An iron cage surrounding a chamber in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus Christ is believed to have been buried before His resurrection, has been removed for the first time in 70 years as part of renovation work.
Haaretz reported on Sunday that the iron cage was first put in by British workers in 1974 in order to prevent the collapse of the Edicule, which is the chamber where Jesus was believed to have been entombed.
“The removal of the protective cage was made possible by months of painstaking work to stabilize the Edicule, that began in June 2016. A team from the National Technical University of Athens is leading the renovation work, under the supervision of church representatives,” Haaretz noted.
The restoration project, which began last year after the various Christian sects who hold co-ownership of the church agreed on the plans, has seen various components of the chamber removed, restored and replaced.
“The British did good work, and it is good that they put up the cage, but now our models have shown that the structure is stable and [the cage] may be removed,” explained Prof. Antonia Moropoulou, head of the Greek university team supervising the renovations.
“Under the Edicule there are excavations, tunnels, sewage and groundwater, and the entire monster is rising up and threatening the structure. The foundations must be stabilized,” she added.
The group estimates that the renovation of the historic church could be completed and opened to visitors by mid-April, in time for the Orthodox Easter.
Additional Reporting by Times of Israel.
