By the side of the closed doorway is a staircase leading into the Chapel of the Agony, which is a square in plan, and is built against the south wall of the Calvary, communicating with that sanctuary by means of a window which has replaced an ancient door. This chapel was formerly a small ornamental terrace-roof, which served as an antechamber to the Calvary. Tradition asserts that the Emperor Heraclius brought back the true Cross into the church through this entrance. The Latins believe that the Virgin Mary remained upon this spot during the Passion of her Son whence its name is derived. The Greeks call it the Throne of S. Helena, but cannot give any reason for doing so. The rock does not lie immediately underneath this chapel, but there is a small oratory, dedicated to S. Mary of Egypt, which proves that the rock is not met with in any place round the present Calvary, but only on its summit. In the lower cornice of the Chapel of the Agony, towards the entrance to the oratory, is a carving of two four-footed animals (ideal monsters), which, in my opinion, is a chef d'œuvre, and, like all the other ornaments on the outside of this chapel, well worth notice.
Besides the two doors in the above façade, the church had another on the west opening into Patriarch Street (the Christian bazaar). This, owing to the difference in level, gave access to the lower gallery of the great rotunda; it is now closed up. It is first mentioned by Edrisi, A.D. 1154, that is, some years after the choir had been finished by the Crusaders[406]. There is no doubt that it was made between the years A.D. 1140 and A.D. 1150. It is ornamented by two columns with capitals, from which springs a pointed arch closely resembling those in the south façade[407]. There appears to have been another entrance from the terrace of the Abyssinians on the east side, because a doorway can be seen there, apparently of the time of the Crusades, which is now built up.
I may also remark that the terrace-roofs over the church are divided (as is shewn by the Plan) between the Greeks and the Mohammedans, and that the latter have the right of entering the gallery under the dome in the great rotunda. The Latins are now anxious to close the door communicating with the roof, but the Greeks are unwilling to allow it. Hence have arisen disputes that will greatly retard the repair of the dome, which at one time seemed likely to be commenced without delay. Most certainly the terrace-roofs of the church ought not to be private property, but should wholly belong to the edifice; and when this change is brought about, which will not be done without much difficulty and great firmness, there will be fewer dissensions, and the church will not be allowed to fall to ruin. But it is now time to take my reader within the building.
On entering the church we see on the left side of the door a chamber constructed of masonry, which is used as a divan by the Mohammedan guard, placed there to keep the keys and put down any tumults that may arise in the building. The presence of these men not unfrequently hurts the feelings of the Christian pilgrim, who is indignant at finding Mohammedans in possession of the Holy Sepulchre, and is the more offended by seeing them sitting there at their ease, gossiping, smoking, and drinking the coffee supplied to them by the various religious communities occupying the church. To the stranger, who is unacquainted with the real state of affairs, it must, I allow, appear most unseemly; but a longer residence in the country would shew him that it is in reality wisely ordered, because these men do not enter into the disputes which so frequently arise between the different sects of Christians, and thus are able to appease strifes, and act with a moderation and forbearance, which would be impossible to any member of the contending parties. Indeed, there is much need of these at the Easter season, when the pilgrims are thronging to or from the different services. Formerly these guards demanded a considerable fee for admission into the Sepulchre; and not only the religious communities resident in the city, but also strangers who came to visit the Holy Places, were obliged to pay a certain sum. The whole of the money thus received was applied to the support of the poor in the Hospital of S. Helena (of which I shall presently speak). The charge is however no longer made, but they are glad to receive a small present from any one who enters the church at an unusual time. This they never refuse, provided they can obtain the consent of one of the religious communities on the spot.
On the right of the entrance is a staircase leading up to the Calvary, built against the door which is walled up from the outside: it belongs to the Latins, but they have no power to prevent any one from using it.
A little further on is the entrance of the so-called Chapel of Adam (belonging to the Greeks), which, as I have already said, is situated under the north wing of the Calvary, and shews, at its east end, the fissure in the rock rent at our Saviour's death. Zuallardus, who visited Jerusalem A.D. 1586, states that this place was dedicated to S. John, but no one at the present day knows when the change was made. An altar, built of masonry, stands in the middle of the chamber at the east end. On its south side is a small hole, into which the pilgrim inserts his hand to touch the rock enclosing the skull of Adam, while a Greek monk relates to him that it was brought there by Noah, before the Flood began. The whole chamber is worth notice, because before the conflagration of 1808 it contained the tombs, which covered the dust of Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin[408]. These monuments were removed by the Greeks, with the intention of destroying a conspicuous and obvious proof that the Sepulchre had once belonged to the Latins alone. The remains of the Latin kings however were not profaned, but were deposited, (as I was informed,) in a recess in the chamber on the south of the chapel under the south wing of the Calvary, where now the Greek guardian of the Sepulchre sits to receive the offerings of the pilgrims, and present them in return with trifles blessed within the walls of the Sanctuary. It is to be hoped that when Russia and France have completed the restoration of the dome, the Greeks will bring them forth from their hiding-place, and erect over them new monuments bearing the old inscriptions.
