell tower|bell tower]] (12th&nbsp;century), [[#Rotunda|rotunda]] (big dome), [[#Catholicon|catholicon]] (smaller dome), and [[#Ambulatory|ambulatory]]
| location         = [[Christian Quarter]], [[Old City of Jerusalem]]
| denomination     = [[Eastern Orthodox]], [[Oriental Orthodox]], [[Catholic]]
| coordinates      = {{Coord|31|46|42|N|35|13|47|E|region:PS_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| status           = Active
| heritage_designation = 
| leadership       = 
| website          = {{ubl|
{{URL|https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/the-holy-sepulcher-and-the-all-holy-church-of-the-resurrection|Eastern Orthodox}}}}
{{URL|https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/basilica-of-the-holy-sepulchre/|Roman Catholic}}|
| founder          = [[Constantine the Great]]
| consecrated date = 13 September 335 <br /> ({{Age|13 September 335}} years ago)
| architect        = Nikolaos Ch. Komnenos (1810 restoration)
| funded_by        = 
| style            = [[Paleochristian architecture|Paleochristian]], [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]]
| groundbreaking   = {{c.|AD 326}}
| completed date   = AD 335 (demolished in 1009, rebuilt in 1048)
| specifications   = 
| capacity         = 8,000
| length           = 
| width            = 
| width_nave       = 
| height_max       = 
| dome_dia_outer   = 
| dome_dia_inner   = 
| spire_quantity   = 
| spire_height     = 
| dome quantity    = 3
| materials        = Stone
| designated       = 
| footnote         = 
}}
{{Jerusalem sidebar|BC=1}}

The '''Church of the Holy Sepulchre''',{{efn|name=sepname|{{langx|ar|كنيسة القبر المقدس|Kanīsat al-Qabr al-Muqaddas}}; {{langx|grc|label=[[Greek language|Greek]]|Ναός τοῦ Παναγίου Τάφου|Naós toû Panagíou Táphou}}; {{langx|la|Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri}}; {{langx|am|የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተ፡ክርስቲያን|Yäḳdus Mäḳabr betä-krəstiyan}}; {{langx|he|כנסיית הקבר|K'nesiyát ha-Kéver}}.}} also known as the '''Church of the Resurrection''',{{efn|name=resname|{{langx|ar|كنيسة القيامة|Kanīsat al-Qiyāmah|links=no}}; {{langx|grc|label=Greek|Ναός τῆς Ἀναστάσεως|Naós tês Anastáseōs|links=no}}; {{langx|hy|Սուրբ Հարության տաճար|Surb Harutʻyan tačar}}, {{small|[[Classical Armenian orthography|classical orthography]]:}} {{lang|hy|Սուրբ Յարութեան տաճար}}.}} is a fourth-century church in the [[Christian Quarter]] of the [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]] of [[Jerusalem]]. The church is the seat of the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Complete compendium of Church of the Holy Sepulchre| url=http://madainproject.com/church_of_the_holy_sepulchre| website=Madain Project| access-date=18 March 2018| archive-date=29 April 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429010349/https://madainproject.com/church_of_the_holy_sepulchre| url-status=live }}</ref> Some consider it the holiest site in [[Christianity]] and it has been an important pilgrimage site for Christians since the [[Christianity in the 4th century|fourth century]].

According to traditions dating to the fourth century, the church contains both the site where [[Jesus]] was [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucified]]<ref name="mcmahon">{{CathEncy|wstitle=Holy Sepulchre|title=Holy Sepulchre|first=Arthur L.|last=McMahon|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07425a.htm}}</ref> at [[Calvary]], or Golgotha, and the location of Jesus's empty [[Tomb of Jesus|tomb]], where he was [[Burial of Jesus|buried]] and, according to Christian belief, [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrected]]. Both locations are considered immensely holy sites by some Christians.<ref name="sacred">{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre.htm |url-status=dead |title=Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem |location=Jerusalem |website=Sacred-destinations.com |date=21 February 2010 |access-date=7 July 2012 |archive-date=3 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903004043/http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre.htm }}</ref> The church and rotunda was built under [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] in the 4th century and destroyed by [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]] in 1009. Al-Hakim's son allowed Emperor [[Constantine IX Monomachos]] to reconstruct the church, which was completed in 1048. After it was captured by the [[Crusades|Crusaders]] in 1099, it continued to undergo modifications, resulting in a significant departure from the original structure.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title=Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-83057-4 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=424}}</ref> Several renovations and restorations were made under the Ottomans.<ref name="Murphy56" /> The tomb itself is enclosed by a 19th-century shrine called the [[#Aedicule|Aedicule]].

Within the church proper are the last four [[stations of the Cross]] of the [[Via Dolorosa]], representing the final episodes of the [[Passion of Jesus]]. The church has been a major [[Christian pilgrimage]] destination since its creation in the fourth century, as the traditional site of the resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of the Anastasis ('Resurrection').

The [[Status Quo (Jerusalem and Bethlehem)|Status Quo]], an understanding between religious communities dating to 1757, applies to the site.<ref>{{cite book |author=United Nations Conciliation Commission |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Nations_Conciliation_Commission_for_Palestine_Working_Paper_on_the_Holy_Places.djvu |title=United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine Working Paper on the Holy Places |date=1949 |author-link=United Nations Conciliation Commission |access-date=6 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308063848/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Nations_Conciliation_Commission_for_Palestine_Working_Paper_on_the_Holy_Places.djvu |archive-date=8 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cust |first=L. G. A. |title=[[wikisource:The Status Quo in the Holy Places]] |date=1929 |publisher=H.M.S.O. for the High Commissioner of the Government of Palestine |author-link=Lionel George Archer Cust}}</ref> Control of the church itself is shared among several [[Christian denominations]] and secular entities in complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for over 160 years, and some for much longer. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the [[Roman Catholic]], [[Greek Orthodox]], [[Armenian Apostolic]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]], [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]], and [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]] churches. Directly adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the [[Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem|Church of the Redeemer]], marking a [[Lutheran]] presence at the site.<ref name="Kroll2024">{{cite book |last1=Kroll |first1=Woodrow Michael |title=The Trials, Crucifixion, and Burial of Jesus of Nazareth: Grasping the Impact of Every Event the Day Jesus Died |date=19 September 2024 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=979-8-3852-1504-1 |page=219 |language=en}}</ref>

==Name==
The '''Church of the Holy Sepulchre'''{{efn|name=sepname}} is also known as the '''Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre'''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Freeman-Grenville |first=G. S. P. |year=1987 |title=The Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem: History and Future |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=119 |issue=2 |pages=187–207 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00140614 |jstor=25212148 |s2cid=163764077}}</ref> or simply as the '''Holy Sepulchre''', named for the [[tomb of Jesus]], which is at the focal point of [[Resurrection of Jesus|his resurrection]] according to Christians. [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christians]] also directly call it the '''Church of the Resurrection''' or the '''Church of the Anastasis'''{{efn|name=resname}}{{snd}}{{grc-transl|ἀνάστασις}} ({{lang|grc|ἀνάστασις}}) being Greek for 'resurrection'.

==History==
{{see also|#Connection to Roman temple}}

===Background (1st–4th centuries)===
After the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|siege of Jerusalem]] in AD 70 during the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], Jerusalem had been reduced to ruins. In AD&nbsp;130, the Roman emperor [[Hadrian]] began the building of a Roman colony, the new city of {{lang|la|[[Aelia Capitolina]]}}, on the site. About AD&nbsp;135, he ordered that a cave containing a [[Rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel|rock-cut tomb]]{{efn|Some Christian scholars have argued that this may have already been a site of veneration for the tomb of Jesus.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Murphy-O'Connor |first=Jerome |author-link=Jerome Murphy-O'Connor |title=The Argument for the Holy Sepulchre |journal=[[Revue Biblique]] |date=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Joan E. |author-link=Joan E. Taylor |title=Golgotha: A Reconsideration of the Evidence for the Sites of Jesus' Crucifixion and Burial |journal=[[New Testament Studies]] |date=1998|volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=180–203 |doi=10.1017/S0028688500016465 |s2cid=170536292 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Allison |first=Dale |author-link=Dale Allison |title=The Resurrection of Jesus |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |date=2021 |page=142}}</ref> [[Joan E. Taylor]] posits that the tomb's location could have been preserved by the local [[collective memory]] of Jesus's followers.<ref name=secret/>}} be filled in to make a flat foundation for a temple dedicated to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] or [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]].<ref name=sacred/><ref name=paul>{{cite book| last=Stephenson| first=Paul| title=Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christian Victor| publisher=The Overlook Press| year=2010| isbn=978-1-46830-300-1| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTsjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT206| page=206| access-date=27 November 2018| archive-date=1 August 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801145932/https://books.google.com/books?id=RTsjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT206| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Temple of Venus (Aelia Capitolina)|The temple]] remained until the early fourth century.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-jerusalem-temple-mount-threshing-floor.htm| title=The Temple in Jerusalem over the threshing floor which is presently under the Al Kas fountain| website=Bible.ca| last=Rudd| first=Steve| access-date=29 November 2018| archive-date=20 May 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520042859/https://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-jerusalem-temple-mount-threshing-floor.htm| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Corbo">{{cite book| first=Virgilio| last=Corbo| trans-title=The Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem| year=1981| title=Il Santo Sepolcro di Gerusalemme| publisher=Franciscan Press| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYFtAAAAMAAJ| language=it| pages=34–36| access-date=14 September 2020| archive-date=10 March 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112145/https://books.google.com/books?id=wYFtAAAAMAAJ| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Constantine and Macarius: context for the first sanctuary===

After seeing a vision of a cross in the sky in 312,<ref name=bible>{{cite book|editor-last=Owen|editor-first=G. Frederick|title=The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible|publisher=B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co.|location=Indianapolis|edition=4th improved (updated)|year=1983|orig-year=1964|page=323 (appendix)|title-link=Thompson Chain-Reference Bible}}</ref> [[Constantine the Great]] began to favour [[Constantine the Great and Christianity|Christianity]] and signed the [[Edict of Milan]] legalizing the religion. The Bishop of Jerusalem [[Macarius of Jerusalem| Macarius]] asked Constantine for permission to dig for the tomb. With the help of [[Eusebius]] (a Bishop of Caesarea) and Macarius, three crosses were found near a tomb; one, which was said to have [[Helena, mother of Constantine I#True Cross|cured people of death]], was presumed to be the [[True Cross]], on which Jesus was [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucified]], leading the Romans to believe that they had found [[Calvary]].<ref name=bible/><ref>From the [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04517a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926175751/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04517a.htm |date=26 September 2010 }}: "Following an inspiration from on high, Macarius caused the three crosses to be carried, one after the other, to the bedside of a worthy woman who was at the point of death. The touch of the other two was of no avail; but on touching that upon which Christ had died the woman got suddenly well again. From a letter of St. Paulinus to Severus inserted in the Breviary of Paris it would appear that St. Helena herself had sought by means of a miracle to discover which was the True Cross and that she caused a man already dead and buried to be carried to the spot, whereupon, by contact with the third cross, he came to life. From yet another tradition, related by [[St. Ambrose]] following Rufinus, it would seem that the ''[[Titulus Crucis|titulus]]'', or inscription, had remained fastened to the Cross."</ref>

About 326, Constantine ordered that the temple to Jupiter or Venus be replaced by a church.<ref name=sacred/> After the temple was torn down and its ruins removed, the soil was removed from the cave, revealing a rock-cut tomb that Macarius identified as the burial site of Jesus.<ref name=mcmahon/><ref name=constantine>{{cite book| url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iv.vi.iii.xxviii.html| title=NPNF2-01. Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine| publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library| date=2005| access-date=19 September 2014| quote=Then indeed did this most holy cave present a faithful similitude of his return to life, in that, after lying buried in darkness, it again emerged to light, and afforded to all who came to witness the sight, a clear and visible proof of the wonders of which that spot had once been the scene, a testimony to the resurrection of the Saviour clearer than any voice could give.| archive-date=2 June 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602095050/https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iv.vi.iii.xxviii.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1996-12-14-9612140058-story.html| title=Is it the Tomb of Christ? A Search for Evidence| last=Renner| first=Gerald| date=14 December 1996| journal=[[Hartford Courant]]| access-date=29 November 2018| archive-date=29 November 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129143607/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1996-12-14-9612140058-story.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=socrates>{{cite book |author=Socrates |author-link=Socrates of Constantinople |title=Historia Ecclesiastica |publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |others=Revised and notes by A.C. Zenos, DD |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202.toc.html |date=c. 439 |access-date=29 November 2018 |pages=21–22 |archive-date=25 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225122102/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202.toc.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===First sanctuary (4th century)===
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | image1 = Rotunda, Adomanan de locis santis.jpg
 | width1 = 220
 | caption1 = <!-- Vienna manuscript, codex 458 -->
 | image2 = Saint-Sépulcre (plan d'Arculfe).jpg
 | width2 = 200
 | caption2 = <!-- 12th century manuscript -->
 | footer = Two manuscript versions of the oldest known floor plans of the church, from {{lang|la|[[De Locis Sanctis]]}} ({{circa|AD 680}})<ref>Stolzenburg, Xenia (2017). [https://www.academia.edu/8099462/The_holy_place_as_formula._Floor_plans_in_Adomnans_De_locis_sanctis_to_specify_the_description_of_pilgrimage_sites_in_the_Holy_Land The holy place as formula. Floor plans in Adomnan's De locis sanctis to specify the description of pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110174458/https://www.academia.edu/8099462/The_holy_place_as_formula._Floor_plans_in_Adomnans_De_locis_sanctis_to_specify_the_description_of_pilgrimage_sites_in_the_Holy_Land |date=10 November 2019 }} in: Wolfram R. Keller & Dagmar Schlueter (Ed.) 'A fantastic and abstruse Latinity'? Hiberno-Continental Cultural and Literary Interactions in the Middle Ages, Studien und Texte zur Keltologie (Münster: Nodus Publikationen), p.&nbsp;66. "...there is not a single publication on the Holy Sepulchre or on holy burial sites that fails to include the floor plan by Adomnan, which consequently has become the topos of early depictions of Holy Sepulchre."</ref>
}}

