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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 completed in 1810 surrounding the tomb.
Father Francesco Patton, who as custos 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.
‘The colour of hope’
Following a €3.4 million renovation led by the church’s three main Christian denominations, the tomb has been painstakingly restored to its former glory — including a warm reddish-yellow colouring.
“Before this the monument was black,” chief renovator Antonia Moropoulou told AFP.
This is the actual colour of the monument, the colour of hope.
Unlike other parts of the church, which were renovated between the 1960s and 1990s, the edicule had been neglected.
Moropoulou said restorers systematically dismantled, cleaned and renovated almost all of the edicule, including the columns and upper and inner domes.
A window has been installed to allow pilgrims to see the bare stone of the ancient burial cave for the first time.
The new structural integrity means a protective cage installed 70 years ago by the British is no longer necessary.
“The deformations of the holy edicule are addressed and the structural integrity is assured,” Moropoulou said.
Dramatic moment
In October, perhaps the most dramatic moment in the renovation occurred when the cave thought to be the tomb of Jesus was opened for the first time in centuries.
Marble slabs were removed to allow for the chamber’s reinforcement.
They found a top slab dating from the era of the Crusades, indicating that the tomb had not been opened for 700 years, Moropoulou said.
Underneath they found another from the era of Constantine the Great, the emperor who began the Roman empire’s transition to Christianity in the fourth century AD.
“When we opened the slabs we discovered within the internal masonry all the layers of history — from Constantinian to Byzantine, to Crusaders to Renaissance,” Moropoulou said.
Whether the site is indeed the place of Jesus’s burial has long been a matter of dispute.
Some Christians believe he was buried in the Garden Tomb, outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, but Moropoulou said their findings supported the Sepulchre as the location.
Asked if the slabs supported the argument that Jesus was buried there, she said it was “not a matter of an argument”.
It is a matter of revealing a tomb which is alive and which is influencing us working here and all the world.
The work is not the end of plans to renovate the church, located in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.
Aghoyan said they have “tentative” plans to fix the basement of the edicule as well as the “entire floor of the church”.
Such work would require around $6 million.
The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church, but disputes between the three have led to renovations being delayed for decades.
The shrine was briefly closed by Israeli authorities in 2015 over safety fears.
Samuel Aghoyan, the superior of the Armenian Church at the Sepulchre, admitted there were tensions between the churches at times.
“We are not in love with each but we love each other,” he said with a smile.
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They can send either of them two in the photo to Ballinamore, we’ll keep an eye on them.
They need new blood. Best of luck kids.
Like, is this totally your vehicle like.
I for one believe that thos two Gardai will live a happier lives than other gardai because men will do whatever they ask
Cos they’ll be f*** all use on the streets of Ballymun…
somebody in the department of justice has ocd with the number 5!
5 Garda units. One Garda recruit to each unit would explain the fascination with the number 5.
A week on The beat in ballymun will soon wipe those smiles away.good luck to them they’re going to need it.
Well those two,can handcuff me anytime they like.
I’d like to take down their particulars.
The one on the left looks like a bit of a plank if you ask me. I’d say she wouldn’t know her asp from her elbow.
Nice gentle posting for the lucky 5 who got Dun Laoghaire.
This is not going to be a popular statement but the Gardai have lost effectiveness by being overly feminised. The force is gender balanced in accordance with political correctness but then has to counter criminality, often violent that is 90% male. They have no credibility on the street. If you are getting the head kicked off you by a bunch of thugs, who do you want to arrive? A pair of strong agressive GAA type Gardai or two Barbai?
But as everyone here keeps saying….. Ahhh sure aren’t they lovely!!
For once David your not talking Shite!
The force is not gender balanced, there are far more male gardaí than female. The size of the garda is of little consequence nowadays as practically everyone knows how hamstrung they’ve become by the system. There’s no deterrent coming from the courts so the gouger knows he’s little chance of being locked up, even if he assaults the garda. The ombudsman is only too keen to prosecute gardaí on the flimsiest of cases so if the garda does anything to the gouger he ends up in bother, regardless of the justification. If the garda does have to get physical with the gougers, the world & his wife whips out the camera phone in order to capture the ‘police brutality’ and he or she ends up in a clickbait article here with the do-gooder mob baying for their blood.
Lugs Brannigan himself could rise from the grave to go back on the beat and it would make no difference, ‘society’ doesn’t want that sort of policing anymore.
The majority of those recruited are still male, the gender balance isn’t going to change soon. That vast majority of the time, you don’t get the luxury of deciding who gets to deal with an incident; whoever is available gets sent.
ah the guards are going to look mad young now…
She has a smile that could take away the pain,as she sprays the pepper spray into your eyes .
all the best to all of them, I hope they blend with the area and build good relationship with the public.
Congratulations to you @mdmak33…..you’ve won Miss World.
There was a time when the big tall guard was feared by kids in an area…not anymore. If you are going to have young small guards patrolling the streets then arm then fur gods sake…even a Batton or taser
They’ve always had batons & pepper spray has been issued for a few years now. There was a time when you got good jail time for assaulting a garda; now you’ll get feck all & can make a complaint against the garda for looking at you sideways, with no comeback if it turns out you were lying. Why would you fear them?
Jaysus Bán Gardaí didn’t used to look like that. Saw a young Ban Garda last year – fully made up with lipstick on while working – thought it strange.
ban gardi you can be arrested for that now!
I’m hoping the two in photos are in the online unit.
Sgt.Yates you sexist dinosaur!
There are no Ban Gardai anymore. There are Gatdai who get maternity leave and Gardai who don’t get maternity leave.
Nice.
Those five Garda gone to Portlaoise would be better off in Portarlington! that way with the officers that are already here the station could open 24/7. at the moment Port might as well not have a Garda station it’s open 9 a.m to 1 p.m then open from 8 p.m to 9 p.m outside those hours you have to ring Portlaoise guards to come over by the time they get here you could have robbed five shops and get a clean getaway
New guards should be assigned to big stations first to learn the ropes.
Doesn’t matter how many or where they’re allocated. Two weeks in their new stations and they’ll be indoctrinated into the lazy, slovenly ways of their senior colleagues.
Class2015. Started.training this year?collect 5 packets.of crisps.and become a garda ha
God you’re hilarious altogether. Any other good ones there for us?
Loads Marty
Class of refers to when you graduate. Everyday is a school day.
Looks like some one in Garda HQ done a lot of research to where the garda were needed the most.Then got there phone out Garda dived by stations = 5 with Waterford getting the short straw
hmm beautiful faces, wouldn’t mind to get arrested :P
There is no crime in Roscommon then? Where is our hero Fearless Frank Feighan? I hear hes a stand in on the Conor McGregor fight!
So Carlow is grand no need for guards no crime here? ? ?
The Garda on the left would make a great stripper if a career in the guards doesn’t work out for her. Not sure about the one on the right though.
One can always rely on some dick to demean women.
If you prefer male strippers then that’s fine I won’t hold it against you.
The figures are incorrect.
Count again Claire
It’s not the number in total, it’s the allocation.
County Claire.
Simple yet Brilliant !
Aren’t they lovely in their little hats!
More prisons needed as the Gardai are simply chasing the same people around every day, such a waste of their time. More prisons with longer sentences needed in order for the decent people of Ireland to feel safe in their homes. SF would let the existing prison population out tomorrow as they are soft on crime – they don’t have a problem with child abuse or elderly people being beaten up as they have members who have a history of the same crimes.
Mindfilirish
You need a mind flush as your brain is full of sh&t
Can either of them see over the steering wheel in the police car ???
have your say