RELIGIOUS leaders yesterday unveiled a renovated dome in Jerusalem's 1,662-year old church of the Holy Sepulchre, marking the site where Christian tradition says Jesus Christ was crucified and buried.
The original dome was damaged by a 1927 earthquake and then by shelling during the 1948 Arab Israeli war, but serious repair work was held up by feuds between the five "custodian" churches.
In 1994, the three main custodians - the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian churches - signed an accord to renovate the dome. The five custodian churches, which also include the Coptic and Ethiopian churches, each hold a section of the Holy Sepulchre.
The design of the new dome was also a source of squabbles between the custodians until a compromise was reached.
St Helena, mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine, founded the church on the site, now within Jerusalem's Old City.