A shrine was built on the site of the tomb Macarius had identified as that of Jesus, enclosing the rock tomb walls within its own.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}}<ref name="secret">{{Cite AV media|title=The Secret of Christ's Tomb|date=2017|last=Strange|first=Bob|type=television production|language=en|website=[[National Geographic]]}}</ref><ref name="natgeo">{{cite journal| url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/jesus-christ-tomb-burial-church-holy-sepulchre| title=Unsealing of Christ's Reputed Tomb Turns Up New Revelations| first=Kristin| last=Romey| journal=National Geographic| date=31 October 2016| access-date=26 April 2021| archive-date=27 April 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427064813/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/jesus-christ-tomb-burial-church-holy-sepulchre| url-status=dead}}</ref>{{efn|This shrine would have to be replaced over the subsequent centuries, most recently in the 19th century.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}}<ref name="secret" /><ref name="natgeo" />}}

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, planned by the architect Zenobius,<ref>{{Cite book|last=MacDonald|first=William L.|url=https://archive.org/details/earlychristianby00macd/page/20/mode/2up|title=Early Christian & Byzantine Architecture|date=1962|publisher=G. Braziller|location=New York|page=20|author-link=William L. MacDonald|url-access=limited|via=the [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> was built as separate constructs over two holy sites:

# a [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] called the {{transliteration|grc|[[Resurrection of Jesus|Anastasis]]}} ('Resurrection'), where Macarius believed Jesus to have been buried,<ref name=mcmahon/>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}} and;
# the great [[basilica]] (also known as {{lang|la|Martyrium}}),<ref name="basilica">The "[[Pilgrim of Bordeaux]]" reports in 333: "There, at present, by the command of the Emperor Constantine, has been built a basilica, that is to say, a church of wondrous beauty". ''[[Itinerarium Burdigalense]]'', p.&nbsp;594</ref> across a courtyard to the east (an enclosed [[colonnade]]d [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]], known as the ''Triportico'') with the traditional site of Calvary in one corner.<ref name="paul" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wharton|first=Annabel Jane|author-link=Annabel J. Wharton|date=1992|title=The Baptistery of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Politics of Sacred Landscape|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291664|journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers|volume=46|pages=313–325|doi=10.2307/1291664|jstor=1291664|issn=0070-7546|access-date=11 October 2021|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011100109/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291664|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Kenneth John Conant.png|thumb|upright|Diagram of a possible church layout (facing west) published in 1956 by [[Kenneth John Conant]]]]

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre site has been recognized since early in the fourth century as the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead.<ref name=commemoration/>{{efn|
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is known among the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] believers as the Church of the Resurrection.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kelley |first= Justin L. |title= The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Text and Archaeology |year= 2019 |page= 4 (note 3) |publisher= [[Archaeopress]] |location= Oxford |quote= The church was called 'the Resurrection' by many Byzantine writers, and it is this title that was adopted by Christian and Muslim Arab historians from the 10th century onward... Robinson and Smith (1856: 377, n. 1) noted that local Jerusalemites of the 19th century still called the church by its Arabic title ''Kanisah al-Qiyamah'', 'Church of the Resurrection'. |isbn= 978-1-78969-056-9 |url= https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/DMS/936FF8A3FFFF4B6EBEF78FE852E68C42/9781789690569-sample.pdf |access-date= 18 December 2023 |archive-date= 18 December 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218104219/https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/DMS/936FF8A3FFFF4B6EBEF78FE852E68C42/9781789690569-sample.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>}} The church was consecrated on 13 September 335.<ref name=commemoration/>{{efn|Every year, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] celebrates the anniversary of the {{interlanguage link|Dedication of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ|ru|Обновление храма Воскресения Христова в Иерусалиме}}.<ref name=commemoration>{{cite web| title=Commemoration of the Founding of the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre) at Jerusalem| url=http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=102593| publisher=[[Orthodox Church in America]]| access-date=2 March 2012| archive-date=25 January 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125020817/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=102593| url-status=live}}</ref><!-- (for those churches which follow the traditional [[Julian calendar]], 13 September currently falls on 26 September of the modern [[Gregorian calendar]]).{{cn|date = October 2013}} -->}}

In 327, Constantine and Helena separately commissioned the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]] to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

===Damage and destruction (614–1009)===
{{see also|Sasanian capture of Jerusalem|Destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre}}

The Constantinian sanctuary in Jerusalem was destroyed by a fire [[Sasanian capture of Jerusalem|in May of 614]], when the [[Sassanid Empire]], under [[Khosrau II]],<ref name=bible/> invaded Jerusalem and captured the True Cross. In 630, the Emperor [[Heraclius]] rebuilt the church after recapturing the city.<ref name= Kroesen>{{cite book| title=The Sepulchrum Domini Through the Ages: Its Form and Function| last=Kroesen| first=Justin| publisher=Leuven| year=2000| isbn=978-9-0429-0952-6| page=11| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5O9PqvBjn0C&q=earthquake| url-access=subscription| access-date=9 November 2020| archive-date=10 March 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112249/https://books.google.com/books?id=w5O9PqvBjn0C&q=earthquake#v=snippet&q=earthquake&f=false| url-status=live}}</ref>

After [[History of Jerusalem during the Middle Ages|Jerusalem came under Islamic rule]], it remained a Christian church, with the early Muslim rulers protecting the city's Christian sites, prohibiting their destruction or use as living quarters. A story reports that the caliph [[Umar|Umar ibn al-Khattab]] visited the church and stopped to pray on the balcony, but at the time of prayer, turned away from the church and prayed outside. He feared that future generations would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. [[Eutychius of Alexandria]] adds that Umar wrote [[Umar's Assurance|a decree]] saying that Muslims would not inhabit this location. The building suffered severe damage from an earthquake in 746.<ref name= Kroesen/>

Early in the ninth century, another earthquake damaged the dome of the Anastasis. The damage was repaired in 810 by [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch]] [[Thomas I of Jerusalem|Thomas I]]. In 841, the church suffered a fire. In 935, the Christians prevented the construction of a Muslim mosque adjacent to the Church. In 938, a new fire damaged the inside of the basilica and came close to the rotunda. In 966, due to a defeat of Muslim armies in the region of Syria, a riot broke out, which was followed by reprisals. The basilica was burned again. The doors and roof were burnt, and Patriarch [[John VII of Jerusalem|John VII]] was murdered.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}

On 18 October 1009, [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid caliph]] [[al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]] ordered the [[Destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre|complete destruction of the church]] as part of a more general campaign against Christian places of worship in Palestine and Egypt.{{efn|[[Adémar de Chabannes]] recorded that the church of Saint George at [[Lod|Lydda]] "with many other churches of the saints" had been attacked, and the "basilica of the Lord's Sepulchre destroyed down to the ground". The Christian writer [[Yahya ibn Sa'id]] reported that everything was razed "except those parts which were impossible to destroy or would have been too difficult to carry away". {{Harvnb|Morris|2005}}}} The damage was extensive, with few parts of the early church remaining, and the roof of the rock-cut tomb damaged; the original shrine was destroyed.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}} The tomb itself was almost completely destroyed, with only portions of the northern wall containing the burial bench and the southern wall surviving.<ref>Kelley, Justin L. “The Holy Sepulchre in History, Archaeology, and Tradition,” ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' 47.1 (2021): 34–43.</ref> Some partial repairs followed.<ref name="Morris 2005">{{Harvnb|Morris|2005|p={{page needed|date=April 2023}}}}</ref> Christian Europe reacted with shock: it was a spur to [[expulsions of Jews]] and, later on, the [[Crusades]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bokenkotter |first=Thomas |title=A Concise History of the Catholic Church |year=2004 |publisher=Doubleday |page=155 |isbn=978-0-3855-0584-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DISK1e7JXA8C&pg=PA155 |access-date= 12 December 2023 |archive-date= 12 December 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231212210224/https://books.google.com/books?id=DISK1e7JXA8C&pg=PA155 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= MacCulloch |first= Diarmaid |title= A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years |year= 2009 |publisher= Penguin Books Ltd |page= 1339 |isbn= 978-0-1419-5795-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7x4m20TRYzQC&q=sepulchre |access-date=  |archive-date= 10 March 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112308/https://books.google.com/books?id=7x4m20TRYzQC&q=sepulchre#v=snippet&q=sepulchre&f=false |url-status= live }}</ref>{{dubious|reason=Both refs don't seem useful. Bokenkotter p. 155 mentions neither Hakim & 1009, nor the expulsion of Jews; MacCulloch p. 1339 is hard to find (e-book), if added to URL it leads to much earlier events, plus: crt URL leads to table of content page referring to smth else, search for Hakim or 1009 lead nowhere, access date is missing... Not trustworthy!|date=December 2023}}

===Reconstruction (11th century)===

In wide-ranging negotiations between the Fatimids and the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 1027–1028, an agreement was reached whereby the new Caliph [[Ali az-Zahir]] (al-Hakim's son) agreed to allow the rebuilding and redecoration of the church.<ref name="Lev 1991">{{cite book| last=Lev| first=Yaacov| title=State and Society in Fatimid Egypt| page=40| publisher=E.J. Brill| location=Leiden; New York| date=1991| isbn=978-90-04-09344-7| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2LwgIL_bpEC&pg=PA211| access-date=20 February 2016| archive-date=10 March 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112207/https://books.google.com/books?id=I2LwgIL_bpEC&pg=PA211#v=onepage&q&f=false| url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref> The rebuilding was finally completed during the tenures of Emperor [[Constantine IX Monomachos]] and [[Nicephorus I of Jerusalem|Patriarch Nicephorus of Jerusalem]] in 1048.<ref name="Foakes-Jackson">{{Cite book |title= An Introduction to the History of Christianity, A.D. 590–1314 |first= Frederick John |last= Foakes-Jackson |author-link= F. J. Foakes-Jackson |year= 1921 |publisher= Macmillan |location= London |url= https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi00foak/page/148/ |page=148}}</ref> As a concession, the mosque in [[Constantinople]] was reopened and the [[khutba]] sermons were to be pronounced in az-Zahir's name.<ref name="Lev 1991" /> Muslim sources say a by-product of the agreement was the renunciation of Islam by many Christians who had been forced to convert under al-Hakim's persecutions. In addition, the Byzantines, while releasing 5,000 Muslim prisoners, made demands for the restoration of other churches destroyed by al-Hakim and the reestablishment of a [[patriarch]] in Jerusalem. Contemporary sources credit the emperor with spending vast sums in an effort to restore the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after this agreement was made.<ref name="Lev 1991"/> Still, "a total replacement was far beyond available resources. The new construction was concentrated on the rotunda and its surrounding buildings: the great basilica remained in ruins."<ref name="Morris 2005"/>

The rebuilt church site consisted of "a court open to the sky, with five small chapels attached to it."<ref name=Fergusson>{{cite book |title=A History of Architecture in All Countries |first= James |last= Fergusson |author-link= James Fergusson (architect) |year= 1865 |publisher=J. Murray |location= London |url= https://archive.org/details/ahistoryarchite02ferggoog}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=July 2022}} The chapels were east of the court of resurrection (when reconstructed, the location of the tomb was under open sky), where the western wall of the great basilica had been. They commemorated scenes from the passion, such as the location of the prison of Christ and his flagellation, and presumably were so placed because of the difficulties of free movement among shrines in the city streets. The dedication of these chapels indicates the importance of the pilgrims' devotion to the suffering of Christ. They have been described as "a sort of [[Via Dolorosa]] in miniature" since little or no rebuilding took place on the site of the great basilica. Western pilgrims to Jerusalem during the 11th century found much of the sacred site in ruins.<ref name="Morris 2005"/>{{Failed verification|date=July 2022}} Control of Jerusalem, and thereby the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, continued to change hands several times between the Fatimids and the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk Turks]] (loyal to the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid caliph]] in [[Baghdad]]) until the Crusaders' arrival in 1099.<ref>{{cite book |last= Gold | first= Dore |author-link= Dore Gold |title= The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City |publisher= Regnery Publishing |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2007|isbn=978-1-59698-029-7| url=https://archive.org/details/fightforjerusale00gold}}</ref>

===Crusader period (1099–1244)===
{{Further|Order of the Holy Sepulchre}}
{{see also|Art of the Crusades}}

====Background====

Many historians maintain that the main concern of [[Pope Urban II]], when calling for the [[First Crusade]], was the threat to Constantinople from the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] invasion of [[Asia Minor]] in response to the appeal of Byzantine Emperor [[Alexios I Komnenos]]. Historians agree that the fate of Jerusalem and thereby the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was also of concern, if not the immediate goal of papal policy in 1095. The idea of taking Jerusalem gained more focus as the Crusade was underway. The rebuilt church site was taken from the Fatimids (who had recently taken it from the Abbasids) by the knights of the First Crusade on 15 July 1099.<ref name="Morris 2005"/>

The First Crusade was envisioned as an armed [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]], and no crusader could consider his journey complete unless he had prayed as a pilgrim at the Holy Sepulchre. The classical theory is that Crusader leader [[Godfrey of Bouillon]], who became the first [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Latin ruler of Jerusalem]], decided not to use the title "king" during his lifetime, and declared himself {{lang|la|[[The Title of Godfrey of Bouillon|Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri]]}} ('Protector [or Defender] of the Holy Sepulchre').

