Why Wasn't There any Veneration of Jesus' Empty Tomb?  Jesus’
empty tomb was not venerated by early Christians until the 4th
century, according to Eusebius [Via Constantini 3.25-32]. James
D.G. Dunn: “there is no evidence whatsoever for Christians
regarding the place where Jesus had been buried as having any
special significance,” with pilgrimages and veneration. Dunn
claims this was “because the tomb was empty.” Peter Kirby argues
that Dunn’s conclusion is faulty. “It is plain to see that the
site of the tomb of Jesus would become a site of veneration and
pilgrimage among early Christians regardless of whether it was
occupied or empty.” According to Peter Kirby, “The fact that
there was no tomb veneration indicates that the early Christians
did not know the location of the tomb of Jesus, neither of an
empty tomb nor of an occupied tomb. The best way to avoid this
conclusion is, I think, to assert that there was tomb veneration
despite the silence of any first-, second-, or third-century
writers on such an in