The Ilolij Sepulchre, 
church of the Holy Sepulchre is composed 
of three churches; that of the Holy Se¬ 
pulchre, properly so called ; that of Cal¬ 
vary ; and the church of the Discovery 
of the Holy Cross. 
The first is built in the valley at the 
foot of Calvary, on ^he spot where it is 
known that the body of Christ was de¬ 
posited. This churcli is in the (brm of 
a cross, the chapel of the Holy Sepul¬ 
chre, constituting in fact the nave of the 
edifice. It is circular, like the Pantheon 
at Rome, and is lighted only by a dome, 
bei»eath which is the sepulchre. Sixteen 
marble columns adorn the circumference 
of this rotunda: they are connected by 
seventeen arches, and support an upper 
gallery, likewise composed of sixteen 
columns and seventeen arches, of smaller 
dimensions than those of the lower range. 
Niches corresponding with the arches 
appear above tim frieze of the second 
gallery, and the dome springs from the 
arch of thes'e niches. The latter were 
fortnerly decorated with mosaics, repre¬ 
senting the twelve apostles, St, Helena, 
the emperor Constantine, and three other 
portraits unknown. 
The choir of the church of the Holy 
Sepulchre is to the east of the nave of the 
tomb : it is double, as in the ancient ca¬ 
thedrals ; that is to say, it has first a place 
with stalls for the priests, and beyond that 
a sanctuary raised two steps above it. 
Round this double sanctuary run the aisles 
of the choir, and in these aisles are situ¬ 
ated the chapels. 
It is likewise in the aisle on the right, 
behind the choir, that we find the two 
flights of steps leading, the one to the 
church of Calvary, the other to the 
church of the Discovery of the Holy 
Cross. The first ascends to the top of 
Calvary, the second conducts you down 
underneath it: for the cross was erected 
on the summit of Golgotha, and found 
again under that hill. To sum up then 
what we have already said, the church of 
the Holy Sepulchre is built at the foot 
of Calvary, its eastern part adjoins that 
eminence, beneath and upon which have 
been constructed twm other churches, 
connected by wails and vaulted staircases 
with the principal edifice. 
The origin of the church of the Holy 
Sepulchre is of high antiquity. The au¬ 
thor of the Epitome of the Holy Wars 
fEpitome Bellorum sacrorum) asserts., 
that forty-six years after the destruction 
of Jenirsalem by Vespasian and Titus, 
the Christians obtained permission of 
to btiildj or rather to rebuild^ a 
church over the tomb of ibeir God, and 
to enclose, in the new city, the otiier 
places venerated by the Christians. This 
church, he adds, was enlarged and re¬ 
paired by Helena, the mother of Con¬ 
stantine, Quaresinius contests jhis opi¬ 
nion, “ because,'’ says he, “ the be¬ 
lievers were not allowed till the reign of 
Constantine to erect such churches.” 
This learned monk forgets that, anterior 
tn the persecution by Dioclesian, the 
Christians possessed numerous churches, 
and publicly celebrated the mysteries of 
tlieir Teiigiou. Lactantiug and Eusebius 
boast of tlie opulence and prosperity of 
the believers at this pei iod. 
Tliis churcti was ravaged by Cosmos 
II. king of Persia, about three hundived 
years after its election by Constantine. 
Heraclius recovered the genuine Cross; 
and Modestus, bishop of Jerusalem, re¬ 
built the church of the Holy Sepulchre. 
Some time afterwmids, the cliaiifOmar 
made himself master of Jerusalem, but 
he allowed tlie Christians the free exer¬ 
cise of their religion. About the year 
1009, Hequem, or Hakein, who then 
reigned in Egypt, spread desolation 
around the tomb of Ciirist. 
The Crusaders, having gained posses¬ 
sion of Jerusalem the 15th of July, 1099, 
wrested the tomb of Christ from the 
hands of the Infidels. It remained 
eighty-eight years in the power of the 
successors of Godfrey of Bouillon. When 
Jerusalem again fell under tiie Mahome¬ 
tan yoke, the Syrians ransomed the 
chuich of the Holy Sepulchre with a 
considerable sum of money, and monks 
repaired to defend with their prayers a 
spot entrusted in vain to the arms of 
kings. Thus, amid a thousand revolu¬ 
tions, the piety of the early Christians 
preserved a church of which the present 
age was destined to witness the destruc¬ 
tion. 
Christian readers will perhaps inquire, 
what w'ere ihy feelings on entering this 
awful place. I really cannot tell. So 
many reflections ruslied at once upon my 
mind, that I was unable to dwell upon 
any paiticular idea. I continued near 
half an hour upon my knees in the little 
chamber of tlie Holy Sepulchre, with 
my eyes rivetted on the stone, from which 
I liad not the power to turn them. One 
of the two religious who accompanied 
me remained prostrate on the marble by 
my side, while the other, with the Testa¬ 
ment in his hand, read to me, by the light 
of the lamps, the passages reladng to the 
sacred touiba Between each verse lie 
re'jteated 