According to the German priest and pilgrim [[Ludolf von Sudheim]], the keys of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre were in hands of the "ancient [[Georgians]]", and the food, alms, candles and oil for lamps were given to them by the pilgrims at the south door of the church.<ref>''Venetian Adventurer: The Life and Times of Marco Polo,'' p. 88</ref>

====Crusaders: reconstruction (12th century) and ownership====

By the Crusader period, a [[cistern]] under the former basilica was rumoured to have been where Helena had found the True Cross, and began to be venerated as such; the cistern later became the [[:commons:Category:Grotto of the Holy Cross|Chapel of the Invention of the Cross]], but there is no evidence of the site's identification before the 11th century, and modern archaeological investigation has now dated the cistern to 11th-century repairs by Monomachos.<ref name="Corbo"/>

[[William of Tyre]], chronicler of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, reports on the rebuilding of the church in the mid-12th century. The Crusaders investigated the eastern ruins on the site, occasionally excavating through the rubble, and while attempting to reach the cistern, they discovered part of the original ground level of Hadrian's temple enclosure; they transformed this space into a [[Chapel of Saint Helena, Jerusalem|chapel dedicated to Helena]], widening their original excavation tunnel into a proper staircase.<ref name=Savage37>''Pilgrimages and Pilgrim shrines in Palestine and Syria after 1095'', Henry L. Savage, ''A History of the Crusades: The Art and Architecture of the Crusader States'', Vol. IV, ed. Kenneth M. Setton and Harry W. Hazard, (University of Wisconsin Press, 1977), 37.</ref>

[[File:Crusader Graffiti in the Church of the holy supulchure Jerusalem Victor 2011 -1-21.jpg|thumb|Crusader [[graffiti]] in the church: crosses engraved in the staircase leading down to the [[Chapel of Saint Helena, Jerusalem|Chapel of Saint Helena]]<ref name="madainhelenachapel">{{cite web |title=Chapel of Saint Helena |url=https://madainproject.com/chapel_of_helena |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516181420/https://madainproject.com/chapel_of_helena |archive-date=16 May 2020 |website=Madain Project |access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref>]]

The Crusaders began to refurnish the church in [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style and added a [[bell tower]].<ref name= Savage37/> These renovations unified the small chapels on the site{{clarify|reason= No, the open courtyard was covered by a roof and a regular-shaped Western basilica was created; far from just "uniting" a set of disparate chapels.|date= March 2023}} and were completed during the reign of [[Queen Melisende]] in 1149, placing all the holy places under one roof for the first time.<ref name= Savage37/>

The church became the seat of the first [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Latin patriarchs]] and the site of the kingdom's [[scriptorium]].<ref name= Savage37/>

{{anchor|Royal tombs}}
Eight 11th- and 12th-century Crusader leaders ([[Godfrey of Bouillon|Godfrey]], [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem|Baldwin I]], [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem|Baldwin II]], [[Fulk, King of Jerusalem|Fulk]], [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem|Baldwin III]], [[Amalric of Jerusalem|Amalric]], [[Baldwin IV of Jerusalem|Baldwin IV]] and [[Baldwin V of Jerusalem|Baldwin V]] – the first eight [[rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]) were buried in the south transept and inside the [[#Chapel of Adam|Chapel of Adam]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Jeffery |first=George |title=A Brief Description of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem and Other Christian Churches in the Holy City |date=1919 |publisher=CUP |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924015406063/page/n143/mode/1up?view=theater |page=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Conder |first=Claude Reignier |title=The City of Jerusalem |date=1909 |publisher=J. Murray |page=294 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rLk2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA294 |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060210/https://books.google.com/books?id=rLk2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA294#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} [All kings named]</ref><ref name=Pringle65>{{cite book |last=Pringle |first=Denys |title=The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=3 |isbn=978-0-521-39038-5 |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0jH6VPi4-gC&pg=PA65 |quote=destroyed in 1809–10 |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060209/https://books.google.com/books?id=X0jH6VPi4-gC&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref> 
The royal tombs were looted during the [[siege of Jerusalem (1244)|Khwarizmian sack of Jerusalem]] in 1244 but probably remained mostly intact until 1808 when a fire damaged the church. The tombs may have been destroyed by the fire, or during renovations by the Greek Orthodox custodians of the church in 1809–1810. The remains of the kings may still be in unmarked pits under the church's pavement.<ref name=reem>{{cite book |last1=Re’em |first1=Amit |display-authors=etal |title=Surviving Three Cycles of Destruction: The Graves of the Crusader Kings in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre |date=2022 |volume=15 |pages=71–103 |publisher=רשות העתיקות, מרחב ירושלים |isbn=978-9654067676 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03822984 |via=HAL-SHS |access-date=17 November 2022 |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117100512/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03822984 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The church was lost to [[Saladin]],<ref name= Savage37/> along with the rest of the city, in 1187, although the treaty established after the [[Third Crusade]] allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the site. [[Emperor Frederick II]] (r. 1220–50) regained the city and the church by treaty in the 13th century while under a ban of excommunication, with the consequence that the holiest church in Christianity was laid under [[interdict]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} The church seems to have been largely in the hands of Greek Orthodox patriarch [[Athanasius II of Jerusalem]] (c.&nbsp;1231–47) during the last period of Latin control over Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite book |last= Pringle |first= D. |author-link= Denys Pringle |title= The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: Volume 3, The City of Jerusalem: A Corpus |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X0jH6VPi4-gC&pg=PA31 |year= 1993 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 978-0-521-39038-5 |pages= 31–32 |access-date= 10 March 2016 |archive-date= 8 November 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060217/https://books.google.com/books?id=X0jH6VPi4-gC&pg=PA31#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status= live }}</ref> Both city and church were captured by the [[Khwarezm]]ians in 1244.<ref name="Savage37" />

===Ottoman period===
There was certainly a recognisable [[Nestorian]] ([[Church of the East]]) presence at the Holy Sepulchre from the years 1348 through 1575, as contemporary [[Franciscan]] accounts indicate.{{sfn|Luke|1924|p=46–56}} The [[Franciscan]] friars renovated the church in 1555, as it had been neglected despite increased numbers of pilgrims. The Franciscans rebuilt the [[#Aedicule|Aedicule]], extending the structure to create an antechamber.<ref name="Murphy56"/> A marble shrine commissioned by Friar [[Boniface of Ragusa]] was placed to envelop the remains of Christ's tomb,{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}} probably to prevent pilgrims from touching the original rock or taking small pieces as souvenirs.<ref name=natgeo/> A marble slab was placed over the limestone burial bed where Jesus's body is believed to have lain.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}}

[[File:Icon of Renovation of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Eastern Orthodox]] icon (c.&nbsp;1600) commemorating a church renovation]]

After the renovation of 1555, control of the church oscillated between the Franciscans and the Orthodox, depending on which community could obtain a favourable ''[[firman (decree)|firman]]'' from the "[[Sublime Porte]]" at a particular time, often through outright bribery. Violent clashes were not uncommon. There was no agreement about this question, although it was discussed at the negotiations to the [[Treaty of Karlowitz]] in 1699.<ref name="Mailáth">{{cite book| title=Geschichte der europäischen Staaten, Geschichte des östreichischen Kaiserstaates| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0MJAAAAQAAJ| first=János Nepomuk Jozsef| last=Mailáth| volume=4| page=262| publisher=F. Perthes| location=Hamburg| year=1848| trans-title=History of the European states, history of Austrian Imperial State| access-date=14 September 2020| archive-date=8 November 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060211/https://books.google.com/books?id=_0MJAAAAQAAJ| url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[Holy Week]] of 1757, Orthodox Christians reportedly took over some of the Franciscan-controlled church. This may have been the cause of the sultan's ''[[firman]]'' (decree) later developed into the [[Status Quo (Jerusalem and Bethlehem)|Status Quo]].<ref>[https://preparadoresjc.com/joincultura/relacion/ Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, 1757] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306142745/https://preparadoresjc.com/joincultura/relacion/ |date=6 March 2021 }} (in Spanish).</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2021}}{{efn|name=ladder}}

A fire severely damaged [[:File:Plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and adjacent structures in Jerusalem - Chrysanthus of Bursa - 1807.jpg|the structure]] again in 1808,{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}} causing the dome of the rotunda to collapse and smashing the Aedicule's exterior decoration. The rotunda and the Aedicule's exterior were rebuilt in 1809–10 by architect Nikolaos Ch. Komnenos of [[Mytilene]] in the contemporary [[Ottoman architecture#Baroque period|Ottoman Baroque]] style.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Raymond |chapter=The Earthquake |title=Saving the Holy Sepulchre: How Rival Christians Came Together to Rescue Their Holiest Shrine |date=2008 |pages=1–12 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-518966-7 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189667.003.0001}}</ref> The interior of the antechamber, now known as the [[:commons:Category:Chapel of the Angel|Chapel of the Angel]],{{efn|One of the two chapels within the shrine, a pilaster incorporates a piece of the stone said to have been rolled away from the tomb; it functions as a Greek Orthodox altar.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=99}}}} was partly rebuilt to a square ground plan in place of the previously semicircular western end.

Another decree in 1853 from the sultan solidified the existing territorial division among the communities and solidified the Status Quo for arrangements to "remain in their present state", requiring consensus to make even minor changes.<ref name=cohen>{{cite journal |url=http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/sepulchre.shtml |title=The Church of the Holy Sepulchre: A Work in Progress |journal=The Bible and Interpretation |date=May 2009 |first=Raymond |last=Cohen |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-date=28 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428164642/http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/sepulchre.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{efn|name=ladder|The need for total agreement for even minor changes is exemplified in the '[[immovable ladder]]' under one of the church's windows; it has remained in the same position since at least 1757, aside from two occasions of temporary removal.<ref name=frozen/>}}

[[File:Grabeskirche Plan 1863.jpg|thumb|upright|Floorplan, illustrated by [[Conrad Schick]] (1863)]]

The dome was restored by Catholics, Greeks, and Turks in 1868, being made of iron ever since.<ref name=cruise>{{cite book |last1= Warren |first1= E.K. |last2= Hartshorn |first2= W.N. |last3= McCrillis |first3= A.B. |title= Glimpses of Bible Lands: The Cruise of the Eight Hundred to Jerusalem |year= 1905 |publisher= The Central Committee |location= Boston, Mass. |page= 174}}</ref>

===British Mandate period===
By the time of the British [[Mandate for Palestine]] following the end of [[World War I]], the [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]] of red limestone applied to the [[#Aedicule|Aedicule]] by Komnenos had deteriorated badly and was detaching from the underlying structure; from 1947 until restoration work in 2016–17, it was held in place with an exterior scaffolding of iron girders installed by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British authorities]].<ref name=NG16/>

After the care of the [[British Empire]], the [[Church of England]] had an important role in the appropriation of the Holy Sepulcher, such as funds for the maintenance of external infrastructures, and the abolition of territorial claims near the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher, the [[Protestant]] Church allowed to carry out the elimination of taxes from the Holy Sepulcher, currently the [[Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem|Anglican]] and Lutheran dioceses of Jerusalem are allowed to attend Armenian cults.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

===Jordanian and Israeli periods===
[[File:Golgotha cross-section.svg|thumb|Diagram of the modern church showing the traditional site of [[Calvary]] and the [[Tomb of Jesus]]]]

In 1948, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan and where the church was located, in the Old City, were made part of Jordan. In 1967, Israeli forces captured East Jerusalem in the [[Six Day War]], and that area has remained under Israeli control ever since. Under Israeli rule, legal arrangements relating to the churches of East Jerusalem were maintained in coordination with the Jordanian government. The dome at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was restored again in 1994–97 as part of extensive modern renovations that have been ongoing since 1959. During the 1970–78 restoration works and excavations inside the building, and under the nearby [[Muristan]] bazaar, it was found that the area was originally a quarry, from which white ''[[meleke]]'' [[limestone]] was struck.<ref name="Hesemann170">{{cite book |first= Michael |last= Hesemann |title= Die Jesus-Tafel |publisher= Freiburg |year= 1999 |page= 170 |isbn=978-3-4512-7092-5 |language= de}}</ref>

====Chapel of St. Vartan====
East of the Chapel of Saint Helena, the excavators discovered a void containing a second-century{{dubious|reason=Usually dated to the time of Constantine, so 4th c., beyween the demolition of the temple and the building of the badilica. What is the C2 dating based on?|date= March 2023}} drawing of a Roman pilgrim ship,<ref name="madainvartan">{{cite web |title=Saint Vartan's Chapel |url=https://madainproject.com/chapel_of_saint_vartan |website=Madain Project |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028000956/https://madainproject.com/chapel_of_saint_vartan |archive-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> two low walls supporting the platform of Hadrian's second-century temple, and a higher fourth-century wall built to support Constantine's basilica.<ref name="Murphy56">{{cite book| author-link=Jerome Murphy-O'Connor| first=Jerome| last=Murphy-O'Connor| title=The Holy Land| date= 1998| pages=56, 59| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-1915-2867-5}}</ref><ref name="lancaster">{{cite web |last=Lancaster |first=James E. |title=Finding the Keys to the Chapel of St. Vartan |url=http://coastdaylight.com/stvartan.html |work=Jim Lancaster's Web Space |access-date=2 March 2012 |year=1998 |quote=the height difference can be easily seen; the yellowish wall on the left is the 4th-century wall and the pinkish one on the right is the 2nd-century wall. |archive-date=20 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720070001/http://coastdaylight.com/stvartan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After the excavations of the early 1970s, the Armenian authorities converted this archaeological space into the Chapel of [[Saint Vartan]], and created an artificial walkway over the quarry on the north of the chapel, so that the new chapel could be accessed (by permission) from the Chapel of Saint Helena.<ref name="lancaster"/>

