There is a whole group of slides like this at the site.
Posted on 11/04/2015 8:25:05 AM PST by marshmallow
Bethlehem - for more than two years, one of the world's holiest churches has been undergoing restoration work. In this report, we would like to give a historical background about the wooden door and the mosaic covering the walls of the nave.
The wooden doors
From the humility door, heads of believers and visitors bow down in reverence to the child in the manger. Just in front of the door, we face tall wooden doors that separate the narthex and the nave, covered through the centuries by layers of dust and smoke coming up from oil lamps. Now, the restoration comes and reveals a corner worthy of contemplation and appreciation, which previously visitors used to overlook. The doors, which were built at the hands of two Armenian believers and then presented as a gift by the Armenian king Hethum I in 1227, were installed at the entrance of middle royal door. The doors were beautifully produced with crosses and other elements of ornamentation engraved on them, as well as inscriptions in Arabic and Armenian on the top part of them.
The Armenian inscription in English translation reads as follows:
"In the year 676, the door of the Holy Mother of God was accomplished by the efforts of Father Abraham and Father Arachel, at the time of the Armenian King Hithum the son of Constantine. May God have pity on the authors (of this work)."
While the Arabic inscription in English translation reads as follows:
"This door was completed with the help of Allah, may He be exalted, in the days of our lord, the sultan al-Malik al-Mu'azzam in the date of (the month of) Muharram the year 624( = Dec.1226-Jan.1227)."
It may seem, from the inscription, that al-Mu'azzam initiated the construction of the doors but it is most certain that the project had nothing.......
(Excerpt) Read more at en.lpj.org ...
There is a whole group of slides like this at the site.
If this church were in a moozlum area they would be blowing it up and burning it down.
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