MONASTERY ATOP CHURCH OF HOLY SEPULCHRE IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE
By Jonathan Lis
Ha’aretz
.html
09:34 07/10/2008
Israel
The historic Deir al-Sultan monastery on the roof of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is in danger of collapse.
The church is one of the most sacred sites in Christendom. By
tradition, it is the site both of Golgotha where the New Testament
says that Jesus was crucified,[2] and the place where Jesus was buried
(the sepulchre).
The monastery’s two chapels and the tiny rooms where its monks live
could crumble, injuring the many tourists who visit the site, as well
as the monks who live there, and even the ancient Church of the Holy
Sepulchre itself.
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An engineer who examined the structures recently said the complex was
a "danger to human life." As long ago as 2004, before the situation
worsened to its present emergency state, the Interior Ministry said it
would pay for renovations. However, because of a long-standing dispute
between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose clergy live at the site,
and the Coptic Church, which claims ownership of it, the parties
have not managed to reach an agreement that would allow renovations
to proceed. The Interior Ministry has made clear to various church
officials over the years that it would pay for the work only if the
various ownership issues were resolved among the denominations.
The head of the Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem, Archbishop Matthias,
sent a letter about 10 days ago to Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit
and to the minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Eitan, in
which he warned of the sorry state of the complex as well as of his
unwillingness to come to an agreement with the Copts. With regard
to the Interior Ministry’s demand that the two denominations come to
terms, the archbishop said: "This condition is completely unacceptable
to us, since we do not recognize any right of the Coptic church in the
area in question. Moreover, it is inconceivable that the implementation
of emergency repairs at the holy site would be conditioned on the
consent of the Coptic church. Indeed, there is disagreement between us
and the Coptic church regarding the rights at the site in question, but
that is precisely the reason we are turning to the Israeli authorities,
as a neutral factor, to carry out the necessary repairs."
The church commissioned an engineer’s report, submitted by Yigal
Bergman of the construction supervision firm Milav, who wrote,
among other things that the complex was in a "dangerous state of
construction. The structures are full of serious engineering damage
that creates safety hazards and endangers the lives of the monks and
the visitors. This is an emergency … also due to the immediate
danger to the site that would damage other parts of the nearby
churches." The report also highlighted dangerous problems in the
electrical and sewerage infrastructure of the ancient buildings.
Deir al-Sultan monastery contains 26 small rooms for the use of
Ethiopian monks, four service and storage rooms, a large open
courtyard and two chapels, one above the other, which are entered
from the courtyard and exit into the entrance plaza of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre below.
This is far from the first dispute between the denominations that share
space in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre regarding its maintenance
and the use of its various areas. Three large denominations have
control of the church: the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and
the Roman Catholics. Smaller denominations with rights in the church
include the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Copts, as well as the Syriac
Orthodox. One of the best known disputes between the communities
surrounds the question of which denomination has the right to remove
a ladder that was placed on a ledge outside an upper-floor window
in the 19th century. Because no agreement has been forthcoming, the
ladder stands there to this day, above the main entrance to the church.