====Aedicule restoration====
After seven decades of being held together by steel girders, the [[Israel Antiquities Authority]] (IAA) declared the visibly deteriorating [[#Aedicule|Aedicule]] structure unsafe. A restoration of the Aedicule was agreed upon and executed from May 2016 to March 2017. Much of the $4 million project was funded by the [[World Monuments Fund]], as well as $1.3 million from Mica Ertegün and a significant sum from [[Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II]] of [[Jordan]].<ref name=NG16>{{cite journal |journal= National Geographic |title= Exclusive: Christ's Burial Place Exposed for First Time in Centuries |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-tomb-opened-church-holy-sepulchre/ |first= Kristin |last= Romey |access-date= 30 October 2016 |date= 26 October 2016 |archive-date= 30 October 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161030001608/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-tomb-opened-church-holy-sepulchre/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="2017restoration">{{cite news|last1=Goldman|first1=Russell|date=22 March 2017|title=Tomb of Jesus Reopens to Public After $3 Million Restoration|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/world/middleeast/tomb-of-jesus-reopens-jerusalem.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/world/middleeast/tomb-of-jesus-reopens-jerusalem.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited|access-date=23 March 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The existence of the original limestone cave walls within the Aedicule was confirmed, and a window was created to view this from the inside.<ref name="natgeo" /> The presence of moisture led to the discovery of an underground shaft resembling an [[escape tunnel]] carved into the bedrock, seeming to lead from the tomb.<ref name="secret" />{{efn|According to archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert, this does not resemble an archaeological excavation, but "a well-built tunnel".<ref name="secret" />}} For the first time since at least 1555, on 26 October 2016, marble cladding that protects the supposed burial bed of Jesus was removed.<ref name="natgeo" /><ref name="ls">{{cite web| url=https://www.livescience.com/56700-original-bedrock-of-jesus-tomb-revealed.html| title=Original Bedrock of Jesus' Tomb Revealed in New Images| publisher=[[Live Science]]| first=Stephanie| last=Pappas| date=31 October 2016| access-date=1 November 2016| archive-date=1 November 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101014807/http://www.livescience.com/56700-original-bedrock-of-jesus-tomb-revealed.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Members of the [[National Technical University of Athens]] were present. Initially, only a layer of debris was visible. This was cleared in the next day, and a partially broken marble slab with a Crusader-style cross carved was revealed.<ref name="secret" /> By the night of 28 October, the original limestone burial bed was shown to be intact. The tomb was resealed shortly thereafter.<ref name="natgeo"/> Mortar from just above the burial bed was later dated to the mid-fourth century.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Romey|first=Kristin|date=28 November 2017|title=Exclusive: Age of Jesus Christ's Purported Tomb Revealed|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/jesus-tomb-archaeology-jerusalem-christianity-rome|url-status=dead|access-date=28 April 2021|website=National Geographic|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224111452/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/jesus-tomb-archaeology-jerusalem-christianity-rome |archive-date=24 February 2021 }}</ref>

====2020 pandemic====
On 25 March 2020, Israeli health officials ordered the site closed to the public due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Israel|COVID-19 pandemic]]. According to the keeper of the keys, it was the first such closure since 1349, during the [[Black Death]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parke |first1=Caleb |title=Coronavirus forces Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre to close its doors for first time since 1349: 'Very sad' |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/coronavirus-israel-jerusalem-holy-sites |access-date=1 April 2020 |work=Fox News |date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=4 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804045546/https://www.foxnews.com/world/coronavirus-israel-jerusalem-holy-sites |url-status=live }}</ref> Clerics continued regular prayers inside the building, and it reopened to visitors two months later, on 24 May.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalems-holy-sepulcher-reopens-after-coronavirus-closure/|title=Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre reopens after coronavirus closure|website=The Times of Israel|access-date=27 May 2020|archive-date=4 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804045547/https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalems-holy-sepulcher-reopens-after-coronavirus-closure/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Crusader altar slab discovered (2022)====
During church renovations in 2022, a stone slab covered in modern graffiti was moved from a wall, revealing [[Cosmatesque]]-style decoration on one face. According to an [[Israel Antiquities Authority|IAA]] archaeologist, the decoration was once inlaid with pieces of glass and fine marble; it indicates that the relic was the front of the church's high altar from the [[Crusader states|Crusader era]] (c.&nbsp;1149), which was later used by the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] until being damaged in the 1808 fire.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Rinat |last=Harash |editor1-first=Jeffrey |editor1-last=Heller |editor2-first=Angus |editor2-last=MacSwan |date=13 April 2022 |title=Church of the Holy Sepulchre's ancient altar rediscovered, researchers say |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/church-holy-sepulchres-ancient-altar-rediscovered-researchers-say-2022-04-13/ |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=[[Reuters]] |language=en |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409213715/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/church-holy-sepulchres-ancient-altar-rediscovered-researchers-say-2022-04-13/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Description==

==={{anchor|Parvis (courtyard)}}Parvis (courtyard)===
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2016}}
[[File:Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Félix Bonfils.jpg|thumb|upright|Tourists, pilgrims and locals at one of two access gates to the courtyard; photo by [[Félix Bonfils]], 1870s]]
[[File:The Church of the Holy Sepulchre-Jerusalem.JPG|thumb|The northeast of the courtyard ([[parvis]]), with the [[immovable ladder]] under a window, and the [[#Chapel of the Franks|Chapel of the Franks]] (right).]]

[[:commons:Category:Holy Sepulchre parvis|The courtyard]] facing the entrance to the church is known as the [[parvis]]. Two streets open into the parvis: [[:commons:Category:Saint Helena Road|St Helena Road]] (west) and [[:commons:Category:Suq ed-Dabbagha|Suq ed-Dabbagha]] (east). Around the parvis are a few smaller structures.

South of the parvis, opposite the church:
* Broken columns—once forming part of an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]]—stand opposite the church, at the top of a short descending staircase stretching over the entire breadth of the parvis. In the 13th century, the tops of the columns were removed and sent to Mecca by the [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarezmids]].
* The [[:commons:Category:Metochion of Gethsemane|Gethsemane Metochion]], a small Greek Orthodox monastery ([[metochion]]).

On the eastern side of the parvis, south to north:
* The [[:commons:Category:Chapel of Saint Michael (Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)|Monastery of St Abraham]] (Greek Orthodox), next to the [[:commons:Category:Suq ed-Dabbagha|Suq ed-Dabbagha]] entrance to the parvis.
* The [[:commons:Category:Chapel of Saint John, Church of the Holy Sepulchre|Chapel of St John the Evangelist]] (Armenian Orthodox)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Harutyunyan |first=Khachik |title=Armenian Inscriptions of the Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Part 1. The Chapel of John the Evangelist and Its Inscriptions |volume=12 |issue=2 |language=hy |journal=VEM |date=2020 |pages=159–177 |url=https://www.academia.edu/43569545 |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031355/https://www.academia.edu/43569545 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The [[:commons:Category:Chapel of Saint Michael (Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)|Chapel of St Michael]] and the [[:commons:Category:Chapel of the Four Living Creatures (Jerusalem)|Chapel of the Four Living Creatures]] (both are disputed between the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Copts]] and [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian]]s),<ref>{{cite news |title=Egypt's Coptic Church exercises soft power in Jerusalem |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/06/egypts-coptic-church-exercises-soft-power-jerusalem |work= Al-Monitor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904060506/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/06/egypts-coptic-church-exercises-soft-power-jerusalem |archive-date=4 September 2022 |date=7 June 2021 |quote=The state-owned ''[[Akhbar el-Yom|Akhbar al-Youm]]'' newspaper [wrote that the] Egyptian Orthodox Church owns […] Deir al-Sultan and […] the Church of the Angel [Michael] and the Chapel of the Four Living Creatures.}}</ref> giving access to [[Deir es-Sultan]] (also disputed), a rooftop monastery surrounding the dome of the [[Chapel of Saint Helena, Jerusalem|Chapel of St Helena]].{{sfn|DK|2016|p=97}}
North of the parvis, in front of the church [[façade]] or against it:
* {{anchor|Chapel of the Franks}} [[:commons:Category:Chapel of the Franks|Chapel of the Franks]] (Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows): a blue-domed [[Roman Catholic]] Crusader chapel dedicated to [[Our Lady of Sorrows]], which once provided exclusive access to [[#Calvary|Calvary]]. The chapel marks the 10th Station of the Cross (the stripping of Jesus's garments).<ref>{{cite book |author=Ludolph of Saxony |author-link=Ludolph of Saxony |translator-last=Walsh |translator-first=Milton T. |title=The Life of Jesus Christ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUpSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA240 |publisher=Liturgical Press |date=2022 |isbn=9780879072841 |quote=[footnote:] a small room […] at the top of a flight of steps […] is called the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, but is popularly referred to as the Chapel of the Franks. |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060211/https://books.google.com/books?id=wUpSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA240#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[:commons:Category:Oratory of St. Mary of Egypt|Oratory of St. Mary of Egypt]]: a [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]] and chapel, directly beneath the [[#Chapel of the Franks|Chapel of the Franks]], dedicated to St. [[Mary of Egypt]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=John Robert |title=The Holy Sepulchre: The Church of the Resurrection an Ecumenical Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel |isbn=978-965-7024-00-3 |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7VVAAAAYAAJ |quote=Underneath Our Lady of Sorrows is the Greek Oratory of St. Mary of Egypt, in memory of her conversion that is said to have occurred in the atrium of the Holy Sepulchre before an icon of Mary the Mother of God that was kept there |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060210/https://books.google.com/books?id=M7VVAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The tomb (including a [[ledgerstone]]) [[Ledgerstone of Philip d'Aubigny|of Philip d'Aubigny]] aka [[Philip Daubeney]] (died 1236), a knight, tutor, and royal councillor to [[Henry III of England]] and signer of [[Magna Carta]]—is placed in front of, and between, the church's two original entrance doors, of which the eastern one is walled up. It is one of the few tombs of crusaders and other Europeans not removed from the Church after the Khwarizmian capture of Jerusalem in 1244.<!-- unreferenced --> In the 1900s, during a fight between the Greeks and Latins, some monks damaged the tomb by throwing stones from the roof.<ref>{{cite book |title=Quarterly Statement |date=1903 |publisher=Palestine Exploration Fund |page=297 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcxSQfrOwJIC&pg=PA297 |access-date=21 November 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164808/https://books.google.com/books?id=LcxSQfrOwJIC&pg=PA297 |url-status=live }}</ref> A stone marker{{clarify|reason=On photos tjere is just a C13 ledgestone. What stone marker? Unsourced! |date=October 2023}} was placed on his tomb in 1925, sheltered by a wooden trapdoor that hides it from view.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

A [[:commons:Category:Greek chapels on Holy Sepulchre parvis|group of three chapels]] borders the parvis on its west side. They originally formed the [[baptistery]] complex of the Constantinian church. The southernmost chapel was the vestibule, the middle chapel the baptistery, and the north chapel the chamber in which the patriarch [[chrism]]ated the newly baptized before leading them into the rotunda north of this complex. Now they are dedicated as (from south to north)
* The Chapel of [[St. James the Just]] (Greek Orthodox),
* The Chapel of [[St. John the Baptist]] (Greek Orthodox),
* The Chapel of the [[Forty Martyrs of Sebaste]] (Greek Orthodox; at the base of the bell tower).

==={{anchor|Bell tower}}Bell tower===
[[File:Campanário dos Cruzados, Igreja do Santo Sepulcro, Jerusalém.jpg|thumb|upright|Bell tower left of the entrance]]
The 12th-century Crusader [[:commons:Category:Holy Sepulchre bell tower|bell tower]] is just south of the Rotunda, to the left of the entrance.{{sfn|DK|2016|pp=94–97}} Its upper level was lost in a 1545 collapse.<ref name=custodia>{{cite web| title=Parvis and Entry| url=http://www.sepulchre.custodia.org/default.asp?id=4100| publisher=Gerusalemme San Salvatore Convento Francescano St. Saviour's Monastery| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701173025/http://www.sepulchre.custodia.org/default.asp?id=4100|archive-date=1 July 2012|access-date=8 May 2019}}</ref> In 1719, another two storeys were lost.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=97}}

===Façade and entrance===
[[File:East Jerusalem Batch 1 (893).jpg|thumb|upright|Entrance door]]

