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Second Nexus © 2019
[DIGEST: New York Times, NPR, Washington Post]
Renovations were completed late last month on Christianity’s holiest site: the tomb where Christians believe Jesus was buried and rose from the dead after his crucifixion.
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The tomb lies within the </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/jesus-restored-tomb-is-unveiled-well-in-time-for-easter/2017/03/22/a279b3e6-0e66-11e7-aa57-2ca1b05c41b8_story.html?utm_term=.0d3f53687234"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Church of the Holy Sepulcher</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a 12th-century structure built atop 4th century remains. A shrine, called the Holy Edicule, lies at the church’s center and is thought to encase the cave where Jesus was laid to rest.</span></p><p><div id="action_button_container"></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Edicule was built in 1810, and the structure was at risk of total collapse due to fire and water damage. It had been </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem"><span style="font-weight: 400;">propped up with an unsightly iron cage</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for 70 years to try to prevent just that. </span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAzNzY3Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTE5MDcxN30.JsTqC1_ZlqmpdxWuW0PiuARzqh1PLIRd0ePbyv80cm8/img.jpg?width=980" id="a46d8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e395412590570722a32607cd376a8f94" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Credit: <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-sign-of-unity-christians-renovate-christs-jerusalem-tomb-together/">Source</a>.</small></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet repairs stagnated as </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/world/middleeast/tomb-of-jesus-reopens-jerusalem.html?_r=0&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Middle%20East&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article"><span style="font-weight: 400;">feuding denominations</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> who own the church—Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic–were unable to agree on plans to fix it. Then last year, </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/jesus-restored-tomb-is-unveiled-well-in-time-for-easter/2017/03/22/a279b3e6-0e66-11e7-aa57-2ca1b05c41b8_story.html?utm_term=.0d3f53687234"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Israel’s Antiquities Authority</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> declared the building to be unsafe, and briefly closed it. This declaration finally prompted the denominations to make the repairs. And last May, after approval from the pope and the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as $4 million in donations, restoration work began. </span></p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I would venture to say that if this intervention hadn’t happened now, there was a very great risk that there could have been a collapse,” said </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bonnie Burnham</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the World Monuments Fund, a nonprofit that helped raise funds for the project.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The restoration effort was led by a </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Greek restoration team</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> based in Athens. The team methodically removed parts of the Edicule and put them back together after installing titanium mesh and grout to strengthen the building’s core. Candle soot and pigeon droppings were scrubbed off the walls. Most dramatically, the iron cage was at last removed. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The monument today is free,” said </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Antonia Moropoulou</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, who supervised the renovations. “It is emancipated from the iron grids.” </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During restoration, the crew, along with priests, monks and scientists, also peeled back layers of marble to temporarily unveil the exact spot where many believe Jesus Christ was laid to rest. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We had to be very careful, said </span><a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/idolchatter/2016/11/jesus-tomb-exposed-first-time-centuries.html?utm_source=PBWYMarch&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ChristianCorner"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Harris Mouzakis</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, an assistant professor of civil engineering at National Technical University who was working on the process. “It was not just a tomb we had to open. It was the tomb of Jesus Christ that is a symbol for all of Christianity—and not only for them but for other religions.”</span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAzNzY3My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzE5OTU3MH0.migSTNOHHovQD38Z8RYHm4TuO-3ZOTJjN-7y3mKvgpA/img.jpg?width=980" id="04967" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0b61e18516ecc3b4cdacb372fb752af6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, or the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the Christian Quarter of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Credit: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre#/media/File:The_Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre-Jerusalem.JPG">Source</a>.</small></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After removing one layer or marble, they discovered another layer with a cross on it. Beneath that was a limestone slab built into the wall of the cave, which is believed to be where Jesus was placed after his death. The slab had not been seen </span><a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/idolchatter/2016/11/jesus-tomb-exposed-first-time-centuries.html?utm_source=PBWYMarch&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ChristianCorner"><span style="font-weight: 400;">since at least the 1500s</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It was really important to see the bench, very flat and almost complete, from the right to the left, almost for the shape of one man [who] can stay on it,” said </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eugenio Alliata</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, an Italian archaeologist who belongs to a group that looks after Christian sites in Jerusalem. “This was really something very important. And it was the first time it has been documented as it is.” </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although the group worked quickly to reseal the tomb, it did make one change to the inner sanctum. A </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem"><span style="font-weight: 400;">window was installed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, so that visitors can now see the original rock wall of Jesus’ tomb.</span></p>
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