Church Repairs Renew Christian Attention to Bethlehem

 

Major repairs to the Church of the Nativity are lifting spirits in the town of Bethlehem just before Christmas.

Many Christians² around the world celebrate Christmas on December 25. That is the day they believe Jesus was born. Many believe the Church of the Nativity was built on the site where Jesus was born.

Bethlehem city officials hope the repairs to the church will bring in more visitors and improve the weak economy in the West Bank. They also hope the repairs might help keep more Christians in the area.

Bethlehem Mayor³ Anton Salman told the Associated Press that Christians are leaving the area, known as ‘the Holy Land,’ because of conflict and economic difficulties.

Repairs to the Church of the Nativity started in 2013. That came a year after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, declared the church a world heritage⁴ site.

The repairs are expected to be completed by the end of next year. The Palestinian Authority⁵, which governs the territory, formed a committee of local Christian¹ leaders to lead the project. They also employed an Italian company to carry out the repairs.

Ziad al-Bandak is head of the committee. He said the group has collected $14 million out of $17 million needed. Almost half of the money has come from the Palestinian Authority, and local Muslim and Christian businesses. The rest came from foreign donations⁶.

“It has become such a beautiful church,” he said. “Every Christian in the world would love to see it now.”

The church is considered one of the holiest places in Christianity. It was built in the 4th century by Saint⁷ Helena over a cave where the Virgin⁸ Mary, Jesus’s mother, is said to have given birth. The church was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the 6th century under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.

For years there had been no repairs done to the building. The roof of the church was leaking, windows were broken, art was covered in dirt and walls and support structures were damaged.

After five years of work, it has been completely changed.

Emad Nassar is a Palestinian engineer with the repair project. He said the project started with the roof. Some of the roof supports were replaced with wood imported from old destroyed churches in Italy. Windows were fixed⁹, and outside stones and walls were repaired.

The biggest problem has been repairing the badly damaged 2,000 square meter wall mosaic¹⁰. So far, 120 square meters have been cleaned, showing images of Jesus and other Christian figures. Workers are also repairing a floor mosaic.

Why was the church left in such condition?

Under a 19th-century agreement, the Roman Catholic¹¹, the Greek Orthodox¹² and the Armenian churches have been responsible for their own areas of the church.

Disagreements among the three Christian organizations have left the church in a state of disrepair. The Palestinian Authority has been credited¹³ with settling the dispute¹⁴. But the repairs have not included the altar with the 14-point silver star that marks where Jesus was said to have been born.

Bethlehem depends heavily on visitors around the Christmas holiday. Local hotels, restaurants and gift stores do much of their business during the short holiday season. The repaired church has become a popular destination.

After dropping in 2015 and 2016, the number of visitors has risen in the past two years, officials say. The mayor said he expects 1.2 million visitors this year.

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁵.

And I’m -Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

church – n. a building that is used for Christian religious services

nativity – n. the birth of Jesus

original – adj. happening or existing first or at the beginning

heritage – n. the traditions, achievements and beliefs that are part of the history of a group or nation

roof – n. the cover or top of a building or vehicle

replace(d) – v. to be used instead of something

mosaic – n. a decoration on a surface made by pressing small pieces of colored glass or stone into a soft material that then hardens¹⁶ to make pictures or patterns

altar – n. a raised place on which sacrifices and gifts are offered in some religions — sometimes used figuratively

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

4 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

5 authority   

n.当局，官方；权力，权威，威信；当权者

参考例句：

• He is recognized internationally as an authority in this field.国际上承认他是这方面的一个权威。
• Professor White is looked upon as an authority on mathematics.怀特教授被看成数学权威。

6 donations   

n.捐赠( donation的名词复数 )；赠送；捐款；捐赠物

参考例句：

• The hospital receives a good deal of money in donations. 这家医院收到捐赠来的大笔款项。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The charity is completely reliant on public donations. 这一慈善团体完全依靠公众捐款。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

8 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

11 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

12 orthodox   

adj.正统的，传统的，惯常的

参考例句：

• They are orthodox Jews.他们是正统的犹太教徒。
• His ideas are very orthodox.他的思想非常合乎规范。

13 credited   

v.记入贷方；信用

参考例句：

• Cook is credited with discovering Hawaii. 人们把发现夏威夷的功劳归于库克。
• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal. 猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 dispute   

n.争端，分歧；v.争论，争吵，辩论，辩驳

参考例句：

• They are trying to find a way of settling the dispute.他们正设法寻找解决争端的办法。
• The parties to the dispute should be more polite to each other.争执双方应相互礼貌些。

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

16 hardens   

v.（使）变硬( harden的第三人称单数 )；（使）坚固；（使）硬化；（使）变得坚强

参考例句：

• Mould the mixture into shape while hot, before it hardens. 在混合物还没有变硬之前，趁热将它塑成形。 来自辞典例句
• Clay hardens when it becomes dry. 粘土干了的时候就变硬了。 来自辞典例句