Restored shrine at Jesus’s tomb opened
THE newly restored shrine surrounding what is believed to be Jesus’s tomb was unveiled at a ceremony in Jerusalem yesterday following months of delicate work and in time for crowds of Easter visitors.
Religious leaders in traditional robes addressed a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built at the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried.
They stood in front of the ornate 19th-century edicule surrounding the tomb, its onion-shaped dome above, as hymns were sung.
Dignitaries including Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, considered the spiritual head of Orthodox church leaders, were in attendance.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, in his address to the ceremony, called the restoration “not only a gift to our Holy Land but to the whole world”.
“For the first time in over two centuries, this sacred edicule has been restored,” he said, referring to the shrine surrounding the tomb, which was completed in 1810.
Father Francesco Patton who, as custos (guard) of the Holy Land oversees sacred sites in the region, called it the restoration of the most important site for all Christianity.
The shrine is a key part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Centuries of candle smoke and visiting pilgrims had left it discoloured and almost black.
Parts were also coming loose, with warnings that it was structurally unsound and posed a risk to the millions of pilgrims who visit every year.