The Holy Sepulre

638 Words2 Pages

After reading the passage by Robert Ousterhout, it seems to be that holy sites classify as relics because of the meaning the sites possess. Hence, sites like the Holy Sepulcre are essential because of their historical and cultural impact they have in highlighting such pivotal religious events. Therefore, it can be inferred the importance there is for preserving such a site in a way that still pays homage to the original and where the original essence is still intact. In other words, when preserving a holy site, no reconstruction should be done in a matter that values aesthetics over the authenticity that stems from the meaning of the architectural site. Furthermore, the Holy Speculre is a holy site primarily because of the ties that it holds …show more content…

For instances, the old stones in the original site, were in fact recycled and used in the reconstruction effort, such as the destroyed walls of the basilica Constantinian being used to build new chapels. Accordingly, that would mean the essence of the original was still literally there just reshaped in a different way. These reconstruction efforts were driven around the meaning that such church held, and as a result any addition was done in a manner that was meant to elevate or to express such meaning further. Yes, aesthetically changes did occur, but for the mere fact of conveying Christian ideals and essentially making it a holier place than what it already was. Everything that was built, correlated with the original message set in motion and if anything, only further expanded on making a sight that reflected upon the Christian ideals. It is apparent that the reconstruction efforts from these two groups wanted whatever that was built to exhibit the old, so thus the sanctity of the sight would have been preserved. However, as the 20th century rolled around, any efforts at reconstruction were met with mere replicas of broken pieces, which as a result started to corrupt the sanctity that was once

Open Document