On quitting the Chapel of Adam we find, at a short distance, a slab rising about six inches above the ground, called the Stone of Unction, because it is believed that on it the body of our Saviour was wrapt up with spices for burial. According to the monks, the actual stone cannot be seen, as it has been covered up to preserve it from the pilgrims, who would have carried it away piecemeal for relics. The account is plausible; but it is hard to understand how the spot could have been identified after the great changes wrought by the savage vandalism of Hadrian. Sanutus[409], who wrote in the fourteenth century, mentions this stone, but places it in the middle of the choir belonging to the Greeks. It is the joint property of the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians, who keep lamps and tapers constantly burning, that bear the devices of the community to which they belong.
Passing over some unimportant objects, which are sufficiently described by their titles on the Plan, we enter the western part of the church, in which is the rotunda supporting the great dome[410]. This, as I have already said, is an example of the usual bad taste of the Greeks at Jerusalem. Its heavy and clumsy architectural features are not worth a description, and it is to be hoped that at the next restoration of the church, this structure will be replaced by one more worthy to cover the Holy Sepulchre. On the ground-floor of the rotunda are some chambers occupied by the monks of the different communities to which they belong, together with three passages leading up to the lower gallery, and another going to the so-called tombs of Joseph and Nicodemus. The two galleries above are divided among the different religious communities. The whole of the lower one, except the three central arches on the west, belongs to the Greeks, and the greater part of the upper to the Latins; the Armenians possessing the last six arches towards the east on the south side. The property of each party is marked by pictures attached to the pillars. Above the upper gallery are windows, some grated, the rest built up. The former look upon the terrace-roof, which belongs to the Greeks, and are employed by them; the latter used to communicate with a chamber in the building called the Hospice of Saladin; these were closed not many years ago. The dome is surrounded by a gallery belonging, as I have said, to the Greeks, and at the top, in the middle, is a circular opening enclosed by an iron grating, to prevent the Mohammedans who occupy the neighbouring houses from throwing anything into the building. However, the miracle-mongers relate that Jesus Christ was recalled to life from this place, and that no human power can ever close it up. Certain it is, that if the architect at the forthcoming restoration does not find some other means of admitting air and light into the dome, (no difficult task,) he will be obliged to leave an opening there, at any rate not less than the present; and the rain will continue to flood the pavement below, and injure the health of the Priests and acolytes who pass their time there. In the middle of the rotunda is the monument of the Holy Sepulchre[411], also an ugly Greek edifice of the date 1810. It is cased with Palestine breccia of a yellowish and reddish colour, which is found abundantly in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem; it takes as good a polish and produces the same effect as marble. A small rude chapel, belonging to the Abyssinians, rests against the west end of the building; it was erected between the years 1537 and 1540, when the Franciscan fathers, then the sole guardians of the Sanctuary, were prisoners at Damascus. At the east ends of the north and south walls of the monument are two oval openings; these are chiefly used in distributing the Holy Fire on Easter Eve; that famous and scandalous ceremony by which the Greeks and Armenians profane the Redeemer's Tomb. The upper part of the monument is a flat terrace-roof, and at the west end of it is a small tasteless dome, covering an opening that communicates with the lower chamber of the Sepulchre; this, as well as the other at the east end, has doubtless been made for ventilation and for the escape of the smoke from the lamps and tapers, which are kept constantly burning within: but, as every object in the church must have its legend, the monks relate that from the first Christ was raised, and by the second the angel departed, who had rolled away the stone from the Sepulchre. Round the terrace-roof are holes, by which the rain, falling from the opening above, runs off by drains into a cistern inside the Latin convent, to the north of the rotunda. Before the door are a number of standards for candles, belonging to the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians. In the upper part of the front at the centre, is a picture belonging to the Latins, who, as first, have the right of performing service inside the Tomb. The Greeks, as second, are on the right, and the Armenians on the left. On great solemnities the different communities adorn the space allotted to them with gold and silver lamps and flowers, so as nearly to cover the whole façade. A large awning is extended over the building, and whenever a new one is necessary, as was the case in 1859, these three communities share the cost and divide the old one. With their portions the Greeks and Armenians recover the greater part of their contributions from the Oriental pilgrims, who are most anxious to possess a scrap.
