Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Golgotha and the Tomb of Jesus

Golgotha and the tomb under one roof

Christians believe this church encloses both Calvary, also called Golgotha, the rock where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb of Jesus, where he was buried and rose from the dead. That pairing is unusual. Elsewhere in and around Jerusalem other candidates exist, most famously the Garden Tomb outside Damascus Gate, which some Protestant Christians venerate instead. Archaeologists are in general agreement that the church marks the possible location, and finds on the site are consistent with details in early sources including the Gospel of John.

The original Greek name was the Church of the Anastasis, the Church of the Resurrection. Pilgrims have come here since the fourth century and it remains the holiest site in Christianity.

A church shared between denominations

The building is simultaneously the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Catholic Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Since the crusader era the church has been governed by an understanding known as the Status Quo, which fixes the rights of each community over every chapel, lamp and doorway.

The practical result for a visitor is a building of layered styles and competing ceremonies. Franciscan, Orthodox and Armenian processions can follow one another in the same nave, and the Daily Franciscan procession takes place at 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter.

From the doorway to Golgotha

The main entrance opens into the Stone of Unction, the slab by the door where, by tradition, the body of Jesus was anointed. Pilgrims stop here first, and many touch the stone or lay objects on it.

Turn right and climb the steep stairs at the entrance to Golgotha, the rock of the crucifixion. The Chapel of the Crucifixion is divided between Greek Orthodox and Catholic use, and under the altar a silver disc marks the traditional spot of the cross. This is the twelfth station of the cross, and the last four stations of the Via Dolorosa all lie inside the church.

The rotunda and the Aedicule

From Golgotha come down into the great rotunda under the dome. In the centre stands the Aedicule, a 19th-century marble shrine that encloses the cave of the tomb of Jesus. A narrow entrance leads into a small chamber, and the queue to enter can take an hour or more at busy times.

Round out the visit with the side chapels: the Franciscan area at the foot of Golgotha, the Orthodox chapels behind the rotunda and the remains of earlier churches visible in the walls. If you have walked the Via Dolorosa from the Lions' Gate, you arrive at all of this from Station IX and the church is the route's final chapter.

Opening hours by season

Summer hours are 05:00 to 20:45. In October the church closes at 20:00. Winter hours run 04:00 to 19:00, and in March closing is at 19:30. The church is open every day, but special closing hours apply on Catholic and Orthodox Good Friday and Orthodox Holy Saturday.

The Daily Franciscan procession is at 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter. It is worth seeing, but the rotunda is busiest just before and during it.

Dress and quiet times

There is no ticket and no formal dress code posted at the door, but this is an active place of worship, so cover shoulders and knees as you would at any Jerusalem holy site. Speak quietly and keep phones silenced, especially in the chapels where services are under way.

For quiet, come at opening, 05:00 in summer and 04:00 in winter, or in the last hour before closing. Mid-morning to mid-afternoon brings the cruise groups and the long queue for the tomb, our estimate. Conditions change through the year, so check your own government's travel advice as well as local listings before you travel.

On foot through the Old City

Most visitors enter the Old City at Jaffa Gate. From there the walk through the Armenian and Christian Quarters to the church takes about ten minutes, our estimate, mostly along a covered souk. You can also come down from Damascus Gate through the Muslim Quarter along the Via Dolorosa, which drops you at the church by its last stations.

For public transport, the light rail's L1 line stops near Damascus Gate, from where the walk into the Quarter is about ten minutes, our estimate. Remember that public transport stops for Shabbat from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall, while the churches of the Old City stay open throughout.

• From Jaffa Gate: about 10 minutes on foot, our estimate, following the souk signs to the Holy Sepulchre.
• From Damascus Gate: about 10 minutes, our estimate, down the Via Dolorosa.
• From the Western Wall: about 15 minutes, our estimate, up through the Jewish and Christian Quarters.

With a tour

The walking tours meet at Jaffa Gate and reach the church as part of a wider Old City route, so you arrive with the story of the stations already told. The coach tours drop you closer to the walls and walk in from there.

If you are coming from outside the city, trains from Tel Aviv arrive at Yitzhak Navon station next to the Central Bus Station, about 35 to 45 minutes away, and the light rail connects toward Damascus Gate. Our getting around Jerusalem guide covers the details.

Three routings

The right plan depends on how much of the city you want to see around it. A short visit works because the church is free and central. A longer one rewards you with the Via Dolorosa approach and the viewpoint from the walls.

Pairing it with the rest of Jerusalem

If the church is one stop of many, the half-day tour that pairs it with the Western Wall is the efficient choice, and it frees your afternoon. If you have a full day, add the Mount of Olives in the morning so you descend toward the Old City rather than climbing it.

Our Jerusalem itinerary pages show how the church fits into one, two and three day plans, and things to do in Jerusalem lists everything else within walking distance.

The list

Keep these in mind as you walk the church, they explain its oddities, from the ladder by a window to the competing candles.

• The church is simultaneously the seat of three patriarchates, the Armenian, the Greek Orthodox and the Catholic Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Wikipedia
• The last four stations of the Via Dolorosa are inside the church itself, so the Way of the Cross ends at Golgotha and the tomb. Wikipedia
• Emperor Hadrian covered the tomb and built a Temple of Aphrodite over it around 135 AD, which is part of how the site was relocated by Constantine around 325 AD. Wikipedia
• The original name was the Church of the Anastasis, the Church of the Resurrection, which is why the building is as much about the empty tomb as the crucifixion. Wikipedia
• An alternative tomb exists about 600 metres away: the Garden Tomb outside Damascus Gate, venerated by some Protestant Christians, though archaeologists date its hewing centuries earlier than the first century. Wikipedia