| | The Church's entrance is not impressive. It's old and run down ... |
| | | ... and is constantly in the process of being repaired. |
| | | Signs of neglect, and of division within the Christian community, can be seen. |
|
| | But, still, the sense of antiquity and of faith is powerful here. |
| | | Upon entering, one turns to the the right and ascends a steep flight of steps .. |
| | | ... that takes one up a narrow passage to the top of Golgotha -- Calvary. |
|
| | Totally encased in the marble and stone of the church now, it no longer looks... |
| | | ... as it did, and the Orthodox Christians have built a shrine with altars... |
| | | ... and candles and icons all around. It doesn't look like the top of a hil... |
|
| | ... due to the "shrineifications" all over the place ... |
| | | ... some of which are lovely, and some of which are somewhat tacky. |
| |
| | However ... if one looks down through the class case on either side of the altar |
| | | one can see the top of the Golgotha stone, on which the cross was erected. |
| | | Coming down from the Calvary Chapel atop Golgotha, one finds a huge painting ... |
|
| | ... depicting the site of Jesus being taken down from the cross and prepared ... |
| | | ... for his burial in Joseph of Arimathea's Tomb. This is right in front of ... |
| | | ... the slab of rock upon which Jesus' body was supposedly cleaned and ... |
|
| | ... anointed and prepared for his burial. It is the 13th Station of the Cross. |
| | | To the right of this stone is a chapel, directly under Golgotha and the ... |
| | | ... site of the crucifixion, dedicated to Adam. The "Adam Chapel." |
|
| | Deep under the Church, deep underground, is the Saint Helena Chapel, where .... |
| | | ... Constantine's mom discovered the "titulus" -- part of the true cross. |
| | | The Greek Orthodox Catholicum, with the lovely dome and depiction of Christ. |
|
| | The Iconostasis and High Altar of the Greek Orthodox Chapel. |
| | | The Edicule of the Holy Sepulcher. This church was built around the raw ... |
| | | ... rock of the tomb. The Surrounding rock and hillside was cut away and ... |
|
| | ... the tomb itself was encased in this free-standing structure by the 300s AD. |
| | | Hence, the tomb site no longer looks as it did in Jesus day. It is entirely ... |
| | | ... "shrinified." This is true both outside and inside. Nevertheless, with ... |
|
| | ... one's imagination one can see that there was once a cliff face and a tomb. |
| | | The shrine to the stone that once closed the door, found in the outer chamber. |
| |
