Saladin at Easter

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. The ground on which the church rests is venerated by most Christians as Golgotha, the Hill of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified. and it also is said to include His burial place (the sepulchre).

After Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187 there was some discussion about destroying the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to take away Christian pilgrims' reason for returning to Jerusalem. In the end, Saladin insisted that it was to be respected.

Since Saladin's time, two Moslem families (the Nusseibehs and the Joudehs) have been the guardians of the key to the Sepulchre managing the rivalry of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syriac Orthodox custodians.

That is my story for this Good Friday.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God

Salaam