Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands on the site identified since the earliest Christian era as Calvary — the hill where Jesus was crucified — and the rock-cut tomb from which He rose on the third day. After the Roman emperor Hadrian built a temple to Venus over the site in AD 135 to suppress Christian veneration, Constantine the Great, guided by his mother St. Helena's 326 pilgrimage to Jerusalem, ordered the pagan temple demolished and a great basilica constructed, which was dedicated in 335.

Destroyed by Caliph al-Hakim in 1009 and subsequently rebuilt by Crusaders in the 12th century, the church has been expanded, damaged, and repaired many times. Since 1852 it has been governed under the Ottoman Status Quo, which assigns specific spaces and liturgical rights to six Christian communions: Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic (Franciscan Custody), Coptic, Ethiopian, and Syriac.

The immovable ladder beneath a window — unchanged since before 1852 — is the most famous symbol of the Status Quo's rigid preservation. The Edicule over the tomb itself was restored in 2016–2017, the first major work on the shrine in over two centuries.

The Holy Sepulchre is the holiest site in Christendom and the destination of the Christian pilgrimage tradition since the 4th century. It draws millions annually, with the Holy Fire ceremony on Orthodox Holy Saturday — when flame miraculously appears in the tomb, according to tradition — being one of the most dramatic liturgical events in Christianity. Franciscan friars celebrate daily Mass at Calvary and the tomb.