Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Church in the Christian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a basilica in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, covering several holy sites under one roof. The building spans two levels and includes numerous chapels arranged around a central Edicule, a small freestanding structure made of marble and limestone inside the main rotunda.
Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena founded this building in 326 over the sites believed to be where Jesus was crucified and buried. Persian forces destroyed the original structure in the 7th century, and later rulers rebuilt and reshaped it several times over the following centuries.
The Status Quo of 1757 fixes the rights of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Coptic, Syriac and Ethiopian communities in the building. Eastern Christians call it the Church of the Anastasis, Greek for Resurrection, and the last four Stations of the Cross of the Via Dolorosa lie inside.
A Muslim family has held the keys to the main entrance since the 12th century and opens and closes the doors every morning and evening. The interior passageways can be narrow and crowded, especially during religious holidays, so patience and awareness of other visitors are helpful.
The wooden ladder under an upper window is not fixed in any document; it has simply stayed put because the Status Quo of 1757 forbids any change to the shared building without agreement among the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic communities.
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