Praying at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: My Experience

Posted on August 17, 2021November 23, 2021 by wisitech

Praying at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: My Experience

Despite temperatures touching 90 degrees, prayers don’t stop at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter of the old city. It is hard to believe that these modest walls house the site where Christianity’s four most important events — the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, are said to have occurred.

What is Significant about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?

The Gospels tell us that the Lord, Jesus, was crucified at Golgotha – the place of the skull. The current complex encompasses that original location. One cannot help but feel overwhelmed by the scope of history and faith that surrounds the courtyard. Wars have been fought and tales of honor among the vanquished abound.

Who Worships at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?

Today, the joint ownership of the Church lies mainly with the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox, and the Roman Catholic denominations.

The outer walls of the Church display signs of classic Roman and Baroque architecture. However, parts of the structure have been razed and rebuilt several times. The entrance to the complex can be accessed via a flight of stairs leading up from the‘Cardo’ — the main street of Jerusalem.

Who Holds the Keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?

Interestingly, the keys to the Church have traditionally been kept by a Sunni Muslim family since the time of Emperor Saladin. The story goes that the Caliph Umar took possession of the Church peacefully from the Roman patriarch Sophronius on the condition that the houses of worship in Jerusalem would not be harmed. To fulfill these conditions, the Caliph entrusted the keys to a loyal Muslim household called ‘Nussaiba’. When Emperor Saladin re-conquered the city from the Crusaders, he honored Caliph Umar’s arrangement by engaging another Muslim family called ‘Al-Goudia’.

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

At the entrance to the Church building, there is usually a long line of pilgrims waiting to be admitted. A series of steps lead up to the Hill of Calvary, where lie two chapels. The lavishly decorated one on the left is believed to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. The chapel to the right marks the spot where Jesus was nailed to the Cross. The Rock of Calvary, from the abandoned quarry that existed in Jesus’ time, is now encased in glass beneath the altar, with an opening through which you can touch the old limestone. You can even see a fissure in the rock which is consistent with the story that the earth cracked open upon Jesus’ death as mentioned in the New Testament.

The two chapels correspond to the Eleventh and Twelfth Stations of the Cross or the Via Dolorosa. The Tenth Station, where Jesus is stripped of his garments, also occurred on Calvary. As one watches these divine relics, the Apostle’s Creed comes instinctively to mind:

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.“

From the Chapel of the Crucifixion, you can move on to the Stone of Anointing, now covered with a building and lined with ornate candlesticks and frescoes. This is the place where Jesus’ body was laid down and prepared for burial.

If you wish you can visit the immaculate Iconostasis – the link between heaven and the holy place. The Armenian Station of the Holy Women is commemorated by a circular slab with four pillars supporting a marble roof. From here, Mary and the women of Jerusalem are said to have watched the Crucifixion.

The Real Tomb of Jesus Christ

Going past the Station of the Holy Women, you reach the Rotunda, which houses the Tomb of Christ under a massive dome. Archaeologically, this site has been confirmed to be either the actual site of Jesus’ tomb or very close to it because a real tomb existed at the current spot. This area is flanked by barricades where Christian faithful the world over can come and pray for all kinds of miracles. For this is the site of the greatest miracle of all – Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from death — a signifier of forgiveness for mankind’s sins. This site is universally accepted as being the holiest site in Christianity and praying here is an experience Christians should simply not miss.

You can volunteer to pray overnight at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre even as you learn to wait for mass offerings in three different traditions. The doors close by 9 pm at the latest and only open at 4 in the morning. As the Franciscan priests put it, praying at the Holy Sepulchre Church can be painful but very spiritually rewarding afterward.

If by any chance, you are unable to make it to this holiest of holy sites in your lifetime, The Salvation Garden praying community can send a delegation here to pray on your behalf. We will send you photographs and videos of your prayer being recited should you so choose, for a small donation. These donations go toward travel and other logistics to make the trip possible and are only a fraction of the cost it would take for you to perform the journey on your own. Send a prayer request to the Holy Sepulchre Church today.

Holy Sepulchre

Posted on March 21, 2021December 23, 2021 by Elenie

Pray With Us: Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the two holiest sites in Christianity. Inside the sacred halls is Calvary, the site where Jesus was crucified for our sins. There is also Jesus’s empty tomb, the spot where He was buried and resurrected.