The wooden doors that compose the main entrance are the original, highly carved arched doors.<ref name=ReferenceA>William R. Cook of University of New York, lecture series</ref>{{full citation needed|date=April 2023}} Today, only the left-hand entrance is currently accessible, as the right doorway has long since been bricked up.<!--Per 1842 lithograph & other images--> The entrance to the church leads to the south [[transept]], through the crusader [[façade]] in the [[parvis]] of a larger courtyard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://churchoftheholysepulchre.net/history-of-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/|title=History of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Church of the Holy Sepulchre|language=en-US|access-date=10 June 2019|archive-date=27 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527143500/https://churchoftheholysepulchre.net/history-of-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Madain Project (en)|url=https://madainproject.com/church_of_the_holy_sepulchre#southern-entrance|access-date=5 December 2020|website=madainproject.com|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102161103/https://madainproject.com/church_of_the_holy_sepulchre#southern-entrance|url-status=live}}</ref> This is found past a group of streets winding through the outer [[Via Dolorosa]] by way of a [[souq]] in the [[Muristan]]. This narrow way of access to such a large structure has proven to be hazardous at times. For example, when a fire broke out in 1840, dozens of pilgrims were trampled to death.<ref name=sun>{{cite news |title=Trouble in a holy place |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/06/28/trouble-in-a-holy-place-jerusalem-the-lone-doorway-to-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulcher-poses-a-hazard-but-officials-are-quarreling-over-an-appropriate-solution/ |last=LoLordo |first=Ann |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=28 June 1999 |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021721/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-06-28/news/9906280038_1_holy-sepulcher-control-the-church-church-representatives |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to their own family lore, the Muslim [[Nusaybah family|Nuseibeh family]] has been responsible for opening the door as an impartial party to the church's denominations already since the seventh century.<ref name=Nus>{{cite web |title= The family's relationship with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre |date= 9 August 2004 |work= The Official website of the Nuseibeh Family |quote= To protect the Christian places of worship, the [[Caliph Omar]] entrusted the custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre....to '[[Ubadah ibn al-Samit]], a [[companion of the Prophet]] and the first ruler of Palestine and a forefather of the Nuseibeh family. .... Records and manuscripts kept by the various Christian denominations....all record the Nuseibeh family's and Bani Ghanem's relationship with the Holy Sepulchre, '''at least since the time of Sultan Saladin'''. In 1192, Sultan Saladin....re-entrusted the custody of the doors of the Holy Sepulchre to the Nuseibeh's [sic].... |url= http://www.nuseibeh.org/history.htm |access-date= 17 May 2022 |archive-date= 22 July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100722083855/http://www.nuseibeh.org/history.htm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= Sudilovsky |first= Judith |title= Muslims (literally) hold key to Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher |date=27 February 2018 |website=catholicnews.com |url= https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/muslims-literally-hold-key-to-jerusalems-church-of-the-holy-sepulcher.cfm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190511095402/https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/muslims-literally-hold-key-to-jerusalems-church-of-the-holy-sepulcher.cfm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 11 May 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref> However, they themselves admit that the documents held by various Christian denominations only mention their role since the 12th century, in the time of Saladin, which is the date more generally accepted.<ref name=Nus/><ref name=Harash>{{cite web |last=Harash |first=Rinat |title=Muslim holds ancient key to Jesus tomb site in Jerusalem |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-jerusalem-church/muslim-holds-ancient-key-to-jesus-tomb-site-in-jerusalem-idUSKBN1DU17Q |website=Reuters |access-date=11 May 2019 |date=30 November 2017 |archive-date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511095402/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-jerusalem-church/muslim-holds-ancient-key-to-jesus-tomb-site-in-jerusalem-idUSKBN1DU17Q |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Sherwood>{{cite web| title=Jesus's tomb unveiled after $4m restoration| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/21/jesus-tomb-to-be-unveiled-to-public-after-4m-restoration| last=Sherwood| first=Harriet| newspaper=The Guardian| date=21 March 2017| access-date=2 July 2018| location=Manchester| archive-date=3 July 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051120/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/21/jesus-tomb-to-be-unveiled-to-public-after-4m-restoration| url-status=live}}</ref> After [[Siege of Jerusalem (1187)|retaking Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187]], Saladin entrusted the Joudeh family with the key to the church, which is made of iron and {{convert|30|cm|in}} long; the Nuseibehs either became or remained its doorkeepers.<ref name=Nus/><ref name=Harash/><ref name=Sherwood/>

The '[[immovable ladder]]' stands beneath a window on the façade.

{{anchor|Calvary|Golgotha}}

===Calvary (Golgotha)===
[[File:Golgota, chrám Božího hrobu, Jeruzalém.jpg|thumb|The Altar of the Crucifixion, where The Rock of Calvary (bottom) is encased in glass]]

Just inside the church entrance is a stairway leading up to Calvary (Golgotha), traditionally regarded as the site of Jesus's crucifixion{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}} and the most lavishly decorated part of the church. The exit is via another stairway opposite the first, leading down to the [[#Ambulatory|ambulatory]]. Golgotha and its chapels are just south of the main altar of the [[#Catholicon|catholicon]].

Calvary is split into two chapels: one Greek Orthodox and one Catholic, each with its own altar. On the left (north) side, the Greek Orthodox chapel's altar is placed over the supposed rock of Calvary (the [[:commons:Category:Twelfth Station|12th Station]] of the Cross), which can be touched through a hole in the floor beneath the altar.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}} The rock can be seen under protective glass on both sides of the altar. The softer surrounding stone was removed when the church was built.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}} The Roman Catholic (Franciscan) Chapel of the Nailing of the Cross (the [[:commons:Category:Eleventh Station|11th Station]] of the Cross) stretches to the south. 
Between the Catholic Altar of the Nailing to the Cross and the Orthodox altar is the Catholic Altar of the [[Stabat Mater]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Raymond |title=Saving the Holy Sepulchre |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-971990-7 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7KmnQ65XooC&pg=PA7 |quote=The Latins were left with the two southern altars on Calvary, namely, the Stabat Mater (Our Lady of Sorrows) and the Nailing to the Cross. |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060211/https://books.google.com/books?id=T7KmnQ65XooC&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> which has a statue of Mary with an 18th-century bust; this middle altar marks the [[:commons:Category:Thirteenth Station|13th Station]] of the Cross.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}}

{{anchor|Chapel of Adam}}
On the ground floor, just underneath the Golgotha chapel, is the [[:commons:Category:Adam's Chapel|Chapel of Adam]].{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}} According to tradition, Jesus was crucified over the place where Adam's skull was buried.{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}} According to some, the blood of Christ ran down the cross and through the rocks to fill Adam's skull.<ref>William R. Cook of State University of New York, lecture series</ref> Through a window at the back of the 11th-century [[apse]], the rock of Calvary can be seen with a crack traditionally held to be caused by the earthquake that followed Jesus's death;{{sfn|DK|2016|p=98}} some scholars claim it is the result of quarrying against a natural flaw in the rock.<ref name=Patriarchate>{{cite web |title=The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher |access-date=19 September 2014 |url= http://monastery.org/sephist.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080524035048/http://monastery.org/sephist.html |archive-date=24 May 2008 |publisher= Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem}}</ref>

Behind the Chapel of Adam is the [[:commons:Category:Greek Treasury (Church of the Holy Sepulchre)|Greek Treasury]] (Treasury of the Greek Patriarch). Some of its relics, such as a 12th-century crystal [[mitre]], were transferred to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Museum (the Patriarchal Museum) on [[:commons:Category:Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Street|Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Street]].<ref>{{cite book |last=King |first=Edwin James |title=The Knights Hospitallers in the Holy Land |date=1931 |publisher=Methuen |page=236 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_IsaAAAAYAAJ |quote=This reliquary, now in the Treasury of the Greek Patriarch in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was discovered in 1893 ... the Church of Mar Hanna, formerly the Conventual Church of the Hospitallers ... The reliquary is of crystal in the shape of mitre set in a framework of gilded bronze, decorated with gems |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060217/https://books.google.com/books?id=_IsaAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Boas |first=Adrian |title=Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-58272-3 |page=121 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TuCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |quote=A remarkable gold and crystal mitre-shaped reliquary of the Crusader period was kept in the church and is now on display in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112250/https://books.google.com/books?id=0TuCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|DK|2016|p=104}}

===Stone of Anointing===
[[File:Mosaic of the Unction (2666976195).jpg|thumb|Mosaic depiction of Christ's body being prepared after his death, opposite the Stone of Anointing]]
[[File:Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre BW 12.JPG|thumb|upright|The Stone of Anointing, where Jesus's body is said to have been anointed before burial]]

Just inside the entrance to the church is the [[:commons:Category:Stone of Anointing|Stone of Anointing]] (also Stone of the Anointing or Stone of Unction), which tradition holds to be where Jesus's body was prepared for burial by [[Joseph of Arimathea]], though this tradition is only attested since the crusader era (notably by the Italian [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] pilgrim [[Riccoldo da Monte di Croce]] in 1288), and the present stone was only added in the 1810 reconstruction.<ref name="Murphy56"/>

The wall behind the stone is defined by its striking blue balconies and [[:commons:Category:Taphos symbol|taphos symbol]]-bearing red banners (depicting the insignia of the [[Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre]]), and is decorated with lamps. [[:commons:Category:Mosaic at the Stone of Anointing|The modern mosaic]] along the wall depicts the anointing of Jesus's body, preceded on the right by the [[Descent from the Cross]], and succeeded on the left by the [[Burial of Jesus]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Stone of Anointing – Madain Project (en)|url=https://madainproject.com/stone_of_anointing|website=madainproject.com|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308204340/https://madainproject.com/stone_of_anointing|url-status=live}}</ref>

The wall was a temporary addition to support the arch above it, which had been weakened after the damage in the 1808 fire; it blocks the view of the rotunda, separates the entrance from the [[#Catholicon|catholicon]], sits on top of four of the now empty and desecrated [[#Royal tombs|Crusader graves]]<ref name=Pringle39>{{cite book |last=Pringle |first=Denys |title=The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=3 |isbn=978-0-521-39038-5 |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0jH6VPi4-gC&pg=PA65 |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060209/https://books.google.com/books?id=X0jH6VPi4-gC&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} [On the map: from west: h, g, f, e: graves of Baldwin V, Baldwin IV, Amuary I, and Baldwin III]</ref> and is no longer structurally necessary. Opinions differ as to whether it is to be seen as [[Stations of the Cross|the 13th Station of the Cross]], which others identify as the [[Descent from the Cross|lowering of Jesus from the cross]] and located between the 11th and 12th stations on [[#Calvary|Calvary]].<ref name=":0" />

The lamps that hang over the Stone of Unction, adorned with cross-bearing chain links, are contributed by Armenians, [[Copts]], Greeks and [[Western Christianity|Latins]].<ref name=":0" />

Immediately inside and to the left of the entrance is [[:commons:Category:Divan (Church of the Holy Sepulchre)|a bench]] (formerly a [[divan (furniture)|divan]])<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopædia Metropolitana |date=1852 |page=307 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-f0IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA307 |author1=Encyclopaedia |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112252/https://books.google.com/books?id=-f0IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA307#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> that has traditionally been used by the church's Muslim doorkeepers, along with some Christian clergy, as well as electrical wiring. To the right of the entrance is a wall along the [[#Ambulatory|ambulatory]] containing the staircase leading to [[#Golgotha|Golgotha]]. Further along the same wall is the entrance to the [[#Chapel of Adam|Chapel of Adam]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}

===Rotunda and Aedicule===
{{anchor|Rotunda|Aedicule}}
{{gallery
|File:Illustration from Views in the Ottoman Dominions by Luigi Mayer, digitally enhanced by rawpixel-com 64.jpg|Rotunda interior painted by [[Luigi Mayer]], before 1804
|File:Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre April 10th 1839.jpg|1842 lithograph of the Aedicule built after the 1808 fire, after [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]]
|File:Tomb of Jesus3.jpg|The Aedicule containing the traditional burial of Jesus
|File:Aedicule which supposedly encloses the tomb of Jesus-LR1.jpg|The Aedicule with the Coptic chapel to the left with golden roof; main entrance to the right
|File:Holy Land 2016 P0943 Church of the Holy Sepulchre Aedicule.jpg|Facade of the Aedicule with pilgrims
|File:Christusgrab, Grabeskirche Jerusalem.jpg|Detail of Aedicule with temporary supports, prior to the 2016 restoration
|File:Oculus light in dome.JPG|The Dome of the Anastasis above the aedicule
|File:5249-20080122-jerusalem-angel-stone-holy-sepulchre.jpg|Angel's Stone in the first chamber inside the aedicula
|File:5267-20080122-jerusalem-tomb-of-jesus.jpg|The Tomb of Jesus (raised platform to the right, interior the second chamber inside the aedicula)
}}

The [[:commons:Category:Rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)|rotunda]] is the building of the larger dome located on the far west side.{{sfn|DK|2016|pp=94–97}} In the centre of the rotunda is a small chapel called the [[:commons:Category:Aedicule (Holy Sepulchre)|Aedicule]] in English, from the Latin {{wikt-lang|la|aedicula}}, in reference to a small shrine.{{efn|The word is {{transliteration|el|Kouvouklion}} in Greek ({{lang|el|Kουβούκλιον}}, modern Greek for "small compartment".}} The Aedicule has two rooms: the first holds a relic called the Angel's Stone, which is believed to be a fragment of the large stone that sealed the tomb; the second, smaller room contains the tomb of Jesus. Possibly to prevent pilgrims from removing bits of the original rock as souvenirs, by 1555, a surface of marble cladding was placed on the tomb to prevent further damage to the tomb.<ref name=natgeo/> In October 2016, the top slab was pulled back to reveal an older, partially broken marble slab with a Crusader-style cross carved in it. Beneath it, the limestone burial bed was revealed to be intact.<ref name="natgeo" />

