Before starting the topic of the Stone of Anointing in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, let's turn to the Gospel words spoken by the Creator of the entire universe.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you! Before the crucifixion, Jesus so sighed about this city! More than once he wanted to gather his children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings. But they didn't want to do it. Therefore, the Lord left their house empty until they exclaimed: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!".
Jerusalem
His voice was the voice of compassion, mercy and great love for people. This is exactly what St. John Chrysostom noted in his interpretation of the Gospel. As if in front of a woman who was loved so much and who bestowed contempt on the one who loved her. And for that she will be punished. This is how the Lord grieved for people who refused help. With these words, he predicted the terrible punishment of God, which befell Jerusalem in the year 70. Then the Romans devastated and destroyed the city.
Stone of Anointing in the Church of the SepulcherLord
The city of Jerusalem is located on the plateau of the Judean Mountains, on the watershed between the Dead and Mediterranean Seas. This city has become sacred to such major religions as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
As it is said in the Bible, somewhere in the year 1000 before the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, King David, who led the Jews, conquered the city from the Jebusites. He built his fortress here, which they began to call the "City of David." The ruler proclaimed this city the capital of the kingdom of Israel, where the greatest shrine of the Jews, the Ark of the Covenant, began to be kept. Thus, David created a city where religious belief was fully represented with the shrines of all the twelve tribes of Israel.
Stone of Anointing. Jerusalem. Temple
The very history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher begins with the reign of Emperor Constantine and Queen Helena. The construction of the temple was entrusted to two architects - Evstakh and Zinovy.
It consisted of three parts: Anastasis, presented in the form of a rotunda, the Garden of Joseph of Arimathea and Golgotha. Here you can also see the basilica of five naves, which are elongated rectangular structures. In 335, on September 14, the new temple was solemnly consecrated in the presence of the emperor himself.
Building a new temple
The temple stood beautiful and majestic until the Persians captured the city in 614. Emperor Roman began to restore the shrine in 1031. But three years later, a strong earthquake destroyed the building.
Then in 1048 the restoration of the temple begins the Emperor Constantine. But soon the crusaders undertake to rebuild it. Such a story has come down to our days.
Today a huge number of pilgrims and tourists come to Israel. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in our time is a huge architectural structure with a dome, under which is Kuvuklia, Katolikon (the patriarchal cathedral Church of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church), then comes the underground Church of the Finding of the Life-Giving Cross, then the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena and a few more limits.
Description and major relics
Here you can see the most holy relics of the world and touch the most ancient values that have become mute witnesses of those great events that tell about the life of Jesus Christ.
The Stone of Anointing in the Church of the Sepulcher is presented in the form of a slab on which the bloodied and tormented body of the Savior was laid.
Followers of the teachings of Christ Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, having removed the body of Jesus from the cross, put Him first on a stone slab, in order to then perform the rite of chrismation. And only then he was transferred to the tomb, which Joseph had prepared for himself. This man was a secret disciple of the Lord, a rich and distinguished member of the Sanhedrin.
Joseph and Nicodemus
Kind and truthful, he was not afraid to ask Pilate to take the body of the crucified Nazarene. Having received permission, he removed the Lord from the cross. Wrapping it in a shroud and carrying out the funeral rite laid down by the Jews, he transferred the bodySavior in a coffin carved in the rock, and rolled a stone to it. The whole world knows this shroud under the name of Turin. The biblical prophecy of Isaiah says: “He was assigned a tomb with evildoers, but He was buried by a rich man.”
The Gospel says that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloe to anoint the body of the Savior.
Description of the shrine
As mentioned above, the Anointing Stone is located in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher right in front of the entrance. It was specially covered on top with a smoothly polished marble slab 30 cm thick. The original pink limestone stone is stored under the slab. Its size is 2.7 m long and 1.3 m wide. On the sides of the panels on a marble board, the text of the troparion to Righteous Joseph is carved in Greek. Behind the stone, you can see a colorful stylized Byzantine-style mosaic pano depicting the removal from the cross, the anointing of the body with incense and the process of burial of the Savior. With the blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Diodorus of Jerusalem, a wall was erected between confessional allotments.
Religious denominations owning the stone
In general, there are six denominations in the temple of the Lord. They are the owners of its premises and relics located on their territory. All this has already been stipulated and agreed in advance in the ancient statutes. The Stone of Confirmation in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is considered the property of four churches at once. And each has its own special items near the stone. The Greek Church owns four lamps above the stone. Armenian own two lampadas. Catholic and Coptic - one.
This sacredthe relic was covered with black marble and was the property of Catholics from the Order of St. Francis of Assisi. This fact was confirmed by the drawing on it - two crossed hands.
Healing properties
In some amazing divine way, this stone has miraculous powers.
Pilgrims from all over the world go to the stone of Confirmation in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, who consider it their first duty. Here they atone for sins and receive blessings. Consecration on the stone occurs naturally, even without the help of priests. The Anointing Stone is myrrh-streaming.
New Jerusalem
It is also worth noting that there is also a stone of anointing in the New Jerusalem Monastery, which is located in the Moscow region, in the city of Istra. On the territory of this monastery is the Resurrection Cathedral, which was built in 1658-1685. The idea was this: to create a copy of the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher. However, it turned out, one might say, a new artistic transformation. This temple was built according to special dimensions, which were brought from Jerusalem. The first stage of construction was controlled by Patriarch Nikon himself. He selected craftsmen from his patriarchal court. But then lawyers took up arms against Nikon and sent him into exile.
In 1679, by decree of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, grandiose construction continued further.
Today we can see how the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher is connected by the “Royal Arch”. In the center is the chapel of Kuvukliya, which means “bedchamber”. FromHeavenly Fire descends on her at Easter. It consists of the cave of the Holy Sepulcher and the chapel of the Angel. This Jerusalem prototype is similar to the original wooden tent. Later, the rotunda above Kuvuklia was made of brick, which could not bear its weight and collapsed in 1723. Thank God, no one was hurt, since all the people were at the Ascension Feast near the Olivet Chapel. Then there was a fire. About 10 years later, under the leadership of Rastrelli, everything was rebuilt in the Baroque style with wooden tile decorations.
Parting words
People all over the world should always remember that in His infinite mercy the Lord is trying to save us all. All that remains for us is the main thing - to truly believe and accept the call of the Lord to salvation. He will always help those who by all means want to live according to His commandments, repent and pray. Only in this way can we reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
