Constantine the Great

Church of the Holy Sepulchre built
Church of the Holy Sepulchre built ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
326 Jan 1

Church of the Holy Sepulchre built

Church of the Holy Sepulchre,

After allegedly seeing a vision of a cross in the sky in 312, Constantine the Great converted to Christianity, signed the Edict of Milan legalising the religion, and sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem to look for Christ's tomb. With the help of Bishop of Caesarea Eusebius and Bishop of Jerusalem Macarius, three crosses were found near a tomb, leading the Romans to believe that they had found Calvary. Constantine ordered in about 326 that the temple to Jupiter/Venus be replaced by a church. After the temple was torn down and its ruins removed, the soil was removed from the cave, revealing a rock-cut tomb that Helena and Macarius identified as the burial site of Jesus. A shrine was built, enclosing the rock tomb walls within its own.

Last Updated: Mon Aug 22 2022

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