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1The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem |
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Key: 1 Greek Chapel of St Longinus. 2 Armenian Chapel of the Division of the Robes. 3 Greek Chapel of the Derision of Christ. |
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| The Catholicon. The Greek Orthodox Catholicon was originally the choir of the twelfth-century Crusader church. It houses the main altar of the present day church. At the east end is the iconostasis, with the Greek orthodox sanctuary behind it. Before that, on opposite sides, are the thrones of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Antioch. Above the Catholicon is the second dome of the church, recently and quite splendidly restored with the Christ Pantocrator mosaic. Christ is surrounded by bishops and saints of Jerusalem. Below the dome is the omphalos, which traditionally marks the centre of the World, though inevitably other faiths would question this. |
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| Arches of the Virgin To the north of the Catholicon is the area of the Ambulatory that contains what are known as the Arches of the Virgin. These five columns formed part of the transept of the Crusader church. They are named in commemoration of the (apocryphal) visits of the Virgin Mary to the tomb of Christ. |
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Prison of Christ At the east end of this part of the ambulatory is the Prison of Christ. An unreliable legend records that Christ was imprisoned here for a short time before the crucifixion. |
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Three chapels complete the ambulatory around the sanctuary. Greek Chapel of St Longinus A figure around whom many legends have grown. He is the Roman soldier who pierced Christ with the spear, though he is not named in the bible. One story tells us that he was blind - something of a handicap for a soldier - and Christ's blood restored his sight, converting him on the spot. |
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Armenian chapel of the Division of the Robes. This chapel recalls the account in the synoptic gospels of Roman soldiers dividing Christ's clothes between them. |
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| Greek Chapel of the
Derision of Christ. Under the altar of this chapel is a fragment of a column, said to have been where Christ sat when the Crown of Thorns was placed on his head. |
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| Between the Chapels of the Division of the Robes and the Derision of Christ there are stairs heading downwards - on to the next page to follow them down. |
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