Chancel

View looking east at the Chancel of the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem in Rome.  Below the altar is a black basalt sarcophagus that is said to contain the remains of St. Anastasius.  He was originally a Persian soldier who had taken the True Cross as booty from Jerusalem when the Persians sacked it in A.D. 614.  But, being impressed by the relic, he converted to Christianity.  He was eventually martyred in Caesarea Maritima in Palestine.

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The church is also known as the Basilica Sessoriana, and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.  It was rebuilt in 1144.  The present building was constructed in 1743–1744 as noted in the Latin inscription above the main entrance: "Benedict XIV Pontifex maximus in honor of the Holy Cross in the fourth year of his pontificate."