The Church of Resurrection or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Church of Resurrection has a significant importance amongst the Christians as they visit the church annually; this is because the tomb of the Christ is there as they believe the Christ was buried there after he had been crucified, later, he was resurrected from there. The church also contains the tomb of Joseph (the herdsman) and his family, in addition to other tombs which include the remains of some Crusade’s leaders.

The Church of Resurrection is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, and it is surrounded by so many historic buildings which are dated back to different ages.

Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine I, was the one who initially built the Church of Resurrection. This was in 335 CE.

The fourth Church Council which was held in Chalcedon in 451 CE declared the accreditation of Jerusalem Patriarchate to be the fourth Eastern Apostolic Patriarchate, in addition to Rome Patriarchate.

In the church, there are a Catholic Monastery, Orthodox Monastery, a third Monastery for the Latin Sect, and a fourth one for the Armenians. As for the Copts, they have a Monastery and the Church of Saint Anthony which are located outside the Church of Resurrection.

When the Muslim leader Saladin Al-Ayyubi freed Jerusalem from the Crusades in 1187 CE, he protected and preserved the Church of Resurrection; he also respected its religious significance. After some arguments which had taken place among the Christian families on who to hold the keys of the church, he proposed to let the keys with a Muslim family which would be responsible for them; all families agreed and accepted his suggestion. Therefore, two Muslim families have become responsible for the church; Nusybah family which have become in charge of opening and closing the doors of the church every morning and evening; the other family is Judeh Al-Husaini which holds and keeps the keys. Thus, this church represents a unique example of peaceful coexistence which has taken place between the Christians and the Muslims in Palestine for ages.