Cross Stolen at Church in the Holy Land - the Church where the Miracle of the Propagation of the Loaves and Fish Occurred
Unidentified persons stole a cross that was standing outside the Church of the Propagation of Bread and Fish in Tabgha, in the Galilee.
Jörg Roekamp explained to Agence France-Presse that the cross, made of iron, which was installed on a basalt rock in front of the Church of the Multiplication of Bread and Fish in Tabgha, on the northwestern bank of the Sea of Galilee, disappeared on Thursday, August 19, 2021.
Roekamp, a representative of the German Association of the Holy Land to which the site belongs, denounced the "anti-Christian" act. "This is evidence that individuals can infiltrate the church and desecrate our property," he added.
The police in Tiberias announced in a statement that an investigation had been opened in this case.
In June 2015, this church, which was built on the site of the miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish, was set on fire. On the site's walls were found writings in Hebrew calling for the removal of "pagan idols". Three Jewish extremists were charged with setting fire to the church "out of hatred for Christianity", and a guilty verdict was later issued against one of them.
Roekamp noted that the cross, about 15 centimeters long, was embedded in a basalt stone plinth at an open-air prayer site on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He concluded that "the removal of the cross did not happen by accident, since it was very tightly attached to the stone." Roekamp believed that the thieves had reached the place by boat, expecting that there would be little hope of finding the cross.
The number of Christians in Israel is about 200,000, according to the official census, or about two percent of the population, and most of them live in the north of the country, and they are descended from the Arabs of Israel, and they are Palestinians who remained in
Jörg Roekamp explained to Agence France-Presse that the cross, made of iron, which was installed on a basalt rock in front of the Church of the Multiplication of Bread and Fish in Tabgha, on the northwestern bank of the Sea of Galilee, disappeared on Thursday, August 19, 2021.
Roekamp, a representative of the German Association of the Holy Land to which the site belongs, denounced the "anti-Christian" act. "This is evidence that individuals can infiltrate the church and desecrate our property," he added.
The police in Tiberias announced in a statement that an investigation had been opened in this case.
In June 2015, this church, which was built on the site of the miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish, was set on fire. On the site's walls were found writings in Hebrew calling for the removal of "pagan idols". Three Jewish extremists were charged with setting fire to the church "out of hatred for Christianity", and a guilty verdict was later issued against one of them.
Roekamp noted that the cross, about 15 centimeters long, was embedded in a basalt stone plinth at an open-air prayer site on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He concluded that "the removal of the cross did not happen by accident, since it was very tightly attached to the stone." Roekamp believed that the thieves had reached the place by boat, expecting that there would be little hope of finding the cross.
The number of Christians in Israel is about 200,000, according to the official census, or about two percent of the population, and most of them live in the north of the country, and they are descended from the Arabs of Israel, and they are Palestinians who remained in
Source: https://abouna.org/
Comments