Jerusalem's temples. Jerusalem, the Church of the Holly Sepulcher: History and Photos

Jerusalem is a city of contrasts. In Israel, there are permanent military actions between Muslims and Jews, at the same time, Jews, Arabs, Armenians and others live peacefully in this sacred place.

The Jerusalem temples bear the memory of several millennia. The walls remember the decrees of Cyrus the Great and Darius I, the Maccabean uprising and the reign of Solomon, the expulsion of merchants from the temple by Jesus.

Read on, and you will learn a lot of interesting from the history of the temples in the most holy city of the planet.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem's temples impress the imagination of pilgrims for more than one thousand years. This city is truly considered to be the most sacred on earth, since here believers of the three religions aspire.

The temples of Jerusalem, whose photos will be given below, refer to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Today, tourists are eager for the Western Wall, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, as well as the Church of the Ascension and the Church of Our Lady.

In the Christian world, Jerusalem is also famous. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the photo will be shown at the end of the article) is considered not only the place of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. This shrine also indirectly became one of the reasons for the beginning of the whole era of the Crusades.

Old and New Town

To date, there is the New Jerusalem and the Old. Speaking of the first, it is a modern city with wide streets and high-rise buildings. It has a railway, the newest shopping complexes and lots of entertainment.

The construction of new quarters and their settling by Jews began only in the nineteenth century. Before that, people lived within the modern Old Town. But the lack of space for construction, lack of water and other discomfort affected the expansion of the boundaries of the settlement. It is noteworthy that the first residents of new houses were paid money so that they moved from behind the city wall. But they nevertheless long enough for the night returned to the old quarters, because they believed that the wall would protect them from enemies.

The new city today is famous not only for innovations. It has many museums, monuments and other attractions that date back to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

However, from the point of view of history, the Old Town is more important. Here are the most ancient shrines and monuments, which belong to the three world religions.

The old city is part of modern Jerusalem, once behind the wall of the fortress. The district is divided into four quarters - Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim. Millions of pilgrims and tourists come here every year.

Some of Jerusalem's temples are considered holy places of the world. For Christians it is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, for Muslims there is the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for the Jews - the remains of the temple in the form of the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall).

Let's talk in more detail about the most popular Jerusalem shrines, which are revered throughout the world. Many millions of people turn to them in prayer. What are so famous for these temples?

The First Temple

No Jew could ever call the sanctuary "the temple of Yahweh." This was contrary to religious precepts. "The name of Gd can not be spoken," so the sanctuary was called "The Holy House," "The Palace of Adonay," or "The House of Elohim."

So, the first stone temple was erected in Israel after the unification of David and his son Solomon by many tribes. Before this, the sanctuary was in the form of a portable tent with the Ark of the Covenant. Small places of worship are mentioned in several cities, such as Bethlehem, Shechem, Givat Shaul and others.

The symbol of the unification of the Israeli people was the construction of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. The king chose this city for one reason - he was on the border of the possessions of the family of Jehudah and Benjamin. Jerusalem was considered the capital of the people of the Jebusites.

Therefore, at least from the Jews and Israelis, he should not have been plundered.

David purchased the mountain of Moriah (now known as the Temple) from Arawna. Here, instead of threshing floor, an altar was laid to God to stop the disease that struck the people. It is believed that it was in this place that Abraham intended to sacrifice his son. But the prophet Naftan urged David not to build the temple, but to assign this duty to the raised son.

Therefore, the First Temple was built during the reign of Solomon. It existed before the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

The Second Temple

Almost half a century later, the new Persian ruler Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to Palestine and restore the temple of King Solomon in Jerusalem.

The decree of Cyrus allowed not only to return the people from captivity, but also gave the trophy temple utensils, and also ordered to allocate funds for construction work. But after the arrival of the tribes to Jerusalem, after the construction of the altar, quarrels begin between the Israelites and the Samaritans. The latter were not allowed to build the temple.

Finally, the disputes were resolved only by those who came to replace Cyrus the Great Darius Gistaspom. He in writing confirmed all the decrees and personally ordered the completion of the construction of the sanctuary. Thus, exactly seventy years after the destruction, the main Jerusalem shrine was restored.

