The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Israel
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Church of the Resurrection is located within the walled Old City of Jerusalem,
Israel, and for the Christians commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ's burial (the sepulchre).
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was originally by Emperor's Constantine mother Saint Helena in 330. To Saint Helena
is also credited the rediscovery of the True Cross (the physical remnants traditionally believed to be from the cross
upon which Jesus was crucified).
The Church of the Holy Sepulchure was damaged in 614 when the Persians invaded Jerusalem and captured the Cross. In 630
Emperor Heraclius recaptured Jerusalem and rebuilt Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The early Muslims rulers protected the
Christian sites in Jerusalem and prohibited their destruction. In 1009 the Egyptian caliph al-Hakim destroyed the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre and hacked out the Church's foundations down to bedrock.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was completely rebuilt again by the Crusaders and further renovated by the Franciscan
in 1555. Through the next centuries the Church was damages and rebuilt many times until in 1960's extensive modern
renovations took place, including excavations beneath the foundations of the present-day church and from 1994–1997 a
restoration of the dome. The renovation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is still in progress but it regained
already much of its former beauty.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher has always been one of Christianity’s most sacred sites and it still remains one of
the holiest pilgrimage destination for all Christian communities.