We will now proceed to examine the interior of the Sepulchre. Directly on entering the door we see on either hand two staircases, constructed in the thickness of the east and side walls, and leading to the terrace-roof. That on the north belongs solely to the Latins; the other to the Greeks, who however are bound to allow the Armenians to use it on certain occasions. Within are two chambers; the eastern is called the Chapel of the Angel, the western is the actual Tomb in which our Lord's body was laid. The former of these two is undoubtedly built upon the rock, which I saw and touched immediately under the marble pavement, when some slight repairs were being made. Its walls, where they can be seen in the side staircases and the two apertures mentioned above, are of masonry, but the other parts are concealed by a casing of slabs of Palestine breccia. In the middle of this outer chamber is a small pedestal, which (according to tradition) marks the spot where the angel sat after rolling away the stone from the Sepulchre[412]. In the building are a great number of lamps, supplied by the Latins, the Greeks, and the Armenians; two only belong to the Copts. The upper part of the walls of the Tomb itself is also masonry, but the lower is formed by the native rock. I have been able to ascertain this for myself at two points; one at the small entrance-door, which is entirely hewn in the rock, and the other in the interior of the Chapel of the Abyssinians, in which, after purchasing the privilege, I was on several occasions shut up, so that I worked undisturbed, and was able to see the rock at a height of about four feet above the ground. As the interior of the building is covered with slabs of marble, it is at the present time quite impossible to succeed in discovering the rock from within; and I did not attempt it, being satisfied of its existence by the testimony of most trustworthy witnesses who had seen it during the repairs in 1808 and 1810. One of these was the Franciscan father Tryphon, who died at Jerusalem in 1857, at the age of 86; another was an aged Greek monk, an Archimandrite, of the great convent of S. Constantine. From the information supplied by them, and from my own observations, I have drawn the line of the rock in the section-plan of the present tomb. In confirmation of the accuracy of my informants, themselves men of education, I can bring forward the following extracts from the accounts of various authors and pilgrims in former times. Arculf[413], who saw it in the seventh century, thus describes it: "It was a small round room, hewn out of the solid rock, which could contain nine men standing in prayer side by side. The roof was about a foot and a half above the head of a tall man; on the east side was a small door. The tomb, properly speaking, was hewn in the north wall of the room. It was formed by a bed seven feet long, large enough to hold a man stretched upon his back, placed under a low recess hewn in the rock. It might be termed a sarcophagus open on one side, or a small grotto with the opening to the south; the lower edge of the bed was three palms above the ground. The rock was red veined with white, and still bore the marks of the tools by which it had been hewn out." From the numerous notices of it during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, I select that of Willibrand of Oldenburg[414]. "The rock ... which, still uninjured, and cased with marble, is exposed in three places to the touch and kisses of pilgrims." It was visited during the fifteenth century by Breydenbach, who writes as follows[415]: "The cave, in which is the Lord's Sepulchre, is wholly cased with marble on the outside, but inside is the native rock, just as it was at the time of the burial." In the beginning of the present century it was seen by Abbé Mariti, before the fire of 1808; his account[416] agrees with those just quoted, and confirms the testimony given me by eye-witnesses.
It seems then impossible to deny that the Tomb of Christ still exists upon the traditionary site, and that it in all respects resembles one of those sepulchral chambers, hewn in the rock, which can be seen at the present day in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem[417]; in which the corpse is extended upon a shelf, under an arched niche, excavated in one of the side walls of the tomb, some little distance above the ground. The arch above the shelf is indeed no longer to be seen, because it has been destroyed, perhaps during Hakem's reign: but the two side walls, which supported it at the head and foot of the shelf, still remain, and, encased with white marble, form the altar at which the Priests celebrate mass. It would be more satisfactory to the incredulous if this covering were removed, but if this were done the rock itself would not long remain. Each traveller and pilgrim would practise every possible device in order to obtain a fragment as a relic; and it would be a hard matter to persuade the Eastern pilgrims, and above all others, the Americans, to keep their hands off it.