Under the [[#Status Quo|Status Quo]], the [[Eastern Orthodox]], [[Roman Catholic]], and [[Armenian Apostolic]] Churches all have rights to the interior of the tomb, and all three communities celebrate the [[Divine Liturgy]] or [[Mass (liturgy)|Holy Mass]] there daily. It is also used for other ceremonies on special occasions, such as the [[Holy Saturday]] ceremony of the [[Holy Fire]] led by the Greek Orthodox patriarch (with the participation of the Coptic and Armenian patriarchs).<ref name=holyfire>{{cite web| title=Miracle of Holy Fire which happens every year| url=http://www.holyfire.org/eng/index.htm| work=Holyfire.org| access-date=2 March 2012| archive-date=1 August 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801223439/http://www.holyfire.org/eng/index.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> To its rear, in the [[:commons:Category:Coptic Chapel|Coptic Chapel]], constructed of iron [[latticework]], lies the altar used by the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.churchoftheholysepulchre.com/single-post/2017/01/31/Coptic-Chapel| title=Coptic Chapel| date=15 December 2016| website=Church of the Holy Sepulchre| access-date=24 February 2019|url-status= usurped| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190225223553/https://www.churchoftheholysepulchre.com/single-post/2017/01/31/Coptic-Chapel |archive-date= 25 February 2019}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=Like the other link to archived versions of website choftheholysepulchre.com, this "archived" link leads nowhere. See talk-page.|date= August 2022}} Historically, the [[Georgian Orthodox|Georgians]] also retained the key to the Aedicule.<ref name=Janin>{{cite book| last=Janin| first=Raymond| year=1913| page=35| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mu4MAAAAIAAJ&q=35| title=Échos d'Orient| volume=16| publisher=Institut français d'études byzantines| trans-title=Echos of the Orient| access-date=14 September 2020| archive-date=10 March 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112239/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mu4MAAAAIAAJ&q=35| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Desandoli>{{cite book| last=DeSandoli| first=Sabino| title=The Church of Holy Sepulchre: Keys, Doors, Doorkeepers| year=1986| publisher=Franciscian Press| page=47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=A Brief Description of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem and Other Christian Churches in the Holy City: With Some Account of the Medieval Copies of the Holy Sepulchre Surviving in Europe| url=https://www.amazon.com/description-Sepulchre-Jerusalem-Christian-mediaeval-ebook/dp/B00KVNHI6A| first=George| last=Jeffery| publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=1919| page=69| access-date=19 September 2014| archive-date=27 February 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227114740/http://www.amazon.com/description-Sepulchre-Jerusalem-Christian-mediaeval-ebook/dp/B00KVNHI6A| url-status=live}}</ref>

To the right of the sepulchre on the northwestern edge of the rotunda is the [[#Franciscan area north of the Aedicule|Chapel of the Apparition]], which is reserved for Roman Catholic use.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.seetheholyland.net/tag/chapel-of-the-apparition/| title=Catholic Chapel of the Apparition| publisher=See The Holy Land.net| access-date=18 April 2018| archive-date=19 April 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419120454/http://www.seetheholyland.net/tag/chapel-of-the-apparition/| url-status=live}}</ref>

Though not within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre compound, directly adjacent to it is the [[Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem|Church of the Redeemer]], marking a [[Lutheran]] presence at the site.<ref name="Kroll2024"/>

===Catholicon===
[[File:Greek Orthodox Catholicon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|upright|East end of the Greek Orthodox [[:commons:Category:catholicon|catholicon]], with [[:commons:Category:iconostasis of the catholicon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre|its iconostasis]]]]

In the central [[nave]] of the Crusader-era church, just east of the larger rotunda,{{sfn|DK|2016|pp=94–97}} is the Crusader structure housing the main altar of the Church, today the Greek Orthodox ''[[Katholikon|catholicon]]''. Its dome is {{convert|19.8|m|ft}} in diameter,<ref name=cruise/> and is set directly over the centre of the [[crossing (architecture)|transept crossing]] of the [[Choir (architecture)|choir]] where the ''compas'' is situated, an [[omphalos]] ("navel") stone once thought to be the center of the world and still venerated as such by Orthodox Christians (associated with the site of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection).

Since 1996 this dome is topped by the monumental Golgotha Crucifix, which the Greek Patriarch [[Diodoros I]] of Jerusalem consecrated. It was at the initiative of Israeli professor Gustav Kühnel to erect a new crucifix at the church that would not only be worthy of the singularity of the site, but that would also become a symbol of the efforts of unity in the community of Christian faith.<ref name=hammers>{{cite web| title=The Cross of Golgotha| url=http://www.michaelhammers.com/en/projects/golgotha-cross-holy-sepulcher-jerusalem| publisher=Michael Hammers| date=24 June 2014| access-date=19 September 2014| archive-date=14 July 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714222147/http://www.michaelhammers.com/en/projects/golgotha-cross-holy-sepulcher-jerusalem| url-status=live}}</ref>

The catholicon's [[iconostasis]] demarcates the Orthodox sanctuary behind it, to its east.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pierotti |first=Ermete |author-link=Ermete Pierotti |title=Jerusalem Explored |date=1864 |publisher=Bell and Daldy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=66JOAQAAMAAJ |quote=On the east is the Iconostasis, dividing the 'Holy of Holies' from the rest of the church. |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060804/https://books.google.com/books?id=66JOAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The iconostasis is flanked to the front by two episcopal thrones: the southern seat ([[cathedra]]) is the patriarchal throne of the [[Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem]], and the northern seat is for an archbishop or bishop.<ref name=Dowling>{{cite book |last=Dowling |first=Theodore Edward |title=The Orthodox Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem |date=1913 |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=as1UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA62 |quote=The Patriarch's Seat is on the south-east end, and the corresponding one, immediately opposite, is occupied by one of the Archbishops of this Patriarchate, when required. This north-east Seat is popularly understood to be the throne of the Patriarch of Antioch. Even Dr. C. Schick […] and Baedeker […] make this misstatement. |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108060804/https://books.google.com/books?id=as1UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA62#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Wright>{{cite journal |last=Wright |first=J. Robert |title=An Historical and Ecumenical Survey of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, with Notes on Its Significance for Anglicans |journal=Anglican and Episcopal History |date=1995 |volume=64 |issue=4 |pages=482–504 |jstor=42611737 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42611737 |issn=0896-8039 |quote=It contains two episcopal thrones: the one on the right (south), which is the official “cathedra” of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the one on the left (north), where any other Orthodox bishop whom he designates may sit and preside if he is absent. |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-date=21 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921162552/https://www.jstor.org/stable/42611737 |url-status=live }}</ref> (There is also a popular claim that both are patriarchal thrones, with the northern one being for the [[patriarch of Antioch]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Bedlam. St. Mary of Bethlehem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-e3AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 |first=Terry |last=Trainor |date=2012 |page=32 |publisher=Lulu.com |access-date=24 October 2018 |isbn=9781471714283 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061304/https://books.google.com/books?id=-e3AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> – which has been described as a misstatement, however.)<ref name=Dowling/>

{{gallery
|File:Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre BW 15.JPG|The [[Christ Pantocrator]] mosaic inside the catholicon dome
|File:Golgotha Crucifix.jpg|Cross over the catholicon
}}

===Armenian monastery south of the Aedicule===
South of the [[#Aedicule|Aedicule]] is the "Place of the Three Marys",<ref name="madainthreemary">{{cite web |title=Armenian Station of the Holy Women |url=https://madainproject.com/armenian_chapel_%28holy_sepulchre%29 |website=Madain Project |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028001827/https://madainproject.com/armenian_chapel_%28holy_sepulchre%29 |archive-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> marked by a stone canopy (the [[:commons:Category:Station of the Holy Women|Station of the Holy Women]]) and a large modern [[:commons:Category:Mosaic at the Station of the Holy Women|wall mosaic]]. From here one can enter the Armenian monastery, which stretches over the ground and first upper floor of the church's southeastern part.

===Syriac Chapel with Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea===
[[File:Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.jpg|thumb|upright|Altar in the Syriac chapel]]

West of the Aedicule, to the rear of the Rotunda, is the [[:commons:Category:Chapel of the Syrians (Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)|Syriac Chapel]] with the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, located in a Constantinian apse and containing an opening to an ancient Jewish rock-cut tomb. This chapel is where the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]] celebrate their Liturgy on Sundays.

The [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]] Chapel of [[Saint Joseph of Arimathea]] and [[Saint Nicodemus]]. On Sundays and feast days it is furnished for the celebration of Mass. It is accessed from the Rotunda, by a door west of the Aedicule.

====First-century tomb====
On the far side of the chapel is the low entrance to an almost complete first-century Jewish tomb, initially holding six ''[[Rock-cut tomb#Kokh|kokh]]''-type funeral shafts radiating from a central chamber, two of which are still exposed. Although this space was discovered relatively recently and contains no identifying marks, some believe that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were buried here.<ref>{{cite web |last1=sepulchre |first1=church of the holy |title=Chapel of Joseph of Arimateaitled |url=https://www.churchofholysepulchre.com/post/2017/01/31/chapel-of-joseph-of-arimateaitled |website=Church of the Holy Sepulchre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820070048/https://www.churchofholysepulchre.com/post/2017/01/31/chapel-of-joseph-of-arimateaitled |archive-date=20 August 2022 |language=en |date=15 December 2016}}</ref> Since Jews always buried their dead outside the city, the presence of this tomb seems to prove that the Holy Sepulchre site was outside the city walls at the time of the crucifixion.<ref name=natgeo/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Featherman |first1=Americus |title=Social History of the Races of Mankind ... |date=1881 |publisher=Trübner & Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4erc4KqiBtUC&dq=Syriac%20Chapel%20with%20Tomb%20of%20Joseph%20of%20Arimathea&pg=PA464 |language=en |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=21 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421064232/https://books.google.com/books?id=4erc4KqiBtUC&dq=Syriac%20Chapel%20with%20Tomb%20of%20Joseph%20of%20Arimathea&pg=PA464 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Franciscan area north of the Aedicule===
[[File:Old Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulchre Altar of Mary Magdalene.jpg|thumb|Chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene]]
[[File:Chapel of the Apparition of Jesus to his Mother, Church of the Holy Sepulchre.jpg|thumb|upright|Chapel of the Apparition]]

* The Franciscan [[:commons:Category:Chapel of Mary Magdalene (Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)|Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene]] – The chapel, an open area, indicates the place where [[Mary Magdalene]] met Jesus after his resurrection.<ref name="fran">{{cite web |title= The Franciscans at the Holy Sepulchre |url= http://www.christusrex.org/www1/jhs/TSspfran.html |publisher= The Franciscans of the Holy Land |access-date=2 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120303061849/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/jhs/TSspfran.html |archive-date=3 March 2012 |url-status= dead}}</ref>
* The Franciscan [[:commons:Category:Franciscan Chapel of the Apparition (Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)|Chapel of the Apparition]] (Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament), directly north of the above – in memory of Jesus's meeting with his mother after the Resurrection, a non-scriptural tradition.<ref name="fran"/><ref name=See/> Here stands a piece of an ancient column, allegedly part of the one Jesus was tied to during his [[Flagellation of Christ|scourging]].<ref name=See>[https://www.seetheholyland.net/tag/chapel-of-the-apparition/ Church of the Holy Sepulchre chapels: Catholic Chapel of the Apparition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415073637/https://www.seetheholyland.net/tag/chapel-of-the-apparition/ |date=15 April 2020 }}, See the Holy Land, accessed May 2020</ref>

===Arches of the Virgin===
[[File:Arches of the Virgin, 2019 (01).jpg|thumb|Arches of the Virgin]]
The [[:commons:Category:Arches of the Virgin|Arches of the Virgin]] are seven arches (an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]]) at the northern end of the north transept, which is to the [[#Catholicon|catholicon]]'s north.<ref>{{cite book |last=Longfellow |first=W.P.P. |title=A Cyclopaedia of Works of Architecture: In Italy, Greece, and the Levant |date=1895 |publisher=Scribner |page=179 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdEDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA179 |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061306/https://books.google.com/books?id=YdEDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA179#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> 
Disputed by the Orthodox and the Latin, the area is used to store ladders.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cust |first=L.G.A. |title=The Status Quo in the Holy Places |date=2020 |publisher=Good Press |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFsOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40 |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061307/https://books.google.com/books?id=PFsOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> 
Over the years the Greek-Orthodox patriarchate placed several icons along the arcade. Dating mostly to the 19th century and designed in Orthodox Post-Byzantine style, they were restored in 2021.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dannythedigger.com/holy-sepluchre-greek-icons/ | title=Restoring the Greek-Orthodox Icons of the Holy Sepulchre | date=19 October 2024 }}</ref>

===Prison of Christ===
[[File:Jerusalem - The Old City - 155 (4260945657).jpg|thumb|upright|Prison of Christ before renovation]]

In the northeast side of the complex, there is the [[:commons:Category:Prison of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre|Prison of Christ]], alleged to be where Jesus was held.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesusholyland.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:chapel-of-saint-helena&catid=17:churches-of-jerusalem|title=Chapel of Saint Helena|website=Holyland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315032324/http://www.jesusholyland.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:chapel-of-saint-helena&catid=17:churches-of-jerusalem|archive-date=15 March 2012|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref> The [[Greek Orthodox]] are showing pilgrims yet another place where Jesus was allegedly held, the similarly named Prison of Christ in their {{interlanguage link|Monastery of the Praetorium|C|Category:Monastery of the Praetorium}}, located near the [[Convent of the Sisters of Zion|Church of Ecce Homo]], between the Second and Third Stations of the [[Via Dolorosa]]. The Armenians regard a recess in the [[Monastery of the Flagellation]] at the Second Station of the Via Dolorosa as the Prison of Christ. A cistern among the ruins beneath the [[Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu]] on Mount Zion is also alleged to have been the Prison of Christ. To reconcile the traditions, some allege that Jesus was held in the Mount Zion cell in connection with his trial by the Jewish [[high priest]], at the Praetorium in connection with his trial by the Roman governor Pilate, and near the Golgotha before crucifixion.

===Ambulatory===
[[File:DSC08567 The Chapel of the Parting of the Raiment, in the Church of Holy Sepulchre.jpg|thumb|upright|The Chapel of the Parting of the Raiment, in the Church of Holy Sepulchre]]

The chapels in the [[ambulatory]] are, from north to south: the Greek [[:commons:Category:Chapel of St. Longinus|Chapel of Saint Longinus]] (named after [[Longinus]]), the Armenian [[:commons:Category:Chapel of the Division of the Raiment|Chapel of the Division of Robes]], the entrance to the Chapel of Saint Helena, and the Greek [[:commons:Category:Chapel of the Derision|Chapel of the Derision]].