We can pray together from this ancient and spiritual church in Jerusalem.

The church is inside the Christian quarter of Jerusalem’s old city. The final four Stations of The Cross, or the Via Dolorosa, are enshrined here.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, “the place of the skull”. It was a stone quarry, just outside the city walls.

In 312 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine had a vision of the Cross. He converted to Christianity after receiving the sign from God and sent his mother to search for Golgotha.

Empress Helen found a tomb that fit the Gospel’s description of the Calvary. All of the dirt and debris that had gathered with time and neglect was removed. A rock-cut tomb and a relic of the Cross were found underneath!

A woman prays outside the historic doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

A church was built in 326 AD at the newly identified tomb of Jesus. The wooden doors at the main entrance are the same doors commissioned by Constantine over a thousand years ago.

Your prayers can be answered at the Calvary!

Inside the church, a stairway leads up to the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. It is the most extravagant part of the Holy Sepulchre. Ornate gold decorates the place where Jesus died on the Cross.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

The Stone of Anointing is at the entrance. This is where Christ’s body was prepared for His burial. A large mosaic behind it shows the anointing of Jesus’s body.

The faithful praying over the Stone of Anointing.

The 19th century Aedicule is a small chapel within the larger church. It has two small rooms, one is the Tomb of Jesus. In the other is the Angel’s Stone, a small piece of the stone that sealed Jesus’s tomb.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3:

In May 2016, the Aedicule underwent precarious restorations. The $4 million dollar project started after the Israel Antiquities Authority declared the monumental structure unsafe.

Even if you are far from Jerusalem, you can still have your prayers heard inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Our prayer team can deliver your urgent prayer requests in the Holy Land today.

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

Our dedicated team members will personally take your urgent prayer requests to a Church of your choice in the Holy Land and then offer them to our Lord. After we bring your prayer requests to your chosen Holy Church, we will send you videos or pictures to assure you.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre Prayer Request

The History of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church

Posted on November 20, 2017December 17, 2021 by Elenie

Send Prayer Request Online at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Send your personal prayer request online to the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem where Jesus Christ was buried and resurrected. Our volunteers will carry your prayer and pray there.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also called the Church of the Resurrection or Church of the Anastasis by Orthodox Christians

The Holy Sepulchre and Church History

“And they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull,” (Matthew 27:33)

Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, known in the New Testament (Matt. 27:33–35; Mark 15:22–25; John 19:17–24) as “the place of the skull”. This location lay outside the perimeter of the city walls at the time and was an abandoned stone quarry.

Around a decade later, a wall was built which enclosed the site inside what we know today as Jerusalem’s Old City.

Stone of Anointing (Stone of Unction)

Another point of interest inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the so-called Stone of Unction, which was the spot where Joseph of Arimathea prepared Jesus for Burial.

It is customary for pilgrims to kneel and kiss the stone on their arrival at this location within the church. This tradition stems from John 19:40:

“Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury”.

The kneeling action is also represented in the large mosaic above the Stone of Unction, which depicts subjects kneeling alongside the stone.

How was it discovered?

The tomb itself was discovered in the process of building a church ordered by Roman Emperor Constantine I. This then became the first Church of the Holy Sepulchre which could be accessed by a set of steps which rose from one of Jerusalem’s main streets.

Early pilgrims would have walked through a basilica and the ‘holy garden which contained ‘the rock of Golgotha, before reaching the Holy Sepulchre.

The Church starts to form around the Stone of Anointing

A small building was built around the tomb, which was originally exposed. The relic of the cross of Jesus, another important feature of the church, is said to have been discovered by Saint Helena, Constantine’s mother, in 326.

In the 11th century, the Chapel of the Invention of the Cross was founded, in a cave deep beneath the basilica’s ruins, which is still present today.

A number of destructions and restructurings have taken place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, including a 614 ransacking by a Persian Army, a 966 fire which destroyed the dome in anti-Christian riots, and a complete dismantling by fanatical Arab leader Fatimid caliph al-Hakim in 1009.

