HOLY SEPULCHRE, THE. — The most venerated of the Holy Places (v.), a pilgrimage destination which Christians obtained not without struggle, and which they were able to visit and especially to guard.
The sepulchre of Jesus was near Calvary (v.) and thus situated outside the city but not far away (Jn 19:20), in a garden (ibid., 19:42). It was new, hewn from the rock (Mt 27:57) with a round stone to close it (ibid., 27:60–61), so that the pious women, going to embalm Jesus, wondered how they might “roll it away” (ibid., 28:2). It belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. The details provided by the Gospel recall one of the many tombs of that time, with a chamber, an arcosolium, and a circular entrance. It was very small, and only by bending down could John see the linen cloth (Jn 20:5) and Magdalene the angels at the sides of the arcosolium (ibid., 20:12).
The evangelical indications regarding Calvary (v.) and the sepulchre were found so consistent with the place that, immediately after the excavations of 326, it was thought to erect a worthy monument. Some doubts arose in the 16th century when, finding the Holy Sepulchre within the city, some pilgrims doubted its authenticity because it seemed to them not to correspond to the Gospel. The study of the city, to verify its evolution, took on a “scientific” aspect only in the last century. Good reasons, in relation to the ancient city walls (v. JERUSALEM, I) and to the unbroken tradition, advise maintaining the ancient tradition.
While Eusebius’ description (v. JERUSALEM, IV–VI) clearly reveals the general arrangement of the Anastasis or mausoleum of Christ—a triportico with Calvary and the Martyrium or liturgical church—the architectural specification remains rather doubtful, since his description is rather vague. Contemporary images representing the monument, such as those in the museum of Santa Pudenziana, the Trivulzio ivory, the ampullae of Bobbio and Monza, while clarifying Eusebius’ words, do not provide mathematical precision, for that was not their intention. Nor do the archaeological remains in situ shed much light, because, apart from some remnants of the Anastasis and a wall near the ancient Cardo maximus, opened to create three doors that can be identified with the Constantinian walls represented in the Madaba map (v.), nothing else remains certain. Between these two extreme elements of the structure, the rest must be supplied by literary or figurative data. Among the reconstructions proposed, the one most consistent with the known data is that of Fr. H. Vincent; however, more recent studies by the Viennese archaeologist (pl. 29 in Il S. S., Bergamo 1949) show that the union of the two parts must be slightly modified.
The Anastasis preserved the Sepulchre of the Redeemer, suitably isolated and adorned with metal railings. The rotunda, not mentioned by Eusebius, is attested by 4th-century writers such as Egeria, and there is no reason to exclude it from Constantine’s plan. The Martyrium had a crypt-cistern where the crosses, testimony to the Redemption, were found, with an apse to the west (D. Baldi, Enchiridion [V. BIBLICA.], no. 951) and a ciborium above the altar. Throughout the Byzantine period, the monument was spoken of as rich, especially for its gilding, and as adorned with venerated images (ibid., nos. 953,7 and 954) in the 5th–6th centuries, but never as having a pictorial cycle. Moreover, the intransigence of Eusebius of Caesarea, who took an interest in the monument, and later of St. Epiphanius, makes it unlikely that sacred images were present in the monument at least in the 4th century.
In the 5th and 6th centuries, there was in Palestine a fashion for tripartite churches: St. John in Jerusalem, Dej Roskij, Dej Murkellik, Bethlehem in Justinian’s reconstruction; this fashion probably led to the addition of an apse in the Anastasis as well. The use of fine, clean-cut stones with horizontal courses and the marble revetment agree with the techniques of the time.
According to common opinion, the work of Modestus, who restored the monument after the fire set by the Persians in 614, includes part of the Anastasis wall, built of brick, due to the similarity of its masonry with that of Meskene and Aleppo (citadel). Such a radical destruction, necessitating the reconstruction of the rotunda from the level of the matronea, would, however, fit better with the actions of al-Hakim.
Of the activity of Constantine Monomachus, who rebuilt the monument in 1048 after the fierce destruction by al-Hakim, no certain elements survive apart from written accounts. Probably it remained largely unaltered even in the 12th century. Besides constructing the apse on the east side, he embellished the building, and perhaps also Calvary, with mosaics: the Anastasis, Ascension, Annunciation, figures of the prophets and apostles, Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross, none of which were altered by the Crusaders.
The Crusaders rebuilt the grand monument that encloses the Holy Sepulchre. Various chapels had been built to preserve the relics of the Lord in the area of the destroyed Martyrium, and the Crusaders incorporated them into the new construction that enclosed the ancient Anastasis and Calvary. Thus there arose a nave with a large transept and a double apse, which together form a fine example of Romanesque art. Pointed arches, matronea, and an abundance of sculpture—especially on the exterior—and mosaics on the interior were employed. In the choir were the Anastasis, perhaps transferred from Monomachus’ apse, the Apostles and biblical figures such as David, Samson, etc., and the Pentecost. In Calvary, in addition to the two scenes mentioned above—the Last Supper and the Ascension, of which a figure of Christ is preserved today—there were portraits of Helena and Constantine and of the prophets who foretold the Passion of the Saviour. Latin and Greek inscriptions, sometimes in verse, explained the subjects depicted. Almost everything has now disappeared, and we are indebted to medieval writers such as Theoderic and John of Würzburg, and to the Franciscans Quaresmio and Horn, for having transcribed the texts.
