Brotherhood of The Holy Sepulchre

The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, or The Holy Community of the All-Holy Sepulchre, is the Orthodox monastic fraternity that for centuries has guarded and protected the Christian Holy places in the Holy Land. A sepulchre is a burial chamber and in this case Holy Sepulchre refers to the burial chamber of Jesus, believed to be in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Brotherhood also administers the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the chief, president, governor, and hegumen of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre and is commemorated as “Our Father and Lord, the Most Holy Beatitude, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and of all Palestine.”

Members of the Brotherhood are the administrative officers of the Patriarchate; and the metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, archimandrites, hieromonks, hierodeacons, and monks of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem are members of the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre was traditionally founded in 313 (which corresponds with the Edict of Milan and legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire) and the foundation of the Churches in the Holy Land by Constantine and St Helen, which is traditionally dated to 326. At first, it bore the name "Order of the Spoudaeoi (studious, zealous, industrious, serious)," or "The Spoudaeoi of the Holy Resurrection of Christ."

The Brotherhood consisted of the ordained clergy charged with the care and preservation of the Holy Sepulchre and other holy places in Jerusalem. They were distinguished primarily for their observance of uninterrupted mental prayer and heartfelt supplication. At the same time, the Members of the Brotherhood were renowned for their virtuous and diligent ascetic life. According to findings of contemporary researchers, they were living ascetic lives before 326 and were organized as an Order during the visit of St Helen to the Holy City. St Cyril of Jerusalem makes mention of them.