Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Since the brutal attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, the arrival of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and especially to Jerusalem, has dropped substantially. This is why I have decided to visit the Tomb of Jesus at the church of the holy sepulchre, which is almost empty, and to bring you some amazing footage.
Golgotha
As I climbed to Golgotha, several pilgrims stood before the Cross of Jesus. This is where the true cross was while Jesus died on it. You can be bent beneath the altar, insert your hand inside the hole in the rock, and connect to that moment in history when Jesus redeemed us.
This is where the 12th station of the Via Dolorosa. As you move aside, there is a place to light candles. See these pilgrims as they light their candles and pray to god.
Stone on Anointing
As we step down from Golgotha, we can see from above the stone of anointing where they laid the body of Jesus after taking it from the cross as preparing Jesus’ body for burial.
Pilgrims who visit the church of the Holy Sepulchre pray here while teaching the stone of anointing and even place items they have bought here in Jerusalem to make them blessed. You can see a couple putting a baby on this stone.
The Tomb of Jesus
My last stop today is at the Tomb of Jesus inside the Edicule that shelters the holy sepulchre.
On regular days, you must stand in line for an hour and sometimes, even more, to enter the sepulchre chamber for only a couple of seconds.
Since there are almost no flights to Israel, pilgrims can not travel, and the church of the Holy Sepulchre is almost empty, I was able to be right next to the tomb of Jesus for more than 15 minutes.
The first chamber is the Angel chamber, where you can see a fragment of a rock on which the angel stood as he announced Christ’s resurrection to the myrrh-bearing women.
From here, I entered the Sepulchre chamber, where the tomb of Jesus is. As you can see, people are praying at the tomb of Jesus. It is the most spiritual thing someone can expect to do in life.
That is for today, and until we meet in our next video, let’s live the Jerusalem Experience!
