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The Holy Land in a week · Stop 1 · Day 1
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
In the Bible
Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, the Place of the Skull; nearby, in a garden, was a new tomb where He was laid. On the first day of the week the women found the stone rolled away.
Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him.Tradition
By a tradition already firm when Constantine built here in the 4th century, Golgotha and the tomb lie under this one roof. Another view places them at the Garden Tomb, north of the walls.
Here today
A Crusader church consecrated in 1149 over the remains of Constantine's, shared by several churches; inside, the rock of Golgotha and the Edicule over the tomb.
Through the eyes of old pilgrims
On the left hand is the little hill of Golgotha where the Lord was crucified. About a stone's throw from thence is a vault (crypta) wherein His body was laid, and rose again on the third day.The Bordeaux Pilgrim, 333
A chair is placed for the bishop in Golgotha behind the Cross, which stands there now … Then is brought a silver-gilt casket, in which is the holy wood of the cross; it is opened, and the contents being taken out, the wood of the cross and also its inscription are placed on the table.Egeria, c. 381–384
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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).