(OSV News) -- Restoration is set to begin at the grotto of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for the first time in 600 years.
The official announcement of the work was made in a joint Jan. 23 communique by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, who share in the overseeing of the holy site along with the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarchate, which will also be cooperating in the restoration efforts.
"This project embodies a unified Christian commitment to preserve the spiritual, historical, and cultural patrimony of the Holy Grotto for future generations, and to uphold the dignity of a site where the Christian proclamation took visible form and where the faithful of every nation have gathered in pilgrimage throughout the centuries," the statement said.
The three churches share governance and access to the Church of the Nativity -- as well as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and a few other sites -- under the long-standing Status Quo, based on 18th- and 19th-century Ottoman decrees. This agreement has maintained a delicate balance among Christian denominations, which have occasionally clashed violently over site control, even as recently as 2011. In recent years, however, the churches have increasingly cooperated on restoration work at both the Nativity and Holy Sepulcher.
According to Christian tradition, the grotto commemorates the site where Jesus was born, and is marked by a silver star embedded in the floor. For centuries pilgrims have come to the church, which was built over the grotto in the fourth century, to kneel in front of the star and the altar above it, to venerate the site.
The first church on the site was commissioned in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother St. Helena. After its destruction in the sixth century, the current structure was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and completed around 565. According to tradition it was one of the only Christian churches saved from destruction by the Persian invasion in 614 because of the mosaic at the entrance of the church depicting the three magi wearing Persian-style clothing.
The church statement said the restoration will be carried out with the backing of the office of the Palestinian president in accordance with the 2024 Presidential Decree on the Restoration of the Grotto of the Church of the Nativity and the historical Status Quo. It will also include undertaking technical reinforcement measures in adjacent sections to reflect "both the architectural unity of the sanctuary and the cooperative spirit that preserves it for the entire world," the statement said.
"Through this collective effort, the Churches of Jerusalem protect the Gospel heritage entrusted to them and ensure that the faithful of all traditions may continue to venerate the birthplace of Christ with reverence," the statement said.
The work will be carried out by the same Italian firm that carried out the recent rehabilitation of the Basilica of the Nativity.
