Jerusalem: A benevolent donation amounting to $1.3 million was made by the widow of the co-founder of Atlantic Records to the ongoing efforts to restore the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem’s Old City, a monument that is considered to be one of the most sacred in the Christian religion. The delicate and sensitive restoration project aims to preserve the tomb of Christ in order to provide a destination for devoted pilgrims in the future.

Aside from Ertegun,  King of Jordan, King Abdullah, and members of different Christian denominations have promised to also contribute funds for the project.

The total cost of the restoration is estimated to reach around $4 million and is expected to be finished by the spring of 2017. Part of the specific improvements to be made is to stabilize the structure, particularly the Edicule, by inserting titanium bolts in the monument, located inside a much larger basilica, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Edicule is a magnificent edifice created during the Medieval Ages and contains other Christian shrines that include chapels, tombs of Crusaders and other elaborate icons.

On June 21, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) has publicly announced that Mica Ertegun, the widow of Ahmet Ertegun, who is the co-founder of Atlantic Records, has made the donation in order to kickstart the efforts to conserve and restore the sacred monument.

Greek conservationists from the National Technical University of Athens were tapped to restore the sacred monument. The group has previously worked on past restoration projects, the most noteworthy of which is the Acropolis.

The restoration of the tomb will be the first ever in more than 200 years. The monument was previously rebuilt in 1810 after it was damaged heavily by a fire.

The  tomb of Christ has attracted tourists and pilgrims alike ever since the Dark Ages. However, some historians indicate that the shrine at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not the only one that was built. At least three other shrines like the Edicule were made but may have been destroyed and lost in history during the religious wars which spanned hundreds of years.

 

source:christiandaily