The exact burial place of the body of Jesus has been worrying the minds of Christians for several millennia. During this time, many erroneous versions were put forward, and a lot of archaeological excavations were carried out within the boundaries of Jerusalem, the purpose of which was the tomb of Jesus Christ. Despite the fact that at the moment the world scientific community is inclined in favor of the official version, according to which the burial is located in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, this has not yet been proven. Let's try to find out where is the tomb of Jesus Christ really?
The Holy Scripture: the source of information about the burial
For many people, the very understanding of the term "grave of Jesus Christ" is incomprehensible, because according to the Holy Scriptures, He ascended to heaven forty days after his earthly death at Golgotha. What then are pilgrims and archaeologists looking for for several centuries? What shrine are they talking about?
Onin fact, the tomb of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem is the place where, according to the text of the New Testament, Joseph of Arimothea and Nicodemus transferred the body of the Savior after the crucifixion. They wrapped him in a cloth soaked in incense and left him in a cave crypt, the entrance to which was blocked by a huge boulder.
It was from this cave that the body of Christ disappeared on the third day, and its location is described as a crypt in a garden near Golgotha outside the city.
Ancient Jewish burial traditions: how did it happen?
In search of the tomb of Christ, archaeologists studied many different burial places of the Jews and clearly understood how this rite took place in the times they were interested in. Each noble Jew had his own family crypt, where several generations of the same surname found peace. Traditionally, it was a cave where the dead were placed in hollowed-out niches. According to custom, they were placed on a stone bed with their feet to the east, which usually corresponded to the entrance to the cave. It is worth noting that most of the caves are man-made, they remained after the extraction of stone used to build cities. On the walls of such caves, clear traces of workers' tools are visible. This is how the grave of Jesus Christ should look like, which archaeologists and scientists from all over the world are still searching for without results. This find may become the most important and significant shrine of Christianity, which will serve as the clearest proof of the veracity of the text of the Bible.
Scientists did not in vain so scrupulously study the burial places of the Jews, because in this way it is possible to accurately determine the historicalconformity of the alleged tomb of Christ with the traditions of a certain time. For several centuries, a mass of graves was discovered, from which they made a sensation, announcing that they had found the very burial place of the Savior described in the New Testament. But after a cursory examination, it became clear that all this was a very crude fake, the so-called remake, created only to arouse public interest. It should be noted that the work of scientists is complicated by a large number of ancient crypts within Jerusalem, each of which can claim the title of a shrine.
Where is the tomb of Jesus Christ: options and assumptions
In the last century, interest in the tomb of Christ has increased markedly, this is associated with the development of technologies that can determine the age of certain objects with almost an accuracy of one year. Despite this, five found burials have been claiming the place of the main Christian shrine for many decades. Not all of them are located in Jerusalem, which is quite surprising for Christians. We will tell you about each of the alleged burials in as much detail as possible.
Cave of the Holy Family
Thirty-seven years ago, while building a house in Jerusalem, workers discovered a large crypt containing ten graves. On six of the tombstones were inscriptions with the names of the deceased. One of the women was named Mary Magdalene. The famous director James Cameron became interested in this burial, who gathered a group of professionals and began to study the burial. Having collected the necessary information, they came to the conclusion that the found crypt is the burial place of Jesus Christ and his family. But this version was not accepted by the official scientific community, although it was quite widespread in society.
True Golgotha
This place is known as the alternative tomb of Jesus Christ. It is worth noting that in many respects it corresponds to the descriptions given in the New Testament. The cave found in the first century after the birth of Christ was located just outside the walls of Jerusalem and was formed as a result of stone mining. At that time, it was surrounded by agricultural land and was located very close to Golgotha. The cave was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century by Charles Gordon, absolutely sure that he had uncovered the secret of the burial of Christ.
Grave in Japan
The Japanese village of Shingo has been attracting crowds of tourists for many years, because according to one version, it was here that Jesus Christ lived his life and was buried in this land after death.
No matter how incredible this version, but it has a right to exist. Indeed, at the beginning of the last century, ancient documents were found in Japan, according to which Christ was not crucified on Golgotha, but having fulfilled his mission, he came to Japan, where he had already been before. He married a local girl and lived happily to gray hair in these lands.
As evidence, the villagers cite the tradition of drawing a cross on the head of newborns with charcoal, and kimonos are quite often depictedStar of David.
India - the burial place of Christ
If you find yourself in India, you will surely be shown the tomb of Jesus Christ. Do not be surprised, but the Indians are sure that the Savior rests in the crypt of Rauza Bal. They can talk endlessly about this place.
