Pilgrims, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

unction stone church holy sepulchre jerusalemJust inside the main entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a large fractured stone, glimmering in the light of several overhead lanterns. When I first walked into the church, I thought this was the tombstone of Jesus, and all the people bent over it were revering it as such. I was close, but not exact.

This is the so-called unction stone, the slab where Jesus's body was purportedly anointed with oils before being laid in the tomb. Evidently, it's still being oiled on a regular basis, because it is shiny to the eye and slippery to the touch. As you can read in the linked Wikipedia article, the first mention of the stone on this spot wasn't until the 13th Century, and the current stone was only placed there in 1810.

There was a persistent line of pilgrims waiting to kneel before the stone and place their religious objects on it. Medals, icons, chains, candles, books all took their turn soaking up a little of the holy oil.

Up Your Travel Skills

Looking to book your next trip? Use these resources that are tried and tested by us.

First, to get our best travel tips, sign up for our email newsletter.

Then, be sure to start your reading with our Resources Page where we highlight all the great travel companies and products that we trust.

Travel Accessories: Check out our list of all the accessories we carry to make getting there and being there a lot easier.

Credit Cards: See our detailed post on how to choose the right travel rewards credit card for you.

Flights: Start finding the very best flight deals by subscribing to Thrifty Traveler.

Book your Hotel: Find the best prices on hotels with Booking.com.

Travel Insurance: Don't leave home without it. We recommend Allianz Travel Insurance.

See all of the gear and books we like in one place on our Amazon shop.

Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, please share it.

Thanks.