The church of the Holy Sepulcher, a view of which is given on the next
page, is very irregular, owing to the nature and situation of the places
which it was designed to comprehend. It is nearly in the form of a
cross, being one hundred and twenty paces in length, exclusive of the
descent to what is called the place of the discovery of the Holy Cross,
and seventy in breadth. It has three domes, of which that covering the
Holy Sepulcher serves for the nave of the church. It is thirty feet in
diameter, and is covered at the top like the rotunda at Rome. There is
not any cupola, the roof being supported by large rafters, brought from
Mount Lebanon. On entering the church, you come to the “stone of
unction,” on which tradition says the body of our Lord was anointed with
myrrh and aloes, before it was laid in the sepulcher. Some say, that it
is of the same rock as Mount Calvary; and others assert, that it was
brought to this place by Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples of Jesus
Christ, who performed this pious office, and that it is of a greenish
color. Be that as it may, on account of the indiscretion of certain
pilgrims, who broke off pieces, it was found necessary to cover it with
white marble, and to surround it with an iron railing, lest people
should walk over it. This stone is eight feet, wanting three inches, in
length, and two feet, wanting one inch, in breadth: and above it, eight
lamps are kept continually burning.
[Illustration: CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER.]
The Holy Sepulcher, as it is called, is thirty paces from this stone,
exactly in the center of the great dome: it resembles a small closet,
hewn out of the solid rock. The entrance, which faces the east, is only
four feet high, and two feet and a quarter broad. The interior of the
sepulcher is nearly square. It is six feet, wanting an inch, in length,
and six feet, wanting two inches, in breadth, and from the floor to the
roof, eight feet and one inch. There is a solid block of the same stone,
which was left in excavating the other part: this is two feet, four
inches and a half high, and occupies half of the sepulcher, for it is
six feet, wanting one inch, in length, and two feet and five-sixths
wide. On this table, tradition says, the body of our Lord was laid, with
the head toward the west, and the feet to the east; but, on account of
the superstitious devotion of the Orientals, who imagine that, if they
leave their hair upon this stone, God will never forsake them, and also,
because the pilgrims broke off pieces, it has received a covering of
white marble, on which mass is now celebrated. Forty-four lamps are
constantly burning in this sacred place, and three holes have been made
in the roof for the emission of the smoke. The exterior of the sepulcher
is also faced with slabs of marble, and adorned with several columns,
having a dome above.
The Holy Sepulcher is composed of three churches: that of the Holy
Sepulcher, properly so called; that of Calvary; and the church of the
Discovery of the Holy Cross. The first is built in the valley at the
foot of Calvary, on the spot where tradition reports that the body of
Christ was deposited. This church was in the form of a cross, the chapel
of the Holy Sepulcher constituting, in fact, the nave of the edifice. It
is circular, like the Pantheon at Rome, and is lighted only by a dome,
beneath which is the sepulcher. Sixteen marble columns adorn the
circumference of this rotunda: they are connected by seventeen arches,
and support an upper gallery, likewise composed of sixteen columns and
seventeen arches, of smaller dimensions than those of the lower range.
Niches, corresponding with the arches, appear above the frieze of the
second gallery, and the dome springs from the arch of these niches.
The origin of the church of the Holy Sepulcher is of high antiquity. The
author of the “Epitome of the Holy War” asserts, that forty-six years
after the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus, the
Christians obtained permission of Adrian to build, or rather rebuild, a
church over the tomb of their Lord, and to inclose, in the new city, the
other places venerated by the Christians. This church, he adds, was
greatly enlarged and repaired by Helena, the mother of Constantine.