Here we are sure that Christ was saved after Golgotha and came to India, taking a different name. Here he lived until old age and was buried in Rauza Bal. It is difficult to say how true this version is, but it has many defenders. The fact is that the crypt, contrary to Muslim traditions, is oriented to the east. This is fully consistent with Jewish rituals, in addition, there is an imprint of the wounded feet of a person buried here. They coincide with the description of the wounds of Christ received on the cross, in addition, they repeat the design on the Shroud of Turin.
Christian shrine in Jerusalem
This version is official and worthy of close study. It is in Jerusalem, in the Old City, that millions of pilgrims from all over the world come who want to get a little closer to the shrine. After all, it is believed that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built precisely over the cave where Christ was buried. His alleged grave has been covered with a marble slab for several hundred years. Recently, scientists opened the tomb of Jesus Christ to collect the necessary information that will help determine the authenticity of the burial and, finally, unravel this centuries-old secret.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher: a place of Christianpilgrimages
Today's temple, which is known to almost every Christian in the world, is actually far from the first building on this site. Historians claim that the Roman emperor Constantine, having adopted Christianity in 325, ordered the construction of a beautiful temple over the caves in order to perpetuate this place for centuries. For almost seven hundred years, the temple was completely destroyed and rebuilt several times, but the arrival of the Crusaders at the beginning of the second millennium to the lands of Palestine opened a new page in the history of the temple.
A hundred years later, a new church was erected on the ruins of ancient buildings, which stood until the nineteenth century, when it was almost completely destroyed by a terrible fire. Now at this place stands the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which belongs to absolutely all Christian movements. Each of the six denominations has its own part of the temple and a certain time for service.
A special structure, Kuvukliya, has been erected over the alleged burial place of the body of Jesus. And the niche itself is covered with a marble slab. This was done in order to preserve the shrine, because it is made of limestone, and pilgrims often took with them a piece of the Holy Sepulcher.
Despite the fact that the temple is considered a Christian shrine, scientists still cannot answer the question with certainty whether the temple is really built around the tomb of Jesus Christ. How to prove or disprove this fact?
In Search of Christ's Tomb: Exploring the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
At the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists conductedrestoration work in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and discovered the remains of ancient structures that fully coincide with the description of the structure of the first millennium AD. This once again stirred up interest in the burial place of Christ, and serious research work began in the temple.
One of the scientists, Martin Biddle, carefully examined the temple for several years and came to the conclusion that the alleged burial place of the body of Jesus may well be real. Several facts testify to this:
- during the life of Christ, this place was located outside of Jerusalem;
- extensive gardens were located very close to the cave and the temple;
- cave has characteristic tool marks;
- in addition to the alleged tomb of Jesus, there are numerous crypts with burials nearby (which means that a cemetery was located at this place);
- all signs of the burial fully coincide with the landmarks described in the New Testament.
Scientists have been saying for a very long time that the opening of the grave of Jesus Christ will help to obtain the missing information about the alleged burial. Indeed, literally since the sixteenth century, no one has seen the grave itself, covered with a huge marble slab. A deep crack crosses the entire length of the slab; there is an old legend about its appearance. It is believed that the Muslims wanted to take her to decorate the new mosque, but at the moment when they approached her, the slab cracked with a crash. This was taken as a sign, and those who came to the temple retreated. From now on about what can be uncoveredthe tomb of Jesus Christ, no one even mentioned until recently. Last October, a momentous event occurred that scientists believe could change the course of history.
Opening the tomb of Jesus Christ
At the end of October 2016, an unprecedented decision was made to raise a marble slab covering the stone bed where the body of Christ was supposedly lowered after the crucifixion. For the first time in five centuries, the tomb of Jesus Christ was opened for sixty hours. What did scientists see there? And what conclusions did they draw?
It is worth noting that, having lifted the marble slab, scientists found a large number of stones filling the bed. The work went on for several hours without stopping, and hard work was rewarded - a second marble slab with a carved cross appeared before the eyes of archaeologists and restorers. Beneath it was a stone bed of limestone, almost untouched by time. This fact amazed scientists, because it proves that the grave was here for several centuries, and above it the ancient temple changed its shape. After the allotted time, archaeologists closed the tomb again, having collected all the necessary data. It is planned that restoration work in Kuvuklia will be carried out until Easter 2017.
After that, the received data will undergo multilateral processing and only then will be presented to the world community. But even now, scientists claim that they have no other object that would so coincide with the description of the burial in all respects. They hope to unravel the mysterious inscriptions on the cave walls.crypts near the temple, because many see it as an indication of the tomb of Christ.
Perhaps as early as April of this year, scientists will announce the results of their first research. And mankind will finally discover the mystery of the burial of the body of Jesus Christ.
