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Holy of Holies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Holy of Holies is the most sacred place within a sacred building. In Judaism, it refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem which could be entered by the High Priest only on Yom Kippur. Holy of Holies are also found within Egyptian Architecture, as well as within temples and churches of other faiths and traditions, to include the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Latter-day Saints, and Hinduism.
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Although not a general rule, in certain contexts the term “Holy of Holies” may be synonymous with “Most Holy Place.” The construction "Holy of Holies" is a literal translation of a Hebrew idiom, referring to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle or Temple in Jerusalem. In the King James Version of the Bible, this sanctuary is always referred to as the "Most Holy Place."
The Kadosh Hakadashim, Hebrew: (Biblical: הַקֳּדָשִׁים קֹדֶשׁ Qṓḏeš HaqQŏḏāšîm), "Holy of Holies", the most holy place in traditional Judaism, is the inner sanctuary within the Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem when Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple were standing. Traditional Judaism regards the location where the inner sanctuary was originally located, on the Temple Mount in Mount Moriah, as retaining some or all of its original sanctity for use in a future Third Temple. The exact location of the Kadosh Hakadashim is a subject of dispute.
A cognate term in Ge'ez is found in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church: Qidduse Qiddusan, referring to the innermost sanctuary of an Orthodox Christian church building, where only clergy may enter.
In Hinduism, Holy of Holies refers to the area inside a temple complex where the main deity is installed. This area would be a separate building by itself, inside the complex.
The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contains a Holy of Holies wherein the church's President—acting as the Presiding High Priest—enters to fulfill the relationship between the High Priest of Israel and a god in accordance with the LDS interpretation of the Book of Exodus (Exodus 25:22) and modern revelation.