Jordan's King Abdullah has issued a decree to provide for the restoration of Jesus’ Tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, at the monarch's personal expense.
The Jordanian Royal Court said in a statement that it has “informed the Jerusalem Patriarchate of His Majesty’s makruma (Royal Benefaction) in a letter sent to His Beatitude Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine and Jordan.”
The patriarch “commended the generosity of His Majesty [who] has always been, and shall remain, the faithful Guardian and Custodian of the Christian and Muslim Holy Sites in Jerusalem. … His Majesty King Abdullah embodies in deed, and not only in word, the shared living of Muslims and Christians all over the world and particularly in the Holy Land”, emphasising the Jordanian royal family's “unique historic role in the preservation of both Christian and Muslim Holy Sites in Jerusalem and the Occupied Territories.”
Patriarch Theophilos added that the efforts help "sow the seeds" of love and brotherhood between Muslims and Chistians.
“We are reaping the fruits of these efforts in this age when sectarian wars are burning entire countries as can plainly be seen,” the Patriarch added.
According to the statement, Theophilos has signed an agreement with the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in March 2016 to restore Jesus’ Tomb, in cooperation with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Missionaries Serving the Holy Land.
“The agreement followed a study that was undertaken by specialists at NTUA and presented to a number of Christian religious leaders, the Jordanian ambassador to Athens, Palestinian and Greek officials,” the Royal Court said.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the original for length.
