Visiting Golgotha

According to tradition, Golgotha – the “place of the skull” in Hebrew – is the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in the heart of the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, now marks this location. It is an important landmark in the history of Jesus in Jerusalem, as well as in Jerusalem history itself.

As early as 40 years after Jesus’s death, Christians were coming to this site to worship. In his efforts to suppress all other religions other than the pagan Roman one, the Emperor Hadrian built a temple to Aphrodite over the site.

The Roman temple was razed by the Emperor Constantine, who decided to build a church here after his mother, Helena, identified the location as Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion. Constantine’s church stood for almost 700 years, until it was destroyed by the incoming Muslims. This event sparked the First Crusade, and led the Crusaders to conquer Jerusalem and rebuild the church.

The church’s turbulent history is evident in its architecture, which is a mixture of Byzantine, medieval and 12th-century elements from the Crusaders.

Different religious sects have fought for centuries over control of this most revered of all Christian sites. Today, a strict status quo governs what parts of the sprawling building belong to what faction, and when prayers services may be held.

Within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is Golgotha itself, as well as the place where Jesus’s body was anointed and prepared for burial, and the cave where he was laid to rest. In addition, you’ll also find a cave where Christians believe Adam is buried, the tomb of Philip d’Aubigne, signer of the Magna Carta, and, on the roof of the church, an Ethiopian Copt village. There is also some of the most significant artwork in Israel to see here, and many colorful legends to be heard. In fact, there’s so much here, it’s best to have a guide or a good guide book to get the most out of a visit.

While most Christian denominations accept that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built over Golgotha, some Protestant denominations believe that Golgotha is actually a rocky outcrop outside the Old City walls. Not far from the Damascus Gate is what is now known as the Garden Tomb.

The suggestion that this was the true Golgotha was first popularized by Maj.- Gen. Charles George Gordon in the late 1800s, after he noticed that the rocky cliff resembled a skull from afar. Moreover, several tombs were found in the vicinity. The same idea had already been put forth by several other visitors to Jerusalem.

Although archaeologists believe those tombs to date from the 8th century, the Garden Tomb has become a popular pilgrimage site for Protestant Christians. Meanwhile, Catholics, Greek Orthodox and other sects hold fast to the tradition that Golgotha lies within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.