Golgotha

Location

Golgotha — 'the place of a skull' in Aramaic (Gulgalta), rendered Calvary in Latin — was a small rocky rise just outside the walls of first-century Jerusalem, close to a busy road, according to the New Testament writers (Matthew 27:33; John 19:20). The traditional site is now enclosed within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which stands over both the rock of the Crucifixion and the empty tomb.

Biblical importance

Golgotha is the place where the Son of God was crucified for the sins of the world. It is the fulfilment of every Old Testament sacrifice, the meeting of divine justice and divine mercy, and the door of eternal life for every soul who looks upon Him with faith. The Crucifixion is dated the eve of Passover, Friday, c. AD 30 or 33 (both dates fit the astronomical requirements).

Historical timeline

• c. AD 30 or 33 (Good Friday) — Christ is crucified between two malefactors from about the sixth to the ninth hour (roughly noon to 3 pm) — Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19.
• Same day — The centurion confesses, 'Truly this was the Son of God' (Matthew 27:54). Joseph of Arimathea takes the body.
• AD 70 — The Roman destruction of Jerusalem does not touch the site directly.
• AD 135 — Hadrian's rebuilding of Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina buries the site under pagan temples — an act that unintentionally preserves the location.
• AD 326 — Constantine orders the pagan temple demolished; Bishop Macarius uncovers both the rock and the tomb (Eusebius, Vita Constantini III.25-28).
• AD 335 — Dedication of the first Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• AD 614 — Persian sack; the True Cross is carried off (recovered by Heraclius in 630).
• AD 1009 — The church is destroyed by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim; largely rebuilt in the eleventh century.
• AD 1149 — Crusader rebuilding and consecration; substantially the church we see today.
• Modern — Shared by six Christian communities under the Status Quo of 1852.

Important biblical events

• Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) 'But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him.'
• Matthew 27:33-56 (KJV) The Crucifixion, the darkness, the death, the veil rent.
• Mark 15:22-39 (KJV) The same account.
• Luke 23:33-46 (KJV) 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' 'To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.' 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.'
• John 19:17-30 (KJV) 'It is finished.'
• 1 Corinthians 1:23 (KJV) 'But we preach Christ crucified.'
• Galatians 6:14 (KJV) 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Related People

• Christ Jesus — the Lamb crucified.
• Mary — at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25).
• John the beloved disciple — the only apostle at the Cross.
• Mary Magdalene — at the Cross and the tomb.
• The good thief (Dismas by tradition) — 'To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.'
• The centurion — the Gentile confessor.
• Joseph of Arimathea — who buried Him.
• Nicodemus — who brought the myrrh and aloes.

Connected Places

• Jerusalem — the city just outside whose walls He suffered.
• Gethsemane — the garden of the night before.
• Mount of Olives — the mount of the ascension after the Resurrection.

Christian tradition

• Good Friday liturgies center on the Cross of Calvary in every Christian tradition — the Adoration of the Cross, the Stations, the Tre Ore.
• The Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses both the rock of the Crucifixion and the empty tomb under one roof.
• The Stations of the Cross walk the household through the last hours from Pilate's judgment to the tomb.
• The Sign of the Cross — traced on the body of every baptised Christian — is a daily remembrance of Golgotha.

Household reflection

At the household crucifix, teach the children that this is not a picture of defeat but of love that could not be defeated.

On every Friday of the year, keep a small fast — a household remembrance that we live because He died. And on Good Friday, sit quietly together at three o'clock, the hour of His death.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read the four Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion side by side on Holy Week.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray the Stations of the Cross with the household in Lent — the oldest household devotion of Calvary.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — On Good Friday keep a simple bread-and-water meal until three o'clock.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross' (Isaac Watts, 1707) — perhaps the greatest English hymn of Calvary.
• Learn (Workshop) — Study Isaiah 53 — the fifth Gospel, written seven centuries before the Cross.

Further reading

Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19 in the KJV.

Isaiah 53.

Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures XIII (fourth century) — a great catechesis on the Cross.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Martin Biddle, 1999) — history and archaeology.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Gethsemane
• Jerusalem
• Mount of Olives
• Christ Jesus
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.