Continuing our virtual pilgrimage of Holy Land through photos I took when I visited there in May last year, I'd like to share with you my photos of the holiest shrine in Christendom: the Church of the Resurrection in the Old City in Jerusalem, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which houses the edicule or shrine of the Tomb of Christ.
Christians from around the world travel there to offer their prayers and feel the eternal presence of the Risen Christ.
As always, I hope these photos inspire you enough to make your own pilgrimage.
Brother Simeon Davis, iconographer
When you enter the Church of the Resurrection you'll see a wide mosaic that spans the width of the entrance area of the church, directly behind the Stone of Anointing.
An intricately carved altar and cross in the Armenian section of the Church of the Resurrection, in the upper area opposite the Shrine of Golgotha.
The Armenian Shrine of "the Fainting," which is located opposite the Shrine of Golgotha, where the Virgin Mary stood with Saint John and the holy women, fainting when she beheld the suffering of Jesus on the Cross.
Among the many side altars and shrines in the Church is this small altar which houses the remainder of the stone pillar to which Christ was bound while He was scourged.
The Holy Sepulchre – the shrine building at the heart of the Church of the Resurrection, which houses the tomb of Christ, from which He arose. Looking inside the doorway you can see a small white marble altar, on the top of which is the remaining part of the stone which the angel rolled away from the entrance of the tomb.
The Church of the Resurrection is almost always swarming with pilgrims, whose central interest is usually the Holy Tomb.
The dome of the Church of the Resurrection, as seen when you stand immediately before the Holy Sepulchre itself and look heavenward. Rather than an icon of Christ or another holy image, the Christian groups who share the Church agreed on a design that represents the Divine Light.
Inside the Holy Sepulchre, the small dark room in which thousands of pilgrims come to kneel each day, venerating the stone cover beneath which lies the stone from which Jesus rose from the dead. The embroidered cloth proclaims "Christ is Risen!"
Sunday Liturgy at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is directly opposite the Holy Tomb itself. Bishop Hesychius presides over the service seated on his episcopal throne. A huge church, in the grand Byzantine style.
Also, see the photos from the Holy Land Pilgrimage Part 1.