After being rebuilt by Constantine IX Monomachus, the Byzantine emperor – after the first Crusade, ending in 1099, freed it up as a place of worship – it was reconsecrated 50 years later to the day. While work has been carried out periodically over the years, the post-Crusade Church of the Holy Sepulchre is much like the one which stands today.

Today pilgrims often light a candle, make a prayer or take part in a procession around the site. The experience is very emotional for some, evocative for others, and gives Christians the chance to communicate with God and ask for what is in their hearts. For those who are far away, we are offering the pilgrims experience as an online option.

How Can The Salvation Garden Help You?

The Salvation Garden believes that every believer in the world should be easily able to access the holy places of the Holy Land. We want to assist you in achieving success in your spiritual and material life.

Those who are unable to make it to these pilgrimage sites, we volunteer to carry your prayers to one of the holiest sites in these lands.

Click here to fill the online prayer request form with your personal prayer. Choose the Church of Holy Sepulcher or multiple holy churches and holy places in the Holy Land.

We will visit those holy places and personally deliver your printed prayer request. You will get the delivery confirmation from us to your email and an optional video.

We also deliver your urgent prayer request to the Holy Land. While our service comes free, your donations help us with our travel, printing, security, and other expenses.

The History of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church

JESUS AND THE IMPORTANCE HE SAW IN RESURRECTION

Posted on November 15, 2017December 25, 2021 by Elenie

JESUS AND THE IMPORTANCE HE SAW IN RESURRECTION

Jesus knew he had to be in Jerusalem, he knew he must be killed and resurrect. In this article, we will review the events.

Most of our knowledge about Jesus comes from the apostles and therefore we are bringing here the highlights.

Jesus is giving his disciples a detailed review of the upcoming events:

According to the book of Matthew:

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life”. (16:21)

After the crucifixion – Jesus was crucified and died at noon. Upon his death, an earthquake struck the area:

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city,” (27:52-53)

Joseph of Arimathea was keen to ensure that the corpse was buried according to the Jewish law, put the body in a new shroud and buried his body in the tomb just before sunset (27:57-60).

Women who followed Jesus had carried and prepared spices for anointing the body of Jesus Christ, and before they went to rest on the weekly Sabbath day, they made sure his tomb was sealed.

“And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher” (27:61)

The Resurrection

Then the body of Jesus Christ was in the tomb for three days and nights, and near sunset, he rose with the promise of bringing salvation to humankind.

The women that prepared the spices arrived early in the morning and found that Jesus had already risen,

“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified” (28:5).

Jesus met his eleven disciples and sent them to us, to the world, with his promise

“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (28:19)

With these last words, we have the legacy of Jesus regarding our Salvation and his all-time presence.

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

Christianity and resurrection

Posted on November 2, 2017December 25, 2021 by Elenie

Christianity and Resurrection

Resurrection – or the promise of life after death – is integral to Christian belief. As such, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ form the central tenet of Christianity. The gospels of the New Testament don’t just describe the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion, they also point to at least one resurrection of humanity, often thought to be on the Day of Judgement.

Jesus as the ‘firstfruits’

The term ‘firstfruits’ has been integral in Christian culture as the holy offering of the first fruits of the harvest. The Bible employs this terminology to describe Jesus’ return to life three days after he was laid to rest in the tomb. In Corinthians, it is stated that

“Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death]” [1 Corinthians 15:20].

Therefore, Christians believe resurrection to be God’s harvesting of mankind, the first and most important of which was carried out through Christ’s resurrection.

Subsequent resurrections

The resurrection of Christ is just the first part of God’s plan. In John, we are told Jesus said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” [John 11:25-26].

The emphasis is on God’s intention for humanity’s salvation which too will feature a resurrection since “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” [John 3:16].

However, the Bible also suggests that resurrection does not point to the full assumption of a physical life after death. Instead, Corinthians explains “It is sown a natural [physical] body, it is raised a spiritual body” [1 Corinthians 15:44].

The resurrection of humanity

However, The resurrection of humanity cannot take place until what many regard as the Second Coming of Christ. At Judgement Day,

“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” [1 Corinthians 15:51-52].

There is also some debate as to whether only true Christians will be resurrected in order to enter the Holy Kingdom, or whether both the just and the unjust will be resurrected to face their judgment.

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