JERUSALEM, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Russian Orthodox clerics celebrated the
completion on Thursday of a $1.5 million restoration project on the
onion-domed roof of the landmark Church of Saint Mary Magdalene on
Jerusalem's Mount of Olives.
Archbishop Mark, overseer of Holy Land properties for the Russian Orthodox
Church Abroad, declared the church safe for millennium pilgrims after
workers spent three years repairing the structure and regilding the
distinctive domes.
The Russian-style church sits on the slope of the Mount of Olives next to
the Garden of Gethsemane, sacred to Christians as the place where Jesus
spent the night before his crucifixion.
The roof had not undergone restoration since the church was built in 1887
during the reign of Russian Czar Alexander III. Archbishop Mark said the
dire state of the roof had put 28 unsuspecting nuns from a convent
attached the church at risk.
``They were in fact in danger of their lives, not knowing it. When rain
was dripping on their heads during their prayers, they did not know that
danger was hidden over them,'' he said.
After a brief prayer service, he was lifted up on an electric ladder to
sprinkle the domes with holy water.
The restoration project, funded by donations from abroad, was carried out
by the small German firm of Hans Lanz.
``It's a project you can do once in your life,'' said Hans Kellner, who
affixed 40,000 pieces of gold leaf to the domes.
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