Holy Sepulcher - one of the greatest shrines of Christendom. Tradition says, in this place was crucified and buried Saviour, His Resurrection happened here.

Place of execution and burial of Jesus honored more first-generation Christians. In 135, the Romans built a pagan temple here. The first Christian emperor Constantine I in 325, replaced it with a huge church. During construction, the mother of Constantine Elena conducted excavations in which were found the Holy Sepulchre, three crosses and a few nails to the place of execution.

The complex, built by Constantine, was magnificent. Under the dome of the temple-mausoleum Anastasis (Greek - "Resurrection") rested the Holy Sepulchre. Nearby stood a basilica under the hexagon domed crypt it marks the place of finding of the Cross. The interiors were decorated with mosaics, jewelry casting, marble.

It has survived only a part of the complex. In 614, the Persian Shah Chosroes II, the building was severely damaged. Khosrow wife, Maria Christian, convinced her husband to restore the shrine. However, in 1009 the Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amrullo ordered to completely destroy the basilica. Byzantine Emperor Constantine VIII bargained right to restore her former glory but the church was lost. Hearing about the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre was one of the reasons why the Crusades. The Crusaders rebuilt the church in the Romanesque style and added a bell tower (after the earthquake of 1545 it remained only a part). In 1808, it burned down the wooden dome over the Anastasis. In the second half of the XX century, the building was restored.

Today, the complex includes an ancient rotunda in which the Edicule (chapel with the Holy Sepulchre), Calvary to the place of crucifixion, the cathedral church KATHOLIKON, underground church of the Finding of the Holy Cross, a lot of chapels, several monasteries. The temple is divided between the six churches: Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, Syrian and Ethiopian. Each - their chapel, their hours for services and prayers.

For centuries, closely neighboring denominations conflict with each other. In the XVIII century Sultan Abdul Hamid set the division of property ("the status quo"), to observe to this day: neither confession is not entitled to change anything in the church without the consent of others. The symbol of the status quo - a wooden staircase mason, still standing on the same spot since 1757 year. Included in the temple courtyard see it from the right arched windows. The keys to the temple since Saladin and Richard the Lionheart is stored in a Muslim family - it avoids the debate over the church gate.

Entered under the arches of the church, especially the tourist sees Stone of Anointing - the legend says that it was the body of Jesus after the Descent from the Cross. Right go up the steps leading to the Calvary. Left - the entrance to the rotunda, which rises from the Holy Sepulchre Edicule. Because of the huge dome of the central hole in the darkness falls a ray of light. By Edicule always stretches all the pilgrims who want to touch the shrine. It is here that the Orthodox are waiting for the Easter Holy Fire.