If the First Temple was called Solomon, then the new-born was called the Zerubavian. But over time, he decayed, and King Herod decides to reconstruct the mountain of Moria, so that the architectural ensemble would fit into the more luxurious city quarters.

Therefore, the existence of the Second Temple is divided into two stages - Zerubbabel and Herod. After surviving the Maccabean rebellion and the Roman conquest, the sanctuary acquired a somewhat shabby appearance. In 19 BC, Herod decides to leave a memory of himself in history on a par with Solomon and rebuilds the complex.

Especially for this, about a thousand priests were trained for several months in construction, since only they could get inside the temple. The very building of the sanctuary bore several Greco-Roman attributes, but especially the king did not insist on changing it. But the external buildings Herod completely created in the best traditions of Hellenes and Romans.

Only six years after the construction of the new complex was completed, it was destroyed. The beginning of the anti-Roman uprising gradually resulted in the First Jewish War. The emperor Titus destroyed the sanctuary as the main spiritual center of the Israelites.

The Third Temple

It is believed that the third temple in Jerusalem will mark the coming of the Messiah. There are several versions of the appearance of this shrine. All variations are based on the book of the prophet Ezekiel, which is also part of the Tanakh.

So, some believe that the Third Temple will miraculously arise overnight. Others argue that it must be erected, since the king showed the place, having built the First Temple.

The only thing that does not cause doubts among all the participants in the construction is the territory where this building will be. Ironically, both Jews and Christians see him in a place above the foundation stone, where today Kubat al-Sahra is located.

Moslem Shrines

Speaking about the Jerusalem temples, you can not focus exclusively on Judaism or Christianity. Here is also the third most important and the oldest in origin of the shrine of Islam. This is the al-Aqsa Mosque ("Remote"), which is often confused with the second Muslim architectural monument - Kubat al-Sahra ("Dome of the Rock"). It is the latter that has a large golden dome, which is visible for many kilometers.

Al-Aqsa is on the Temple Mount. It was built in 705 AD, by the order of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Faruk. The mosque was rebuilt several times, repaired, destroyed during the earthquake, served as the headquarters of the Knights Templar. Today this shrine can accommodate about five thousand believers.

It is important to remember that in al-Aqsa the dome is blue-gray and much smaller than that of the as-Sahra.

The Dome of the Rock admires its architecture. Not for nothing many tourists have easy stages of disorders due to visiting Jerusalem. This city is simply amazing with its beauty, antiquity and concentration of history.

Al-Sahra was built at the end of the seventh century by two architects on the orders of Caliph Abd al-Malik al-Mervan. In fact, it was erected a few years earlier than al-Aqsa, but it is not a mosque. In the architectural sense, this is the dome over the sacred "foundation stone", from which, it is believed, the creation of the world began and Muhammad ascended into heaven ("mirage").

Thus, in Jerusalem there is a whole complex of Islamic shrines on the Temple Mount. It is a city of contrasts, despite the tense situation in the region, just a few dozen meters from it the Jews pray near the Western Wall.

Temple of the Virgin

The Temple of the Theotokos in Jerusalem, which today is officially called the Monastery of the Assumption of Our Lady, has an interesting and chaotic history.

It was built in 415 under the bishop John II. It was the Byzantine basilica, which was called "Holy Zion." According to the testimony of John the Theologian, the Most Holy Mother of God lived and rested here. It is believed that the first sanctuary was erected on this site as part of the Last Supper and the indulgence of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles at Pentecost.

He was twice destroyed by the Persians (the seventh century) and Muslims (the thirteenth century). Restored the local residents, and then the crusaders. But the heyday of the monastery, which today is one of the abbeys, falls at the end of the nineteenth century.

After many centuries of Muslim rule over this territory, during the significant visit of Emperor Wilhelm II to Palestine, the Benedictine Order buys a plot of land for one hundred twenty thousand marks in gold from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul-Hamid II.

From this time, diligent construction begins here, which was developed by the German brothers from the Catholic order. The architect was Heinrich Renard. He planned to build a church, similar to the Carolingian Cathedral in Aachen. It is noteworthy that, based on the German tradition in construction, the master of the Assumption of the Virgin was the Byzantine and modern Muslim elements.

