Note: A recording of this worship service may be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WJCfwDhPqk
Cover Image: The Church of the Holy Sepulcher's long history underscores the importance of the physical place, Golgotha, of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church (a primarily 19th century structure today) began as a pagan Roman temple site. The historian Eusebius confirmed the site as the place of Christ's resurrection, albeit with thin historical evidence. Constantine began the rehabilitation of the site and directed his mother, Helena, to construct a new church on the site, protecting and honoring the tomb of Jesus as the site of his resurrection. During the construction, Helena was said to have found the cross of Jesus' crucifixion, or the "true cross." Over the centuries the church building burned, was rebuilt and then destroyed, left in ruins, and rebuilt again in the modern period. The destruction of the church in 1009 by the Fatamid ruler over Jerusalem was eventually part of the justification for the first Crusade. Today several denominations/faiths jointly manage the site, very popular with Christian pilgrims.