Chapel over the Lord’s Tomb consecrated after restoration

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem held a solemn ceremony of consecration of the restored Aedicule – the chapel over the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, reports RIA News.

The delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine participated in the ceremony. On an official trip to Jerusalem, His Beatitude is accompanied by Metropolitan Mark of Khust and Vinogradov, the chancellor of the UOC Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary, Metropolitan Sergii of Ternopol and Kremenets.

The ceremony of consecration of the newly-restored and opened Aedicule was also attended by representatives of the Roman Catholic and Armenian confessions, which keep watch over the shrine in concert with the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.

“The restoration of the Aedicule concerns not only Orthodox Christians, but the whole world. The shrine will remain for future generations,” said Patriarch Theophilos.

During his speech the patriarch thanked all philanthropists for providing financial assistance to the restoration of the shrine. Among them, he named King Abdullah II ibn Hussein of Jordan, the head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas and the Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras.

Representatives of the Armenian and Roman Catholic churches also participated in the sanctification of the shrine. They, together with the Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate, take care of the shrine.

In its present form, the Aedicule was erected in 1810 after a fire inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher over the cave, which is venerated by believers as a place of burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The work was carried out by experts from the National Technical University in Athens.

The ceremony, which took place in front of the chapel over the Tomb of the Lord, located in the center of the church, was live broadcast by the site of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.

In the pre-Easter Saturday at the Aedicule there is the descent of the Holy Fire, which attracts tens of thousands of Orthodox pilgrims from all over the world.