===Chapel of Saint Helena===
{{Main|Chapel of Saint Helena, Jerusalem}}
[[File:Jerusalem-Church of the Holy Sepulcher-The Chapel of St. Helen.jpg|thumb|[[Chapel of Saint Helena, Jerusalem|Chapel of Saint Helena]]]]

* Chapel of Saint Helena – between the Chapel of the Division of Robes and the Greek Chapel of the Derision are stairs descending to the Chapel of Saint Helena.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goldhill|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Goldhill|title=Jerusalem, City of Longing|year=2009|page=35|publisher=Harvard University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PoLEULaZHzAC&pg=PA35|isbn=978-0-6740-3468-6|access-date=4 March 2019|archive-date=8 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061307/https://books.google.com/books?id=PoLEULaZHzAC&pg=PA35#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The Armenians, who own it, call it the Chapel of St. Gregory the Illuminator,<ref>[https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/1980-1980,_Mertens,_Who_Whas_a_Christians_in_The_Holy_Land,_EN.pdf List of Christians in the Holy Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418073802/https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/1980-1980,_Mertens,_Who_Whas_a_Christians_in_The_Holy_Land,_EN.pdf |date=18 April 2021 }}, Documenta Catholica Omnia, p. 87.</ref> after [[Gregory the Illuminator|the saint who brought Christianity to the Armenians]].

===Chapel of Saint Vartan===
{{See also|Vardan Mamikonian}}
[[File:Old Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulchre St. Vartan Chapel closed door.jpg|thumb|upright|St. Vartan Chapel]]

* [[:commons:Category:St. Vartan Chapel|Chapel of St Vartan]] (or Vardan) Mamikonian – on the north side of the Chapel of Saint Helena is an ornate [[wrought iron]] door, beyond which a raised artificial platform affords views of the [[quarry]], and which leads to the Chapel of [[St. Vartan|Saint Vartan]]. The latter chapel contains archaeological remains from Hadrian's temple and Constantine's basilica. These areas are open only on request.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holysepulchre.custodia.org/default.asp?id=4119|title=Chapel of St. Helena|website=holysepulchre.custodia.org|access-date=3 February 2018|archive-date=28 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628033519/http://www.holysepulchre.custodia.org/default.asp?id=4119|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross===
[[File:Grotto of the Holy Cross, 2019 (01).jpg|thumb|upright|Grotto of the Holy Cross]]

* [[:commons:Category:Grotto of the Holy Cross|Chapel of the Invention of the Cross]] (named for the [[Invention of the Holy Cross|Invention (Finding) of the Holy Cross]]) – another set of 22 stairs from the Chapel of Saint Helena leads down to the Roman Catholic Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross, believed to be the place where the [[True Cross]] was found.

==Status Quo==
===Ottoman decrees===
{{main|Status Quo (Jerusalem and Bethlehem)}}
[[File:Echelle inamovible.jpg|thumb|As a result of the [[Status Quo (Jerusalem and Bethlehem)|Status Quo]], the [[Immovable Ladder]] placed before 1757 remains in place to this day.<ref name=frozen>{{cite web|url=http://coastdaylight.com/ladder.html|title=The Church and the Ladder: Frozen in Time|last=Lancaster|first=James E.|year=2015|website=CoastDaylight.com|access-date=11 May 2019|archive-date=13 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813193143/http://coastdaylight.com/ladder.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

An Ottoman decree of 1757 helped establish a ''[[status quo]]'' upholding the state of affairs for various Holy Land sites.
The ''status quo'' was upheld in Sultan [[Abdülmecid&nbsp;I]]'s ''firman'' (decree) of 1852/53, which pinned down the now-permanent statutes of property and the regulations concerning the roles of the different denominations and other custodians.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Michael |first1=Dumper |url=https://archive.org/details/citiesofmiddleea0000unse |title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia |last2=Stanley |first2=Bruce E. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2007 |isbn=9781576079195 |oclc=80014324 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The primary custodians are the [[Roman Catholic]], [[Greek Orthodox]] and [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Apostolic]] churches. The Greek Orthodox act through the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Greek Orthodox Patriarchate]] as well as through the [[Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre]]. Roman Catholics act through the [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] [[Custody of the Holy Land]]. In the 19th century, the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]] and the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]] also acquired lesser responsibilities, which include shrines and other structures in and around the building.

None of these controls the main entrance. In 1192, [[Saladin]] assigned door-keeping responsibilities to the Muslim [[Nusaybah family]]. The wooden doors that compose the main entrance are the original, highly carved doors.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The Joudeh al-Goudia (al-Ghodayya) family were entrusted as custodian to the keys of the Holy Sepulchre by Saladin in 1187.<ref name="Sherwood"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Joudeh al-Husseini |first=Adeeb |title=Proud to hold keys of Muslim-Christian coexistence |url=https://www.thearabweekly.com/proud-hold-keys-muslim-christian-coexistence |work=Arabic Weekly |quote=the Hashemite noble family Joudeh al-Husseini al-Ghodayya |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173613/https://www.thearabweekly.com/proud-hold-keys-muslim-christian-coexistence |url-status=dead }}</ref> Despite occasional disagreements, religious services take place in the Church with regularity and coexistence is generally peaceful. An example of concord between the Church custodians is the full restoration of the Aedicule from 2016 to 2017.

===Interdenominational issues===
The establishment of the modern Status Quo in 1853 did not halt controversy and occasional violence. 
In 1902, 18 friars were hospitalized and some monks were jailed after the Franciscans and Greeks disagreed over who could clean the lowest step of the [[#Chapel of the Franks|Chapel of the Franks]]. In the aftermath, the Greek patriarch, Franciscan [[Custody of the Holy Land|custos]], Ottoman governor and French [[consul general]] signed a convention that both denominations could sweep it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tucci |first=Grazia |title=Jerusalem. The Holy Sepulchre: Research and investigations (2007–2011) |date=2019 |publisher=Altralinea Edizioni |isbn=978-88-94869-78-1 |page=117 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_sfADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061308/https://books.google.com/books?id=_sfADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
On a hot summer day in 2002, a [[Coptic monasticism|Coptic monk]] moved his chair from its agreed spot into the shade. This was interpreted as a hostile move by the Ethiopians and eleven were hospitalized after the resulting fight.<ref>{{cite news|last=Armstrong|first=Chris|title=Christian History Corner: Divvying up the Most Sacred Place|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/julyweb-only/7-29-52.0.html|access-date=2 March 2012|newspaper=[[Christianity Today]]|date=1 July 2002|archive-date=30 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230082345/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/julyweb-only/7-29-52.0.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In another incident in 2004, during Orthodox celebrations of the [[Feast of the Cross|Exaltation of the Holy Cross]], a door to the Franciscan chapel was left open. This was taken as a sign of disrespect by the Orthodox and a fistfight broke out. Some people were arrested, but no one was seriously injured.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/religion/Story/0,2763,1314466,00.html| work=[[The Guardian]]| location=London| title=Punch-up at tomb of Jesus| date=28 September 2004| access-date=19 September 2014| first=Allyn| last=Fisher-Ilan| archive-date=7 April 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407060823/https://www.theguardian.com/religion/Story/0,2763,1314466,00.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

On [[Palm Sunday]], in April 2008, a brawl broke out when a Greek monk was ejected from the building by a rival faction. Police were called to the scene but were also attacked by the enraged brawlers.<ref>{{cite news| title=Christians brawl at Jesus' tomb| url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Christians-brawl-at-Jesus-tomb-3218579.php| first=Sarah| last=El Deeb| agency=Associated Press| work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]| date=21 April 2008| access-date=19 September 2014| archive-date=22 February 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222032221/http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Christians-brawl-at-Jesus-tomb-3218579.php| url-status=live}}</ref> On Sunday, 9 November 2008, a clash erupted between Armenian and Greek monks during celebrations for the [[Feast of the Cross]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Riot police called as monks clash in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre| work=[[The Times]]| date=10 November 2008| url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/faith/article2099808.ece| access-date=19 September 2014| location=London| archive-date=22 February 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222035143/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/faith/article2099808.ece| url-status=dead}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/11/middleeast| date=10 November 2008| title=The monks who keep coming to blows in Jerusalem| work=The Guardian| last=O'Laughlin| first=Toni| access-date=19 September 2014| archive-date=22 February 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222060652/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/11/middleeast| url-status=live}}</ref>

== Issues with Israeli authorities ==

=== Tax and land disputes ===
In February 2018, the church was closed following a tax dispute over 152 million euros of uncollected taxes on church properties. The city hall stressed that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and all other churches are exempt from the taxes, with the changes only affecting establishments like "hotels, halls and businesses" owned by the churches.<ref name="i24">{{cite news| title=Church at Jesus's burial site closed for second day after tax dispute| url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/168589-180226-church-at-jesus-s-burial-site-closed-for-second-day-after-tax-dispute| date=26 February 2018| work=i24NEWS| access-date=27 February 2018| archive-date=3 July 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703075324/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/168589-180226-church-at-jesus-s-burial-site-closed-for-second-day-after-tax-dispute| url-status=live}}</ref> 

There was a lock-in protest against an Israeli legislative proposal which would expropriate church lands that had been sold to private companies since 2010, a measure which church leaders assert constitutes a serious violation of their property rights and the Status Quo. In a joint official statement the church authorities protested what they considered to be the peak of a systematic campaign in:
{{Blockquote|a discriminatory and racist bill that targets solely the properties of the Christian community in the Holy Land ... This reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during dark periods in Europe.<ref>Jonathan Lis and Nir Hasson, [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/jerusalem-s-church-of-holy-sepulchre-closed-indefinitely-in-protest-of-israeli-bill-city-tax-policy-1.5847184 Jerusalem churches warn of Israel's 'systematic' erosion of Christian presence in Holy Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225133105/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/jerusalem-s-church-of-holy-sepulchre-closed-indefinitely-in-protest-of-israeli-bill-city-tax-policy-1.5847184 |date=25 February 2018 }}, [[Haaretz]], 25 February 2018</ref>}}

The 2018 taxation affair does not cover any church buildings or religious related facilities (because they are exempt by law),<ref name="Notredame">{{cite news| script-title=he:בעיריית ירושלים לא מתרגשים מהכנסייה| url=https://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/367223| trans-title=The Jerusalem Municipality is not moved by the church| last=Token| first=Benny| date=27 February 2018| work=Arutz Sheva| language=he| access-date=2 July 2018| archive-date=3 July 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703050828/https://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/367223| url-status=live}}</ref> but commercial facilities such as the Notre Dame Hotel which was not paying the [[Rates (tax)#Israel|municipal property tax]], and any land which is owned and used as a commercial land.<ref name="Notredame"/> The church holds the rights to land where private homes have been constructed, and some of the disagreement had been raised after the [[Knesset]] had proposed a bill that will make it harder for a private company not to extend a lease for land used by homeowners.<ref name="jpost2">{{cite news| title=WATCH: Pilgrims Face Closed Doors at Church of the Holy Sepulchre| url=http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Pilgrims-upset-after-not-being-able-to-enter-Church-of-the-Holy-Sepulchre-543659| date=26 February 2018| agency=Reuters| access-date=2 July 2018| newspaper=The Jerusalem Post| archive-date=20 April 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420212359/http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Pilgrims-upset-after-not-being-able-to-enter-Church-of-the-Holy-Sepulchre-543659| url-status=live}}</ref> The church leaders have said that such a bill will make it harder for them to sell church-owned lands. According to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'':
{{Blockquote|The stated aim of the bill is to protect homeowners against the possibility that private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their houses or apartments stand.<ref name="jpost2"/>}}

=== Land sale to Israeli settlers ===
In 2017, [[NPR]] reported that the Greek Orthodox Church owns many properties across Jerusalem, Israel and the West Bank. It owns some 30% of the land in the [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]]. But, due to property sales, these properties are diminishing every year. The decision to sell is made by Greek leaders, even though most local followers of the church are Arab Palestinians. The Palestinian Christians have raised concerns about selling these properties to Israeli settler-affiliated organizations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Estrin |first=Daniel |date=2 December 2017 |title=Greek Orthodox Church Sells Land in Israel, Worrying Both Israelis And Palestinians |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/12/02/565464499/greek-orthodox-church-sells-land-in-israel-worrying-both-israelis-and-palestinia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227213755/https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/12/02/565464499/greek-orthodox-church-sells-land-in-israel-worrying-both-israelis-and-palestinia |archive-date=27 February 2018 |access-date=27 February 2018 |work=[[Weekend Edition]] |publisher=NPR}}</ref>

In June 2019, a number of Christian denominations in Jerusalem raised their voice against the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the sale of three properties by the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Greek Orthodox Patriarchate]] to [[Ateret Cohanim]] – an organization that seeks to increase the number of Jews living in the Old City and East Jerusalem. The church leaders warned that if the organization gets to control the sites, Christians could lose access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-christian-leaders-blast-decision-to-sell-jerusalem-properties-to-settler-group-1.7366340 |url-access=subscription |first1=Nir |last1=Hasson |title=Jerusalem's Christian Leaders Blast Decision to Sell Old City Properties to Settler Group|access-date=13 June 2019|newspaper=Haaretz|date=13 June 2019|archive-date=13 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613190149/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-christian-leaders-blast-decision-to-sell-jerusalem-properties-to-settler-group-1.7366340|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the sale and ended the legal battle.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-upholds-greek-church-sales-to-far-right-group-ending-legal-battle |first1= Sue |last1=Surkes |title=Supreme Court upholds Greek church sales to far-right group, ending legal battle |newspaper=Times of Israel|date=9 June 2022|access-date=27 December 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227142956/https://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-upholds-greek-church-sales-to-far-right-group-ending-legal-battle |archive-date=27 December 2023 }}</ref>

==Connection to Roman temple==
[[File:Roman Jerusalem.PNG|thumb|upright|Jerusalem after being rebuilt by Hadrian. Two main [[decumanus (Roman city)|east–west roads]] were built rather than the typical one, due to the awkward location of the Temple Mount, blocking the central east–west route.]]

