Saving the Holy Sepulchre: How Rival Groups Came Together to Rescue their Holiest Shrine

Church History, March, 2009 by Simon Goldhill

The best aspect of the book is that Cohen not only has done the sort of properly conducted historical research that is rarely done on institutions with such huge religious stakes, but also that he manages to make the detailed story of bickering and nastiness so riveting. He uncovers bizarre plans from the Vatican in Mussolini's time for the rebuilding of the whole site in neoclassical splendor; traces how good and honest men got sucked into the rivalries and rows of petty officialdom; and narrates how, step by laborious step, an agreed plan was formulated and completed. It is a good read, almost never pompous or judgmental--which too few books on such contentious sites manage.

Is the overall story convincing? The detailed study of what happened, even where small differences of opinion or judgment are of course possible, is undoubtedly the best account available for the modem development of this major religious site, and is well worth reading for any religious or cultural historian interested in the connection between religion, politics, and architecture. But I am not sure everyone will share Cohen's optimism. The rotunda has indeed been restored. But since then, the same old rows broke out over mending the toilets, with the Armenians refusing permission for repairs until the Greeks agreed to their demands on another issue: an unpleasantly smelly Easter resulted. It is still impossible to open a second entrance or exit door anywhere in the building, since no side will allow such precedence to another group. The new breeze-block walls of the Catholicon still stand, the ugliest sign of lingering aggressive partisanship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been restored, and Cohen tells very well indeed how this came about: whether this should be called a story of triumphant international relations brokering a treaty, or an uneasy and fragile truce enforced by necessity, remains less clear.

doi: 10.1017/S0009640709000389

Simon Goldhill

King's College, Cambridge