Among the finest examples of sculpture are, besides some figured capitals, the cornices of the façade, some of which have leaves as if moved by the wind, and the two portals, one of which has scenes of the Passion set against a Byzantine background with Romanesque influences. The massive bell tower, added later, somewhat disrupts the façade without, however, altering its effect.
The Crusader building, one might say, remains to this day. Only the following changes have occurred: the double replacement of the edicule of the Holy Sepulchre, first with that built by Fr. Boniface of Ragusa in 1555, and then, after the fire of 1808, with the present one; the new Italian mosaics of Calvary in 1937; and the Armenian paintings at St. Helena in 1950.
The shared ownership by various rites and nations makes necessary repairs very difficult; the sacred building is filled with small walls and partitions to mark the different properties; the main walls are in poor condition. The Mandatory Power (1919–48), after a study by the architect Harvey (1935), undertook extensive shoring-up, which the co-owners found at least excessive. The Custody of the Holy Land, on behalf of all Latin-rite Christians, commissioned the architect L. Marangoni, protodeacon of St. Mark’s, to study the problem; he suggested very practical means to assess the condition of the monument, including the obvious yet unheeded method of “tell-tales,” and to restore it without obstructing the liturgy (L. Marangoni, La chiesa del S. S. in Gerusalemme. Problemi della sua conservazione, Venice 1937). The Mandatory Power did not heed this advice and instead filled
**Holy Sepulchre** – Section of the dome of the Anastasis and axonometric view of the Choir of the Latin Canons.)
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The wooden and iron structure made the liturgical services very difficult for a long time, especially during Easter when there was a large influx of pilgrims.
From this consideration of the situation arose the idea not merely to restore but to rebuild the monument, an idea that was championed by Msgr. G. Testa, the Apostolic Delegate. With the financial support of the Custody of the Holy Land, the project for a new church of the Holy Sepulchre was realized by L. Marangoni and A. Barluzzi, which Msgr. Testa presented to the world in elegant form as *Il S. S. di Gerusalemme. Splendori, miserie, speranze* (Bergamo 1949). The reception by the other rites was somewhat hesitant; among Catholics it was met with some hesitation, especially because of the need to destroy a monument that for centuries had housed the faith of so many devotees. The plan presented includes the Anastasis, to which all rites could participate according to a regulation, as well as various churches within for each rite. To carry it out, it would be necessary to have free rein to demolish all the sacred and profane buildings within and to dispose of substantial funds for expropriation and the construction of the new structures. Yet one can foresee that the generosity of Christians who hold such great love for the Holy Sepulchre would provide the necessary means.
The early Christians, following Peter and John (Jn 20:2-18) and the holy women, always venerated the Holy Sepulchre, but organized worship began only after the construction of Constantine’s great basilica. From then until today, with only a few brief intervals, worship has continued with the celebration of Mass, liturgical functions, public prayers, and preaching. The liturgical documents of various periods are known, and modern officials continue them substantially. Today, a highly detailed regulation governs the time allotted to each rite, and various liturgies alternate day and night, with some rare and unavoidable conflicts. There are festivals on the same day to which faithful of different rites and nations participate. Sometimes this simultaneous celebration may disconcert those unprepared to see this individualistic way of honoring the Lord; yet the ordinary liturgy is often conducted with great decorum, especially by the Latins.
In 1347, Fra Niccolò da Poggibonsi wrote (*Libro d’Oltremare*, Jerusalem 1945, p. 25): “The church within is damp and cold and not very bright… but truly it is a place to do penance for the soul,” and this can perhaps be said, with even greater reason, today. Despite the deplorable state of the building, it still makes a profound impression, and conversions occur there.
Individual and collective devotion did not suffice with the veneration of the Holy Sepulchre; people also desired a memorial of II. Cities and lands sought to have a reproduction of the sacred building: Capua, Bologna, Aquileia, Brindisi, and other cities in the Middle Ages; Florence, San Vivaldo, and Monte Varallo in the Renaissance. Already in antiquity, it became the subject of musical compositions, paintings, and small objects. The souvenirs or eulogies (v.) ended up in reliquaries: blessed earth, fragments of rock surreptitiously detached, or oil from the lamps that burn before the venerable edicule. Even the special functions performed there were imitated, from the Palm Sunday procession to the Holy Fire, which has its imitation in Florence with the explosion of the cart. — See pl. XX.