Three Churches Agree to More Renovations at Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Crux ^ | 6/16/19 | Judith Sudilovsky

[marshmallow]

JERUSALEM - Following the successful cooperation on the 2016 restoration of the Edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the leaders of the three churches who serve as guardians of the holy site have signed an agreement to continue with restorations, this time on the pavement and foundations around the tomb.

The Edicule shrine is revered by Christians as the site of the remains of the cave where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead. During its 10-month restoration, it was determined that the 19th-century structure remained endangered because of the humidity of the soil beneath the foundations the church, and further work was needed to stabilize it.

The Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Armenian Orthodox agreed to the floor project. Two Italian academic and scientific institutions will undertake the two-stage project under the supervision of a joint committee of the three communities. The previous restoration work was led by Greek experts.

According to the Franciscan Terra Sancta magazine, the current pink stone pavement rests on a metal structure damaged by rust; condensed moisture from leaking underground pipes - some dating back to the Ottoman Empire - and runoff rainwater have accumulated in the underground space.

Restoration work would also help shed light on various archaeological discoveries found in the last century by Father Virgilio Corbo, a Franciscan archaeologist. He discovered the remains of the basilica built by Emperor Constantine beginning in 324; the remnants of the earlier foundations of the Temple of Hadrian, constructed in 135; and first-century tombs near Calvary as well as the graves of Crusader knights, according to the magazine.

“The restoration of the pavement of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is important because the actual condition of the pavement is in a state of ruin,” Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy.....

[Stirner]

I visited this church 4 years ago on Holy Saturday. The place was mobbed but the crowds moved in and out smoothly. Very moving and yet serene. It was the only church I have ever been in that had no collection boxes or other obvious ways to make donations. I asked someone about it and got the impression that the 3 Christian denominations (Roman Catholic and 2 forms of Eastern Orthodoxy, I think) could not agree on how to share donations, so they didn’t collect any.

[Unam Sanctam]

A great way to beat the crowds at the Holy Sepulchre is to go before dawn when they first open the gate. An experienced pilgrim clued me in during my pilgrimage to the Holy Land several years ago.

[Biggirl]

Unity for the just sake of saving a beloved shrine.