Renovation begins on Christ's tomb, first in two centuries

Religious rivals put aside their differences - a reflection of the dire need for the repairs

A team of experts began a historic renovation on Monday at the spot where Christians believe Jesus was buried, overcoming long-standing religious rivalries to carry out the first repairs at the site in more than 200 years.

The project is focused on reinforcing and preserving the Edicule - the ancient chamber housing Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the first such work at the tomb since 1810, when the shrine was restored and given its current shape following a fire.

An ornate structure with hanging oil lamps, columns and oversize candlesticks, the Edicule was erected above the spot where Christian tradition says Jesus' body was anointed, wrapped in cloth and buried before his resurrection. It stands a few hundred meters from the site of Jesus' crucifixion.

With its stone staircases, gilded ornamentation and many dark chambers, the church is one of Christianity's holiest shrines. But that hasn't stopped clerics from engaging in turf rivalries over the years.

Tensions can rise

The Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches are responsible for maintaining separate sections, and each denomination jealously guards its domain.

While the clergymen who work and pray at the church generally get along, tensions can rise to the surface. In 2008, an argument between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks erupted into a brawl.

This time, the clergymen put aside their differences - a reflection of the dire need for the repairs. Last year, Israeli police briefly shut down the building after Israel's Antiquities Authority deemed it unsafe, prompting the Christian denominations to join forces.

"We equally decided the required renovation was necessary to be done, so we agreed upon it," said Samuel Aghoyan, the top Armenian official at the church.

An Associated Press team had exclusive access to the site as the work began late on Monday, carried out by a team of nine Greek experts who have done similar restoration work on the Acropolis as well as to Byzantine churches throughout the Mediterranean.

While a group of nuns looked on, the sound of clanking tools filled the vast arched space where conservators and restoration experts began chipping away at mortar between marble slabs. Using cotton swabs dipped into a solution of liquid soap and water, one expert scrubbed away centuries-old layers of wax and carbon dioxide. Another airbrushed the dirt as the work progressed.

Antonia Moropoulou, an architect at the National Technical University of Athens, which is supervising the renovation, noted the intricacy of the historic effort.

"Nobody envies this responsibility and challenge," she said. "Because, it is a challenge to work here in this ambient of an open monument visited by thousands of people daily."

The church, one of the world's oldest, was built in 325 AD by the Roman Emperor Constantine. That structure was destroyed in 1009 by Muslim Caliph al-Hakim. A 12th-century restoration by the Crusaders gave the Holy Sepulchre its current appearance, while in 1808 a fire all but destroyed the Edicule.

(China Daily 06/08/2016 page10)