Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as part of Jerusalem’s Old City) and contains artifacts like Crusader-era graffiti and Byzantine mosaics. • Excavations and repairs often reveal new insights, such as the 2016 uncovering of the original rock surface of Jesus’ tomb, confirming its historical continuity.

My mom, church group and I have come this place and once entered we all sing the song amazing grace in a couple of languages which were Chinese and English in a room. Also, that this is the most holy pilgrimage site of Christianity, and many people come to visit this place daily.

Was lucky enough to go with a tour guide and get a full run down of the space - it’s obviously supremely important to many sects and denominations in Christianity and the reverence for that was evident - many people were over come with emotions. As well as pointing out various things to us, the guide pointed out some of the possible over zealous aspects too, saying people had fought over the privilege of clearing the area outside the church (including a fight to the death over whether the bottom step was to be cleaned by one group or another) and a bench occupied by a large man in religious robes who sits there all day, because that is his denominations bench and no others are allowed to sit there. It’s amazing to see the various places where Jesus’ body was placed and buried, but also to see the reaction of people to those things. It’s also one of the areas where you feel tourism hasn’t taken over - quiet reverence in full effect. Make the trip if you ever can

More descriptive way: “I visited a beautiful and peaceful religious place. The atmosphere was very calm, and the surroundings were full of spiritual energy.”

The place can get very crowded, especially around the tomb and Golgotha, arriving early in the morning offers a quieter and more personal encounter with this sacred space. For future visitors, I recommend taking time to pause, not just to see the main sites, but to absorb the spiritual energy that makes this place truly unforgettable.

I’m a Christian and a priest-in-training, and this just wasn’t for me in terms of finding a connection with Jesus or feeling close to God. I can appreciate the craftsmanship of the building, and the significance of the site, but for so many reasons I felt sad and anguished in this place. Worth a visit, but leaves you with much to reflect on. There were many other places on pilgrimage that left me breathless. The Holy Sepulchre was unfortunately not one of them.

The Holy Sepulchre is a a treasure. It’s very moving to visit. While it is busy, the complex is huge and can accommodate the wave of tourists. The space is shared by multiple Christian denominations which makes it very distinct. The Catholic priests here were very welcoming and kind.

Really mixed feelings about this place. You really need a guide to understand this place. We had one which made it tolerable. Otherwise we would not have understood what we were looking at. The hole where the crucifix was placed into the rock... It's under a table. We crawled under and saw and felt the hole, all thanks to our guide. Otherwise we would have totally missed this. The church is full of niches, parts, i don't know what you call them. It's sort of a mess. Have a guide to explain. We're glad we visited. We don't plan on returning.