It is well known that the most revered shrineChristians of the whole world is the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher located in Jerusalem. Its ancient walls rise where almost two thousand years ago he sacrificed his godparent and then Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Being a monument to this most important event in the history of mankind, it at the same time became a place where the Lord annually presents to the world the miracle of the gift of His Gracious Fire.
The temple founded by sv. Queen Elena
History of the Jerusalem Church of the ResurrectionChrist, which throughout the world is called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is associated with the name of Saint Queen Equal to the Apostles. Arriving in the first half of the 4th century to the Holy Land, she organized excavations, as a result of which sacred relics were found, among which the Life-Giving Cross and the Holy Sepulcher were the most important.
According to her own command, on-site workThe first church was built, which became the prototype of the future Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Israel). It was a very spacious building that contained Calvary, the hill on which the Savior was crucified, as well as the place where His Life-giving Cross was found. Later, a number of structures were added to the church, as a result of which a temple complex was formed, stretching from west to east.
Temple in the hands of the conquerors
This is the earliest church of the Holy Sepulcher.lasted less than three centuries and in 614 was destroyed by soldiers of the Persian king Khosrov II, who captured Jerusalem. The damage caused to the temple complex was very significant, but in the period 616-626. he managed to completely recover. Historical documents of those years report an interesting detail - the work was personally financed by the wife of the tsar-conqueror Maria, who, oddly enough, was a Christian and openly confessed her faith.
The next wave of shocks Jerusalem experienced in637, when he was captured by Caliph Umar’s troops. However, as a result of the wise actions of Patriarch Sophronius, it was possible to avoid destruction and to minimize the number of victims among the population. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, founded by the holy Queen Helen, for a long time continued to remain the main shrine of Christians, despite the fact that the city was in the hands of the conquerors.
The death of the old temple and the construction of a new
But in 1009 there was a catastrophe.Khalif Al-Hakim, instigated by the court, gave the order to destroy the entire Christian population of the city and destroy the temples located on its territory. The massacre lasted for several days, and thousands of civilians in Jerusalem became its victims. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was destroyed and in its original form it was no longer reborn. The son of Al-Hakim allowed the Byzantine emperor Constantine VIII to rebuild the shrine again, but, according to contemporaries, the erected complex of buildings was in many ways inferior to that which was destroyed by his father.
Temple built by the crusaders
The current Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, photowhich are given in the article, like its predecessors, built on the site of the cross sacrifice of Christ and His miraculous Resurrection. It brings together under one roof the shrines associated with these events. The temple was built in the period from 1130 to 1147 by the Crusaders and is a vivid example of the Romanesque style.
The center of the architectural composition is the rotunda.The Resurrection is a cylindrical structure in which the Cuvuclia is placed - a tomb in the rock where the body of Jesus rested. A little further, in the central porch, are Golgotha and the Stone of Confirmation, upon which He was laid after being taken down from the cross.
On the east side of the rotunda adjacentbuilding, called the Great Church, or otherwise Katholikon. It is divided into many chapels. The temple complex is complemented by the bell tower, which was once distinguished by its impressive size, but was significantly affected by the earthquake of 1545. The upper part of it was destroyed and has not been restored since.
Restoration and restoration work of the last centuries
Последнее свое бедствие храм претерпел в 1808 year, when a fire broke out within its walls, which destroyed the wooden roof and damaged the Kuvukliya. That year, leading architects from many countries gathered in Israel to restore the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. By their joint efforts, in a short time, it was possible not only to restore the damaged one, but also to erect a hemispherical dome made of metal structures over the rotunda.
After the end of World War II the Temple of the SepulcherLord became the venue for full-scale restoration work, the purpose of which was to strengthen all elements of the building, while not violating its historical appearance. They do not stop today. It is gratifying to note that in 2013, a bell made in Russia was raised on the bell tower of the temple.
Today's temple appearance
Today, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (photogiven in the article) is an extensive architectural complex. It includes Calvary - the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the rotunda, in the center of which is the Cuvuclia or, in other words, the Holy Sepulcher, as well as the cathedral church Katholikon. In addition, the complex includes the Church of the Acquisition of the Life-Giving Cross and the Church of St. Equal to the Apostles, Queen Helena, located under the ground.
In the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher, where they are, exceptlisted above shrines, a few more monasteries, the religious life is extremely saturated. This is due to the fact that it accommodates representatives of six Christian denominations at once, such as Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Syrian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian. Each of them has its own chapel and the time allotted for the conduct of worship. So, Orthodox can celebrate liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher at night from 1:00 to 4:00. Then they are replaced by representatives of the Armenian Church, who at 6:00 give way to Catholics.
To none of the denominations represented inthe temple had no priority and everyone was on an equal footing; as far back as 1192 it was decided to make the keys of the Muslims - members of the Arab family of Jaud Al Gadiy as guardians of the keys. They also entrusted the unlocking of the temple to the Arabs, representatives of the Nusayd family. Within the framework of this tradition, strictly observed to this day, the honorary rights are transferred by members of both clans from generation to generation.
Fire descended from heaven
At the end of the article we will briefly dwell onthe descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Jerusalem). Every year, on the eve of the celebration of Easter, during a special divine service, fire burned out in a miraculous manner from the Cuvuclia. It symbolizes the True Divine Light, that is, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Historical documents show thata similar tradition originated in the ninth century. It was then, on Great Saturday, before Easter, that the lamplight blessing rite was replaced by the miracle of finding the Holy Fire. Medieval descriptions of how spontaneously, without human intervention, lampadas hanging over the Holy Sepulcher have been preserved. Similar evidence was left by numerous Russian pilgrims who visited holy places at different stages of history.
A miracle that has become part of modernity
Today, thanks to modern technologyMillions of people each year witness the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Photo and video materials devoted to this miracle, causing general interest, do not leave the television screens and pages of printed publications. This is not surprising, since none of the numerous examinations could not establish the reason why fire appears in a locked and sealed Cuvuclia.
His physicalfeatures The fact is that, according to direct witnesses of the miracle, in the first minutes after its removal from the Holy Sepulcher, the fire does not burn and the people in reverent trembling wash their faces.
В последние десятилетия повелось сразу после finding the Holy Fire to deliver it by plane to many countries of the Christian world. Supporting this pious tradition, the Russian Orthodox Church also sends its delegation to Jerusalem every year, thanks to which on Easter night many churches of our country are consecrated with fire descending from heaven in the Holy Land.
