Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Temple Mount. In 169 BCE, Syrians built the Second Temple and later in 70 CE, the Romans demolished it (2). Emperor Hadrain wanted to replace the Second Temple with a shrine to Jupiter, but that resulted in a rebellion. The Western Wall, which is what is left from the Temple Mount, still represents what it did many years ago. And today, where the Temple used to be, is now known as the Dome of the Rock, which is where Mohammed ascended to heaven and is also the location of the “binding of Isaac” in Genesis (2). For Christians, Jerusalem is significant because it is where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located, with Calvary, also known as Golgotha, where Jesus Christ was crucified. Being the city where He grew up, was then crucified and then buried, Christians find this city very holy. It is where Christianity began and also was spread by the word from Apostles (3). The Church is also known as “The Mother Church”. Jesus would spend his time preaching the word. This city is marveled by Christians and considered to be the holiest place. It is interesting, when comparing the number of times Jerusalem is mentioned in the Tanakh and the Bible and then realizing that Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Quran (4). So why is Jerusalem significant? Well, in 622 AD, Muhammad left Mecca and went to Medina, which was home to many Jews. The day he arrived, the Quran established practices that were opened to Jews (4). One of the main practices that were created was a Judaic…

In the hundreds of years separating the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 326 CE to now, it has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, but the religious significance of the building has remained the same, if not increased. The Church was destroyed in 1009 by Caliph Hakim, and was not rebuilt until after 1099, when the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and began to expand the Church (Wilkinson, 1978, p. 11-12). Rebuilding and increasing the size of the Church allowed the…

and other religious buildings throughout the Byzantine Empire. Some of the buildings in the Holy City survived intact to this day, notably the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; meanwhile, the remains of others are just now being discovered. The Nea was one of the buildings left in ruins and buried under the city. Several centuries after its demise, archaeologists and historians can study and emphasize the structure’s architectural feats, purpose, and place in the history of the Holy City. The Nea…

Crusade in the Middle East The definition of crusade is pilgrimage journey. The Crusades that were hurled on the holy land in 1095 at the convention of Clermont from Urban II speech to siege and defeat of Jerusalem in 1099 by the Crusaders (Kohler, 2013). This crusade commenced a new phase of affiliation among the West and the Near East. The first Crusade represented the war against the Muslim to aid Byzantines to take back control over the Holy Land. Many innocent people were…

his military victory. This is what the church historian Eusebuis wrote about Constantine’s vision, “He saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS. The sign said “CHI-RHO.” Constantine was in a military battle with Maxentuis. The war is called the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The battle was fought and won by Constantine. The vision proved to be true. Constantine wasn’t the only one who saw the vision. His…

crusade is pilgrimage journey. The Crusades that were hurled on the holy land in 1095 at the convention of Clermont from Urban II speech to siege and defeat of Jerusalem in 1099 by the Crusaders (Kohler, 2013). This crusade commenced a new phase of affiliation among the West and the Near East. The first Crusade represented the war against the Muslim to aid Byzantines to take back control over the Holy Land. Many innocent people were tortured and many were slaughtered. The effects of the…

The Crusades were a series of religious conquests that the Pope influenced. The objective of these wars were to capture Jerusalem, the site of the Christian holy land. Overall though the Crusades were a waste of resources and the Christians only managed to capture Jerusalem for a short period of time. But the only thing they did build on was the effect it had on Europe after it ended. Even though the Crusades ultimately failed at taking over Jerusalem, they succeeded at bringing about socio…

He acknowledges that the European knights have a lot of sins, but by partaking in the Crusade they can redeem some of their sins. At the same time, he is also encouraging people to fight for a purposeful cause and outside the holy land. As he says, “Let therefore hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves”…

case of the Holy Crusades, however, the events, and how they occurred are not the source of contention amongst historians. Instead, the motivating factors that initiated the Holy Crusades are under scrutiny. Religion and its involvement in the initiation of the Crusades is in question. Were the Crusades motivated primarily by religious factors? Potentially, there are numerous commentaries and personal opinions regarding this subject, but I read only two of those. First, the “yes” side; Hans…

The Christian Crusades Almost 200 years ago during the middle ages, the crusades wrested control over the Palestine Region from Selcuk turks due to a series of military incursions that were made up of christian armies from western europe. The control that the christian crusades had over the Holy land were tenuous at its best. Today, the crusades that Hollywood has put in our minds: glorious and righteous warriors in form of knights leading the crusades, anointed by god to save the Holy land…