The conflict over an unpaid $2.3 million water bill of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been resolved, the RIA Novosti (Russian) website reports today (November 15, 2012).
"The Holy Sepulchre Church's water debts have been written off, not without the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church after Patriarch Kirill met with Israeli President Shimon Peres," Deacon Alexander Volkov -- who heads the Patriarch's press service -- said yesterday while summing up the five-day visit by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to the region.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre -- which has for centuries been one of the most important pilgrimage destinations for millions of Christians as the purported site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ -- earlier in November threatened to close its doors, as its bank account was frozen over a debt to an Israeli water company. The Hagihon company -- which took over the water supply from Jerusalem authorities in the late 1990s -- recently demanded payment of a $2.3 million bill dating back 15 years, including interest.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III earlier this month wrote letters to the leaders of Russia, Israel, the United States, Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan with an appeal to intervene with the standoff and put a stop "to this flagrant act against the church." Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the presidential administration will thoroughly study Patriarch Theophilos's request for help.
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