This week in Christian history: Church of the Holy Sepulchre destroyed, Mass. bans Quakers

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, October 13, 2024

Church of the Holy Sepulchre destroyed – Oct. 18, 1009

Worshipers carry palm branches as they circle the aedicule during the Palm Sunday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, on April 10, 2022. | AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

This week marks the anniversary of when the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a prominent Christian holy site believed to mark where Jesus Christ was buried, was destroyed by a Muslim ruler.

Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the church to be demolished, being part of his overall endeavor to wipe out Christian places of worship in both Egypt and the Levant.

Later in the 1020s, Caliph Ali az-Zahir, the son and successor of al-Hakim, reached an agreement with the Byzantine Empire and Church officials to allow for the rebuilding of the church.

"The destruction of the sanctuary was virtually complete, including the demolition of the church of Calvary and of what remained of the structure of the Martyrium, and the complete dismantling of the Edicule of the Tomb," noted the Holy Land Timeline blog.

"The structure of the church in our time is based almost entirely on building from the Crusaders era, with additions and reconstructions which were made in subsequent years."