Series–Stories from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Upon entering this church, the traditional site of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you’ll see a large mosaic on the back wall of the entryway with three distinct scenes.

—The right scene: The removal of Jesus’ body from the cross—notice the skull directly beneath the cross, for many believe that Adam, the first man, was buried under the hill of Golgotha at the very spot where Jesus was crucified. Also can you make out the two angels hovering above the two outside crosses? They’re hard to see in this picture, but they are holding handkerchiefs and evidently crying! What is the man dressed in green doing at the feet of Jesus?

—The middle scene: The anointing of Jesus’ body—notice the angels hovering above his body. What color garments does the Bible say they were wearing and how many were actually there? What do you think is in the vase and basket in the foreground?

—The left scene: The burial of Jesus’ body—who do you think are the four people carrying the body of Jesus? The woman with the red head scarf and blue skirt, the gray-headed man with the beard, the dark-headed man to his right and the man in green holding Jesus’ feet?

—What do you think?  

—Daniel McCabe