Church of Holy Sepulchre

        This Church commemorates the end of Jesus’ life. According to the Life of Constantine, by the early Church historian Eusebius, Constantine ordered the bishop of Jerusalem to excavate and rebuild the Church since a Temple to Venus had previously been built over it. Thus the bishop, Saint Macarius, rebuilt the church between 325-6. This new church was built around the site of Christ’s crucifixion and consisted of three connected structures: the basilica (also referred to as the Martyrium), an atrium built over the Rock of Calvary or Golgotha, where Christ was supposedly crucified (the atrium is also known as the Triportico), and finally the rotunda (referred to as Anastasisà “resurrection”).[5] Constantine’s mother (who assisted in directing the building) and Macarius built this rotunda at the cave that they deemed Christ to have been buried in. This tomb became known as the Edicule.

(pictures taken from www.bibleplaces.com)

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