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When you enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the thing nearest the door is the Stone of Unction or Stone of Anointing. This is the TRADITIONAL place where Jesus’ body was initially prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus when He was removed from the cross.
John 19:38-40 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
The present reddish marble stone was put in place in 1810 during a renovation of the church.
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Behind the Stone of Unction is a beautiful frieze, which depicts, from right to left, Jesus' body being removed from the cross, His body on the stone being prepared for burial, and His body being placed in the tomb.
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