The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Since our arrival in Jerusalem, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, only a 10-minute walk from where we are staying, has been a preferred site for an early morning holy hour for many of us. Observing my brother seminarians, I have noticed that upon arrival the immediate draw is to the top of Calvary. Once the site of the Crucifixion, this spot has been reverenced ever since, and some of us spend the remainder of their time there in prayer, while others might go off to one of the other chapels within the church to pray. There is one chapel that I have found particularly conducive to meditation, providing a rich source of theological reflection – The Chapel of Adam.



The Chapel of Adam is located directly below Calvary, or Golgotha (the place of the skull). The Chapel Adam features a window in the back of its sanctuary that reveals a crack in the rock which runs all the way down from Calvary above to this site in the chapel below. The belief is that Adam’s tomb was located here, directly beneath the site of Our Lord’s crucifixion, thus, upon Jesus’ death on the cross, an earthquake split the rock on Calvary (Matthew 27:51-52), and Our Lord’s blood flowed into the cracked rock onto the bones of Adam.

Was Golgotha the actual site of Adam’s tomb? This belief, though highly contested, was posited as early as the 2nd century by Origen, based on what he interpreted as a Hebrew tradition about the location of Adam’s tomb.

We will probably never know the exact location of Adam’s tomb. Nonetheless, the image of the New Adam’s blood flowing directly down upon the remains of the Old Adam is powerful, reminding us that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

The idea that Adam's remains lie directly beneath the site of the Crucifixion has often been depicted by a skull at the foot of the cross in many paintings and icons as well.

As future priests, we thank all of our benefactors for enabling us to climb Calvary every morning to kneel at the foot of the cross. May God bless you in your charity, and may he also bless the Church with more vocations to the priesthood through the blood of His cross.