Shroud And Tomb Of Christ

4 Pages 1059 Words

There almost always has been, and most likely always will be much debate over the origin of the Tomb of Christ and the Shroud of Turin, and the authenticity of these two remnants of Christ. The church of the Hole Sepluchure, where both Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus are said to be enclosed, has been around since the days of the first Christian king, while the Shroud of Turin was not well documented until late into the 13th century. The lack of evidence in either case, and the controversy surrounding them leaves the catholic church with a bit of a conundrum, and outs Christians to a test of faith.
The church of the Holy Sepluchure was first found by Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. It is located at the tomb of Jesus Christ, owned by Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb is just outside the city gates of Jerusalem, because Jews did n’t let the dead be buried inside of the city except in the case of kings. The tomb was close to the place of the crucifixion, as it is believed that the same basilica is atop both Golgotha and the tomb. There is far less debate over the authenticity of the Tomb of Christ than the Shroud because it seems more than likely that the correct location of the tomb was recorded over the time elapsed between the death of Jesus and the time when, several centuries later, Helena discovered the site and started construction of the basilica over it. This is because at any given point during the elapsed time, there was always some recorded clan of Christians living inside the city of Jerusalem to pass down the tradition of where Jesus was buried.
The Shroud of Turin has a much more dubious past and is filled with more controversy than any other relic save maybe the Holy Grail itself. The Shroud dates back to approximately the thirteenth century when it first turned up in mediaeval France, on display by private owners. The church suppressed the rising popularity of the cloth by removing it from the public view. ...