A ceremony to mark the completion of the conservation and restoration works of the Aedicule of the Holy Sepulchre was held today, (Wednesday, March 22, 2017) at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The event took place after a team of experts from the National Technical University of Athens have completed the 9-month historic renovation of the Edicule, the shrine that Christian tradition says houses the cave where Jesus was buried and resurrected.
The ceremony was held by the heads of the three major Christian denominations who share custodianship of the church: His Beatitude the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, His Paternity the Custos of the Holy Land – Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Patton and His Beatitude the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem – Archbisop Nourhan Manougian.
Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation, represented the Government of the State of Israel at the ceremony.
Dignitaries, clergymen and visitors from around the world have attended the ceremony. Among them: Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Jordanian Minister of Interior Ghaleb al Zoabi.