The historic altar of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Monastery of St Mark in Jerusalem has been unveiled for the first time in nearly 350 years, following an extensive restoration. Source: Catholic Review.
The January 11 reveal showcased intricate gold-leaf details and baroque decorations long hidden beneath layers of damage and past repairs.
It was unveiled in front of members of the community and diplomats after two years of work by a team of Mexican restoration experts from the María Visión Mexican Catholic TV channel.
Archbishop Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub, the Syriac Orthodox patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, Jordan and the Holy Land, said the completion of the work by the five-man team was nothing short of a miracle and included an eight-month break following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities and the ensuing two-year war.
According to Syriac Orthodox tradition, the monastery is the site of the house of Mark, where Jesus instructed Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal and is believed to be the location of the Upper Room where the Last Supper, washing of the disciples’ feet, post-Resurrection appearances, and Pentecost occurred, strengthening the first Church.
“From here the first Church was strengthened and the Gospel went forth to all peoples by the power of the Spirit. Today we inaugurate a historical wooden structure that is far more than an artistic masterpiece,” Archbishop Yakoub said.
The community had long wanted to restore the altarpiece, whose vibrant colour had unwittingly been muted by chemical gold spray long ago by unknown work.
An inscription at the top of the altar attests to the last official restoration having taken place in 1733, and Archbishop Yakoub said that studies of the altar have shown that it may be 400 years old.
The unique work is distinguished by gilded wooden intricate eastern floral decorations, slender columns with small arches and capitals. Its carvings are like “silent prayers,” the archbishop said.
Tests by an Italian restoration team working on the restoration at the Church of the Nativity revealed the original gold leaf, silver leaf and the beautiful colours beneath. Crucially, however, the altarpiece was also found to be infested with termites and predicted to collapse within a year without intervention.
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Historic altar at St Mark’s monastery in Jerusalem unveiled for first time in 350 years (By Judith Sudilovsky, OSV News via Catholic Review)
