A team of scientists opened for the first time in more than two centuries the tomb of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. The famous Holy Sepulcher, one of the most important sites for the world of Christianity, is located at the end of the Via Dolorosa in the historic city of Israel. According to the Gospels, Joseph of Arimathea offered the tomb to the family of Jesus so that they could bury the body after the crucifixion and before the Sabbath, the holy day (Saturday) when no activities can take place.
According to the Gospels, the body of Jesus Christ was deposited in the Holy Sepulcher after the crucifixion by the Romans around 33 AD. Days later, when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to anoint the body, it was gone. At that moment, two angels dressed in white and Jesus appeared to meet her to confirm that he had risen and that she should announce it to the Apostles.
Therefore, for Christianity, the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is a fundamental place as it is the place where the Resurrection took place. Within the religious tradition, the Resurrection is part of the Glorious Mysteries together with the Ascension of Jesus to heaven, the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the Coronation of Mary as queen of all creation.
The Tomb of Jesus Christ Is Opened
After the Resurrection of Jesus, Jerusalem was practically destroyed in the year 70 during the first Jewish-Roman war, and the tomb was forgotten. Several centuries later, in 312, Emperor Constantine had a vision of a cross in the sky and signed the famous Edict of Milan. At that time, after converting to Christianity, Constantine commissioned his mother Helena to go to Jerusalem in search of holy places and objects.
One of them was the Holy Sepulcher, and their three crosses were found near the tomb that is a few meters from where Golgotha or Mount Calvary (the place where Jesus died) was supposedly located. After learning of Helena’s discovery in 326, Constantine ordered the construction of the present Basilica in Jerusalem.
What’s in the Tomb of Jesus Christ?
In October 2016, a group of scientists was given the green light to open the tomb of Jesus Christ for the first time since it was rebuilt after a fire in 1810. The aim was to carry out restoration work on the Holy Sepulcher, especially on foundation issues. It should be recalled that after the fire of 1810, an Edicule was built to cover the tomb of Jesus and that was another preservation goal for researchers and specialists. Tourists visiting the Holy Sepulcher form outside the Edicule and then enter the antechamber of the tomb. Inside, before the first door, there is a plaque commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.
The marble plaque that covered the tomb took several days to be moved, exposing the interior of the tomb. This slab had not seen the light at least since 1555. “The marble that covered the tomb was removed, and we found a large number of materials inside the Sepulcher. We were finally able to see the original rock surface that covered the tomb where, according to tradition, the body of Jesus Christ was laid,” said Fredrik Hiebert, an archaeologist with the National Geographic Society.
One of the most important discoveries of the investigation was a second gray-toned tombstone that had a cross inscribed on its surface. Inside, the tomb’s ceiling was in perfect condition, and the original walls also emerged in their original condition after being carved out of limestone.
As already noted, the Edicule was the key part of the restoration after the 1927 earthquake in Jerusalem. Moreover, thanks to the data collected on the building material, it has been certified that the tomb is indeed right in the place where it was found by Constantine’s delegation during the 4th century.
Currently, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is guarded by six Christian communities: the Greek Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Copts, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Syrian Orthodox Church. Inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, several places were transcendental during the last hours of Jesus in Jerusalem. The stone where the crucifixion cross was nailed to the remains of Golgotha or Mount Calvary, the stone where Jesus was placed when he came down from the cross, the place where St. Helena found the three crosses to build the Basilica and, of course, the Holy Sepulcher. All these sacred places for Christianity are inside the church.
Story written in Spanish by Miguel Fernandez in Cultura Colectiva News