The site of the church had been a temple to Jupiter or Venus built by Hadrian before Constantine's edifice was built. Hadrian's temple had been located there because it was the junction of the [[Cardo|main north–south road]] with one of the two [[Decumanus Maximus|main east–west roads]] and directly adjacent to the [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] (now the location of the [[Muristan]], which is smaller than the former forum). The forum itself had been placed, as is traditional in Roman towns, at the junction of the main north–south road with the other main east–west road (which is now El-Bazar/David Street). The temple and forum together took up the entire space between the two main east–west roads (a few above-ground remains of the east end of the temple precinct still survive in the Alexander Nevsky Church complex of the ''Russian Mission in Exile'').<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.generationword.com/jerusalem101/52-holy-sepulcher.html |title= Church of the Holy Sepulcher |publisher= Generation Word |work=Jerusalem 101 |access-date= 31 May 2018 |archive-date= 17 March 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180317064641/http://www.generationword.com/jerusalem101/52-holy-sepulcher.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

From the archaeological excavations in the 1970s, it is clear that construction took over most of the site of the earlier temple enclosure and that the ''Triportico'' and ''Rotunda'' roughly overlapped with the temple building itself; the excavations indicate that the temple extended at least as far back as the Aedicule, and the temple enclosure would have reached back slightly further. [[Virgilio Canio Corbo]], a Franciscan priest and archaeologist, who was present at the excavations, estimated from the archaeological evidence that the western retaining wall of the temple itself would have passed extremely close to the east side of the supposed tomb; if the wall had been any further west any tomb would have been crushed under the weight of the wall (which would be immediately above it) if it had not already been destroyed when foundations for the wall were made.<ref name="Corbo"/>

Other archaeologists have criticized Corbo's reconstructions. [[Dan Bahat]], the former city archaeologist of Jerusalem, regards them as unsatisfactory, as there is no known temple of [[Aphrodite]] (Venus) matching Corbo's design, and no archaeological evidence for Corbo's suggestion that the temple building was on a platform raised high enough to avoid including anything sited where the Aedicule is now; indeed Bahat notes that many temples to Aphrodite have a rotunda-like design, and argues that there is no archaeological reason to assume that the present rotunda was not based on a rotunda in the temple previously on the site.<ref name="BahatBAR">{{cite journal| first=Dan| last=Bahat| title=Does the Holy Sepulchre Church Mark the Burial of Jesus?| url=http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=12&Issue=3&ArticleID=1| journal=[[Biblical Archaeology Review]]| date=May–June 1986| access-date=19 September 2014| archive-date=2 April 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110408/http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=12&Issue=3&ArticleID=1| url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

==Location==
[[File:The Holy Sepulchre by Louis Haghe.jpg|thumb|1842 lithograph after [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]], in ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]'']]

The New Testament describes Jesus's tomb as being outside the city wall,{{efn|For example, {{Bibleverse||Hebrews|13:12|}}.}} as was normal for burials across the ancient world, which were regarded as unclean.<ref>Toynbee, Jocelyn M. C. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rHd1MDlV-eUC&dq=Funerary+art&pg=PA14 Death and Burial in the Roman World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407060832/https://books.google.com/books?id=rHd1MDlV-eUC&dq=Funerary+art&pg=PA14 |date=7 April 2023 }}'', pp. 48–49, JHU Press. 1996. {{ISBN|0-8018-5507-1}}. An exception in the Classical World were the [[Lycia]]ns of [[Anatolia]]. There are also the Egyptian mortuary-temples, where the object of worship was the deified royal person entombed, but Egyptian temples to the major gods contained no burials.</ref> Today, the site of the Church is within the current walls of the old city of Jerusalem. It has been well documented by archaeologists that in the time of Jesus, the walled city was smaller and the wall then was to the east of the current site of the Church.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} In other words, the city had been much narrower in Jesus's time, with the site then having been outside the walls; since [[Herod Agrippa]] (41–44) is recorded by history as extending the city to the north (beyond the present northern walls), the required repositioning of the western wall is traditionally attributed to him as well.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

The area immediately to the south and east of the sepulchre was a quarry and outside the city during the early first century as excavations under the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer across the street demonstrated.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

The church is a part of the [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City of Jerusalem]].

The Christian Quarter and the (also Christian) [[Armenian Quarter]] of the Old City of Jerusalem are both located in the northwestern and western part of the Old City, due to the fact that the Holy Sepulchre is located close to the northwestern corner of the walled city. The adjacent neighbourhood within the Christian Quarter is called the [[Muristan]], a term derived from the Persian word for hospital – Christian pilgrim hospices have been maintained in this area near the Holy Sepulchre since at least the time of [[Charlemagne]].

==Influence==
From the ninth century onward, the construction of churches inspired by the Anastasis was extended across Europe.<ref name="SantoStefano">[http://www.abbaziasantostefano.it/storia.htm Monastero di Santo Stefano: Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano: Storia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010134946/http://www.abbaziasantostefano.it/storia.htm |date=10 October 2007 }}, Bologna.</ref> One example is [[Santo Stefano (Bologna)|Santo Stefano]] in [[Bologna]], Italy, an agglomeration of seven churches recreating shrines of Jerusalem.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ousterhout |first=Robert G. |date=1 January 1981 |title=The Church of Santo Stefano: A 'Jerusalem' in Bologna |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/766940 |journal=Gesta |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=311–321 |doi=10.2307/766940 |jstor=766940 |s2cid=191752841 |issn=0016-920X |access-date=18 April 2022 |archive-date=18 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418200518/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/766940 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several churches and monasteries in Europe, for instance, in Germany and Russia, and at least one church in the United States have been wholly or partially modelled on the Church of the Resurrection, some even reproducing other [[holy places]] for the benefit of pilgrims who could not travel to the Holy Land. They include the {{ill|Heiliges Grab (Görlitz)|de|lt=Heiliges Grab}} ("Holy Tomb") of [[Görlitz]], constructed between 1481 and 1504, the [[New Jerusalem Monastery]] in [[Moscow Oblast]], constructed by [[Patriarch Nikon]] between 1656 and 1666, and [[Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery]] built by the Franciscans in Washington, DC in 1898.<ref>{{Cite web |title=February 8, 1999 – News – Bringing a part of the Holy Land to America |url=http://www.thecommondenominator.com/020899_news7.html |access-date=19 April 2022 |website=www.thecommondenominator.com |archive-date=23 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123172311/http://thecommondenominator.com/020899_news7.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Author Andrew Holt writes that the church is the most important in all [[Christendom]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Holt |first=Andrew |title=The World of the Crusades: A Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2019 |isbn=9781440854620 |page=57 |quote=was housed in the most important church in Christendom, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Catholicism|Christianity}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Burial places of founders of world religions]]
* [[Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre]]
* {{ill|Charles Coüasnon|pl}}, head of the 1961–1977 excavations
* [[Christianity in Israel]]
* [[Early Christian art and architecture]]
* [[Fathers of the Holy Sepulchre]]
* [[The Garden Tomb]]
* [[Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites]]
* [[History of Roman and Byzantine domes]]
* [[History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes]]
* [[List of oldest church buildings]]
* [[Monza ampullae]]
* [[Mosque of Omar (Jerusalem)]]
* [[Palestinian Christians]]
* [[Rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel]]
* [[Talpiot Tomb]]
* [[Third Temple]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |title=Jerusalem, Israel, Petra & Sinai |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |isbn=978-1-4654-4131-7 |year=2016 |orig-year=2000 |ref={{harvid|DK|2016}}}}
* {{citation
  | last = Morris
  | first = Colin
  | year = 2005
  | title = The Sepulchre of Christ and the Medieval West: From the Beginning to 1600
  | publisher = Oxford University Press
  | location = Oxford
  | isbn = 978-0198269281
}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book| last=Biddle| first=Martin| title=The Tomb of Christ| publisher=Sutton Publishing| location=Scarborough| year=1999| isbn=978-0-7509-1926-5| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Od1OAAAAMAAJ| access-date=14 September 2020| archive-date=8 November 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061309/https://books.google.com/books?id=Od1OAAAAMAAJ| url-status=live}}
* {{cite book| last1=Biddle| first1=Martin| first2=Jon| last2=Seligman| first3=Winter| last3=Tamar| first4=Gideon| last4=Avni| name-list-style=amp| title=The Church of the Holy Sepulchre| publisher=Rizzoli in cooperation with Israel Antiquities Authority, distributed by St. Martin's Press| location=New York| year=2000| isbn=978-0-8478-2282-9| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5vpAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book| last=Coüasnon| first=Charles| title=The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem| publisher=Oxford University Press for the British Academy| location=London| year=1974| isbn=0-19-725938-3| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zSCAAAAIAAJ| access-date=14 September 2020| archive-date=8 November 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061311/https://books.google.com/books?id=6zSCAAAAIAAJ| url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=Shimon |last2=Taylor |first2=Joan E. |title=Beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem: The archaeology and early history of traditional Golgotha |publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund |location=London |year=1994 |isbn=0-903526-53-0}}
* {{cite book| last=Cohen| first=Raymond| title=Saving the Holy Sepulchre: How Rival Christians Came Together to Rescue Their Holiest Shrine| publisher=Oxford University Press| date=2008| isbn=978-0-19-518966-7| url=https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Holy-Sepulchre-Christians-Together/dp/B004JZX3QK/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=08DSS1138EPZ2MM3VGNY#reader_B004JZX3QK| access-date=30 August 2017| archive-date=21 March 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321000317/https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Holy-Sepulchre-Christians-Together/dp/B004JZX3QK/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=08DSS1138EPZ2MM3VGNY#reader_B004JZX3QK| url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite journal| first=Glenn| last=Bowman| title='In Dubious Battle on the Plains of Heav'n': The Politics of Possession in Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre| journal=History and Anthropology| volume=XXII| pages=371–399| url=http://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/28173| publisher=[[University of Kent]]| date=16 September 2011| issue=3| doi=10.1080/02757206.2011.595008| s2cid=144211027}}
* {{Cite journal |title=Archaeological excavations in Jerusalem, Holy Sepulchre: a preliminary report |journal=Liber Annuus |last=Stasolla |first=Francesca Romana |volume=72 |pages=449–486 |url=https://doi.org/10.1484/J.LA.5.134546 |doi=10.1484/J.LA.5.134546 |year=2022 |s2cid=258666985 |issn=0081-8933 |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108061318/https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.LA.5.134546 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sepulchre, The Holy|volume=24|pages=656–658|first=Charles Moore|last=Watson|authorlink=Charles Moore Watson}} This also contains a detailed summary of the then-current theories as to the location of the tomb, with an extensive bibliography.
* {{cite book| editor-link=Kurt Weitzmann| editor-last=Weitzmann| editor-first=Kurt| url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/156533| title=Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century| number=582| year=1979| publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]| location=New York| isbn=978-0-8709-9179-0| access-date=16 April 2014| archive-date=26 April 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426182735/http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/156533| url-status=live}}
* {{cite book| last=Luke| first=Harry Charles| chapter=The Christian Communities in the Holy Sepulchre| editor-last=Ashbee| editor-first=Charles Robert|title=Jerusalem 1920–1922: Being the Records of the Pro-Jerusalem Council during the First Two Years of the Civil Administratio| year=1924|location=London| publisher=John Murray| pages=46–56| chapter-url=https://archive.org/download/jerusalem192019200ashbuoft/jerusalem192019200ashbuoft.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905192119/https://archive.org/download/jerusalem192019200ashbuoft/jerusalem192019200ashbuoft.pdf| archive-date=5 September 2021| url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)|Church of the Holy Sepulchre}}
{{Wikisource|Holy Sepulchre}}
* [https://thechurchoftheholysepulchre.com The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem], dedicated church website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090616221512/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/travels/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20000326_holy-sepulchre_en.html Homily of John Paul II in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre]
* [http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre.htm Sacred Destinations] (article, interactive plan, photo gallery)
*[http://primo.nli.org.il/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=NLI&docId=NNL_MAPS_JER002368059 Map of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 1715, by Nicolas de Fer.] Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, [[National Library of Israel]]
* [https://bankfoto.info/fotografie/obiekty/bazylika-grobu-swietego-w-jerozolimie-2/ Photos of the church], legends in Polish with some English

'''Custodians'''
*[https://en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/ The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre] (Greek Orthodox custodians)
*[https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/holy-sepulchre Franciscan Custody in the Holy Land] (Roman Catholic custodians)
* [http://thejoudehfamily.simdif.com/ The Joudeh family] (Muslim custodian of the keys of the Holy Sepulchre)
* [http://www.nuseibeh.org/history.htm Nuseibeh family] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722083855/http://www.nuseibeh.org/history.htm |date=22 July 2010 }} (Muslim Holy Sepulchre door keepers)
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200621235437/http://armenian-patriarchate.com/ St. James Brotherhood]}} (Armenian custodians)

'''Virtual tours'''
* [http://www.360tr.com/church-of-the-holy-sepulchre-atrium-virtual-tour_9cc4a66367_en.html Church of the Holy Sepulchre Virtual Tour]
* [http://www.360tr.net/jerusalem/holy-sepulchre/ The Holy Sepulchre Virtual Tour]

{{Cemeteries in Jerusalem}}
{{Jerusalem Old City}}
{{Tourism in Jerusalem}}
{{Jesus footer}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of the Holy Sepulchre}}
[[Category:Church of the Holy Sepulchre| ]]
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