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 conquering Christians to reestablish their dominance in Jerusalem after the Muslims had built their holy buildings on the Temple Mount. Ousterhout notes that while the location of the Tomb of Christ was immutable, the architecture of the building was not (2003,
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However, the Emperor Julian had different plans for the Christian Jerusalem. Julian did not like Christianity because it had been replacing paganism, and in order to spite the Christians, promised the Jews that he would turn Jerusalem back into a Jewish city, first by building a new Temple (K. Armstrong, 2005, p. 195). Julian attempted to move the religious focal point back to the eastern hill out of his hate for Christianity. His attempt failed, when an earthquake occurred and destroyed the building materials (K. Armstrong, 2005, p. 196). Christians were overjoyed when this happened, as they saw this as divine punishment for the Jews for trying to build a new temple on the Temple Mount, and happy to see that construction of the new temple was aborted (K. Armstrong, 2005, p. 196). This event reinforced the belief that Christianity had taken over the city and Jews had been rejected by God. It showed Christians that the Temple Mount was an off limits area that was not to be built on. When Jerome and Paula entered Jerusalem, Jerome referred to the Temple Mount as “the dungheap of the new Christian Jerusalem” (Schein, 1984, p. 175). Jerome’s language indicates that to the Christians, the Temple Mount was nothing more than just a landfill with no significant meaning. Leaving the Temple Mount as a landfill reminded the Christians of Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple due to the neglect of the Jews towards Yahweh’s will. Christians, on the other hand, had followed the teachings of Jesus, and as a result, Christianity prospered on the western
However, the Emperor Julian had different plans for the Christian Jerusalem. Julian did not like Christianity because it had been replacing paganism, and in order to spite the Christians, promised the Jews that he would turn Jerusalem back into a Jewish city, first by building a new Temple (K. Armstrong, 2005, p. 195). Julian attempted to move the religious focal point back to the eastern hill out of his hate for Christianity. His attempt failed, when an earthquake occurred and destroyed the building materials (K. Armstrong, 2005, p. 196). Christians were overjoyed when this happened, as they saw this as divine punishment for the Jews for trying to build a new temple on the Temple Mount, and happy to see that construction of the new temple was aborted (K. Armstrong, 2005, p. 196). This event reinforced the belief that Christianity had taken over the city and Jews had been rejected by God. It showed Christians that the Temple Mount was an off limits area that was not to be built on. When Jerome and Paula entered Jerusalem, Jerome referred to the Temple Mount as “the dungheap of the new Christian Jerusalem” (Schein, 1984, p. 175). Jerome’s language indicates that to the Christians, the Temple Mount was nothing more than just a landfill with no significant meaning. Leaving the Temple Mount as a landfill reminded the Christians of Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple due to the neglect of the Jews towards Yahweh’s will. Christians, on the other hand, had followed the teachings of Jesus, and as a result, Christianity prospered on the western