This course will examine the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a center of Christian devotion from its earliest days to the present. The church, as it is today, rises as a monumental enigma, a result of successive stages of construction and destruction over a period of nearly two thousand years. More so, the building as it is preserved today, is kept in the custody of different Christian denominations. These ecclesiastical bodies must learn to work together in order to run the world’s most important church. We will examine the history of the architectural complex of the Holy Sepulchre; attention will be paid also to the less known decorative elements in the building. We will also attempt to understand how the church operates as an active pilgrimage site. The course is based on weekly reading in English (home reading is obligatory). The course includes tours in Jerusalem.