Current relic Currently the Greek Orthodox church presents a small True Cross relic shown in the Greek Treasury at the foot of Golgotha, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . The Syriac Orthodox Church also has a small relic of the True Cross in St Mark Monastery, Jerusalem.
Biblical references The episode is mentioned in all the canonical Gospels: Matthew 27:31–33, Mark 15:20–22, Luke 23:26–32 and John 19:16–18. Only John specifically says Jesus carried his cross , and all but John include Simon of Cyrene, who was recruited by the soldiers from the crowd to carry or help carry the cross .
Jesus was crucified outside the city walls, probably outside the northern wall – several hundred metres from the Temple and perhaps 600 metres from Herod’s palace. The total distance from Gethsemane to the Crucifixion was about 1½ kilometres.
Jewish tradition forbade burial within the walls of a city, and the Gospels specify that Jesus was buried outside of Jerusalem, near the site of his crucifixion on Golgotha (“the place of skulls”).
According to tradition, she discovered relics of the cross upon which Jesus had been crucified . The spot had been venerated by early Christians, and she concluded it was Golgotha. Constantine ordered the construction of a basilica, which became known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Jesus , therefore, seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, said to his mother: iWoman, behold thy son.; Then, he said to the disciple iBehold thy mother.; And from that hour the disciple took her to his own (home). He is the obedient Son unto death, and death on the cross .
Simon’s act of carrying the cross , patibulum (crossbeam in Latin), for Jesus is the fifth or seventh of the Stations of the Cross . Some interpret the passage as indicating that Simon was chosen because he may have shown sympathy with Jesus. Mark 15:21 identifies Simon as “the father of Alexander and Rufus”.
And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” This is the only saying which appears in more than one Gospel, and is a quote from Psalm 22:1 (or probably Psalm 42:9).
For them the death of Jesus was part of a divine plan to save humanity. The death and resurrection of this one man is at the very heart of the Christian faith. For Christians it is through Jesus’s death that people’s broken relationship with God is restored. This is known as the Atonement.
The route has been established by tradition rather than archaeological evidence. The final stations of the crucifixion and burial are within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The route is in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Via Dolorosa, which means “way of sorrows,” is about a half-mile long , or just under 1 kilometer.
The cave of Machpelah, in the West Bank city of Hebron, is the burial place of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs : Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. According to Jewish mystical tradition, it’s also the entrance to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve are buried.
The Garden Tomb is found just outside Jerusalem’s city walls, close to the Damascus Gate, and is considered by some to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ . Also known as Gordon’s Calvary, the Garden Tomb is what you could call the “rival” to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.