The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a major pilgrimage site in Christianity, located within the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church contains, according to traditions dating back to the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus was crucified, known as Calvary or Golgotha, and Jesus’s empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected. Today, the church is the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and is also home to several other Christian denominations.

Name and Address

• Name: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Address: Christian Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem.

How to Get There

The church is located within the ancient walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and is best reached on foot.

• By Foot: The most common way to reach the church is by walking through the historic, narrow streets of the Old City. The main entrances to the Old City are Jaffa Gate, Damascus Gate, and the New Gate. From any of these gates, it is a 10-15 minute walk through the winding alleys of the Christian and Muslim Quarters.
• Visitor Tip: The Old City can be a maze. It’s a good idea to use a map or a navigation app, but getting lost and discovering the ancient alleyways is part of the experience. The church can be extremely crowded with pilgrims and tour groups, so visiting early in the morning is recommended for a more peaceful experience.

Landscape and Architecture

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not a single, cohesive building but a sprawling, complex structure that has been built, destroyed, and rebuilt over centuries.

• A Church Within a Church: The current structure is a composite of different historical periods, primarily from the Byzantine, Crusader, and 19th-century eras. The architecture is a fascinating, jumbled mix of styles, with massive Crusader-era walls, ancient chapels, and grand domes.
• The Rotunda and Aedicule: At the heart of the church is a large rotunda, under which stands the Aedicule. The Aedicule is a small, ornate chapel built directly over the traditional site of Jesus’s tomb. The current structure was rebuilt in 2017 after a major restoration. Inside, it contains two rooms: the Chapel of the Angel and, at its heart, the Tomb of Christ itself.
• The Calvary (Golgotha): Located up a steep flight of stairs to the right of the entrance, this is the traditional site of the crucifixion. It is a lavishly decorated chapel divided into two naves, one Greek Orthodox and one Catholic. A silver disc beneath the altar marks the spot where the Cross is believed to have stood.
• Shared Custody: The church is famously and complexly shared by six Christian denominations: the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Apostolic are the primary custodians, with the Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox also having rights. This is governed by a rigid 19th-century agreement called the “Status Quo.”

What Makes It Famous

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre’s fame rests on its profound significance as the site of the central events of the Christian faith.

• Site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection: Its overwhelming claim to fame is that it contains both the site of Jesus’s crucifixion (Golgotha) and his burial and resurrection (the Tomb). This makes it the most sacred and important pilgrimage destination for hundreds of millions of Christians worldwide.
• The End of the Via Dolorosa: The church is the final destination of the Via Dolorosa (“Way of Sorrows”), the traditional processional route that Jesus is believed to have followed on his way to the cross. The final five Stations of the Cross are located within the church itself.
• The Stone of Anointing: Just inside the entrance is the Stone of Anointing, a slab of reddish stone commemorating the spot where Jesus’s body was prepared for burial after being removed from the cross.
• A Living History: The church is a living museum of Christian history. Its complex layout, shared custody, and layers of architecture tell the story of two millennia of faith, conflict, and devotion.

Differences from Other Wonders

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre holds a unique and complex position among the world’s holy sites.

• Two Holiest Sites Under One Roof: It is unique in that it contains the two most sacred sites in Christianity—the location of both the death and resurrection of Jesus—within a single, interconnected complex. This is unlike the Church of the Nativity, which is focused solely on the singular event of Jesus’s birth.
• A Complex, Multi-denominational Space vs. a Singular Shrine: The shared and often tense custody among six different Christian denominations makes the church a microcosm of Christianity’s diverse history. This is very different from a site like St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which is the seat of a single denomination, or a Shinto shrine like Fushimi Inari-taisha, which represents one faith.
• A Chaotic, Lived-in Atmosphere: The church is not a pristine, perfectly preserved monument. It is a bustling, sometimes chaotic, and intensely used place of worship. The overlapping liturgies, the scent of incense, the flickering candles, and the crowds of emotional pilgrims create an atmosphere that is deeply authentic and powerfully spiritual, but very different from the serene order of many other major religious sites.
• Hidden and Enclosed vs. Grand and Dominant: Unlike many grand cathedrals that dominate their city’s skyline, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is almost hidden within the dense urban fabric of Jerusalem’s Old City. Its grandeur is revealed only once you step inside its ancient walls.