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The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (or Church of the Resurrection) is the most sacred site in Christianity, located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. For nearly 1,700 years, it has been venerated as the location of two central events in the New Testament: the crucifixion of Jesus (at Golgotha or Calvary) and his subsequent burial and resurrection. Major restoration of the church has been ongoing for the past few years, due for completion in late 2026 or early 2027. While the work has resulted in partial closures, some of the historic treasures have been in traveling exhibitions, including at the Frick Collection in New York in 2025. This lecture addresses all this, plus the unique provenance of Charlemagne’s Throne (Aachen) connected to this layered structure and the tradition of its sponsor, Helena, the mother of Constantine.
Patrick Hunt believes the perceived boundaries between academic subjects are too often arbitrary and artificial, and thus explores junctions between many intersecting areas of interest across the broader humanities, sciences, and the arts. Patrick has followed several of his life-long dreams—archaeologist, writer, composer, poet, and art historian—for nearly three decades at Stanford University. Among many other works, he is author of When Empires Clash, Pascal & Voltaire at the Cafe Procope, Hannibal, and Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History.
