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that oi EuaelAuB. Jerome took np his lesidenoe in tlie Holy Land in the latter port of the foorth centory, and remained there till his death. (For an estimate of the Talne of these geograplhical aathorities, see Re- land, Pakegt. p. 467 sq.) Pilgrims now streamed to Jenisalem from all parts of the world, and that site was fixed for Golgotha which has remained to the present hour.
4. Ereeiim of the ^^Churck of the Holy Sepulchre" over the Site. — The acts of the Emperor Constantino and his mother Helena gave a permanent and public expression to this tradition. This empress, when yeiy Car ad- vanced in life, visited Jemsalem for the express par- pose of erecting a church on the spot where the Lord Jens had been cmcified. The preceding details show that the preservation of the memory of the locality was any thing but impossible. Helena would naturally be edicitoas to discover the true spot, whence ensues the likelihood that she was not mistaken. She had pre- vioosly heard that the holy places had been heaped up and concealed by the heatiien, and resolved to attempt to bxjng them to light, tic ^dg dyaytXv (Theoph. in droit, p. 18). *' On her arrival at Jerusalem, she in- quired diligently of the inhabitants. Yet the search was uncertain and difficult, in consequence of the ob- gtrDctSonsliy which the heathen had sought to render the spot unknown. These being all removed, the sa^ cied sepulchre was discovered, and by its side three crotaes, with the tablet bearing the inscription written by Pilate" (Robinson, Bibl. Bee. ii, 14 ; Theodoret, i, 17). lliie account of her proceedings, taken from one who labors to bring into discredit the whole of Helena's proceedings, and who is far too indiscriminate and sweeping in his hostility to the primitive traditions of the Church, shows sufficiently that Helena was cau- tioiu in her proceedings ; that there did exist a tradi- tion on the subject ; that by that tradition the empress was guided ; and that she found reason to fix the site of Cidvary on the spot where the heathen had erected their temple and set up their profane rites. That no small portion of the marvellous, not to say legendary and incredible, is mixed up in the accounts which the ecclesiastical historians have given, we by no means deny; but we see no reason whatever, and we think
such a course very unphilosophical, to throw doubt un- sparingly over the whole, as (by no means in the best taste) does Dr. Robinson. However, on the site thas ascertained, was erected, whether by Constantine or Helena, certainly by Roman influence and treasure, a splendid and extensive Christian temple. Socrates (Ecdee, Hist, i, 17) says, ** The emperor's mother erect- ed over the place where the sepulchre was a most mag- nificent church, and called it New Jerusalem, building U oppodte to that old deserted Jemsalem" (comp. Euseb. VU, Cotut. ill, 83). This church was completed and dedicated A.D. 836. It was a great occasion for the Christian world. In order to give it importance and add to its splendor, a council of bishops was convened, by order of the emperor, from all the provinces of the empire, which assembled first at Tyre and then at Je- rusalem. Among them was Eusebius, who took part in the solemnities, and held several public discourses in the Holy City (Euseb. VU, Const,; Robinson, ii, 13). The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was burnt by the Persians in A.D. 614. It was shortly after rebuUt by Modestus with resources supplied by John Eleemor, patriarch of Alexandria. The basilica or martyrion erected under Constantine remained as before. The Mohammedans next became masters of Jerusalem. At length Har6n er-Rashid made over to Charlemagne the jurisdiction of the holy sepulchre. Palestine again I became the scene of battles and bloodshed. Muez, of I the race of the Fatimites, transferred the seat of his I empire to Cairo when Jerusalem fell into the hands of I new masters, and the holy sepulchre is said to hare been again set on fire. It was fully destroyed at the command of the third of the Fatimtte caliphs in Egypt, the building being razed to the foundations. In the reign of his successor it was rebuilt, being completed A.D. 1048; but instead of the former magnificent ba- silica over the place of Golgotha, a small chapel only now graced the spot. The Crusades soon began. The Crusaders regarded the edifices connected with the sep- ulchre as too contracted, and erected a stately temple, the walls and general form of which are admitted to remain to the present day (Robinson, ii, 61). So re- cently, however, as A.D. 1808, the church of the holy sepulchre was partly consumed by fire ; but, being re-
Fnnt View of the Church of the Holy Sepokhre.
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bnnt hy the Greeks, it now offsn no tnoet of its re- cent desolation.
6. Otjectkm to the' IdaUiJieation.'^Tht sole evidence of any 'wei«;ht in the opposite balance is tliat urged by llobinson, tliat the place of the cmciflxion and the sep- ulchre are now found in the midst of the modem city. But, to render this argument decisiye, it should be proved that the city occupies now the same ground that it occupied in the days of Christ It is, at least, as likely that the city should have undergone changes as that the site of the crucifixion should have been mbtaken. The identity of such a spot is more likely to be preserved than the size and relative proportions of a city which has undergone more violent changes than probably any other place on earth. The present walls of Jerusalem were erected so late as A.D. 1542 ; and Robinson himself remarks that a part of Zion is now left out (p. 67). If, then, the city has been con- tracted on the south, and if, also, it was after the death of Christ expanded on the north, what should we ex- pect but to find Golgotha in the midst of the modem city?