Today this sanctuary is in the possession of the German society of the Holy Land. Its president is the Cologne Archbishop.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem has many names and titles, but they all are one way or the other reflecting one thought. The shrine rises in the place where the Son of God was crucified. After that, he resurrected. In this temple there is an annual ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire.

The place where Jesus Christ suffered, was lost and risen, was always worshiped by believers. The memory of him was not lost after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and after several years of existence on this site of the temple of Venus, which was built under Adrian.

Only in 325 the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who during his lifetime was called Flavius Augustus (at Elena's baptism), and after the canonization was named Equal to the Apostles Elena, began the construction of a Christian church.

For a year the church was laid on this place. It was built next to the Bethlehem Basilica under the leadership of Makarii. During the works a whole complex of buildings was built - from the temple-mausoleum to the crypt. It is noteworthy that this monumental composition is mentioned on the famous Madaba map, which dates back to the fifth century.

The Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem was first consecrated during the reign of Constantine the Great in the personal presence of the emperor. Since 335 on this day celebrate a significant event - the Renovation of the Temple (September 26).

It is noteworthy that around 1009 the Caliph al-Hakim transmits ownership of the church to the Nestorians, partially destroying the structure. When rumors about the incident reached Western Europe, this was one of the main reasons for the beginning of the Crusades.
In the middle of the twelfth century, the Templars rebuilt the temple complex. The Romanesque style of the building can be seen today in the New Jerusalem Temple outside Moscow, which we'll talk about further.

In the sixteenth century, the earthquake significantly impaired the appearance of the shrine. The chapel has become a little lower, that is, the way it looks today. In addition, the destruction touched the cuckoo. The restoration of the buildings was carried out by Franciscan monks.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in our days

As we mentioned earlier, Jerusalem is the most popular place of pilgrimage in the Middle East. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (photo below) attracts millions of believers to church holidays. It is here that the Blessed Fire descends annually. Although this ceremony is broadcasted by most online channels, many prefer to see the miracle with their own eyes.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was a fire in the temple, and a part of Anastasis was burned, damages were touched and the kuvukliya. The premises were quickly restored, but after a century it became evident that the church needed restoration. The end of the first phase of work prevented the Second World War, so the final touches stretched right up to 2013.

For half a century, the whole complex, rotundas and domes were restored.

Today, the temple includes the place of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Golgotha), the chapel and the rotunda above it (here was the crypt where the body of the Son of God lay, until he was resurrected), as well as the temple of the finding of the Cross, Katholikon, the Church of Equal Apostles Elena and a number of chapels.

Today the church unites representatives of six confessions that share its territory and have their own hours of worship. These include the Ethiopian, Coptic, Catholic, Syrian, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches.

An interesting fact is the following. In order to avoid the ill-considered consequences of conflicts between different faiths, the key to the temple is in one Muslim family (Jude), and only a member of another Arab family (Nusaibe) has the right to open the door. This tradition was started as far back as 1192 and is still honored.

New Jerusalem Monastery

"New Jerusalem" has long been a dream of many rulers of the Moscow principality. Boris Godunov planned his erection in Moscow, but his project remained unfulfilled.

For the first time the church in New Jerusalem appears when he was a patriarch of Nikon. He founded a monastery in 1656, which was supposed to copy the entire complex of the holy sites of Palestine. Today the address of the temples is the following: the city of Istra, Sovetskaya Street, house 2.

Before the construction began on the site of the temple was located the village of Redkina and nearby forests. During the works, the hill was fortified, the trees were cut down, and all the topographical names were changed to evangelical. Now the hills of Olives, Zion and Tabor appeared. The river Istra was henceforth called the Jordan. Resurrection Cathedral, which was erected in the second half of the seventeenth century, repeats the composition of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

From the first thought of Patriarch Nikon and later this place enjoyed the special location of Alexei Mikhailovich. Sources say that it was he who first called the complex "New Jerusalem" when the latter was consecrated.

It housed a significant library collection, as well as pupils of the musical and poetic school. After the oppression of Nikon, the monastery comes to a certain decline. The affairs improved significantly after the coming to power of Fyodor Alekseevich, who was a pupil of the exiled patriarch.

Thus, today we visited a virtual tour of several of the most famous temple complexes in Jerusalem, and also visited the New Jerusalem Temple in the Moscow region.

Good luck, dear readers! Let your impressions be bright and the journeys interesting.