NTUA professor Tonia Moropoulou and president of the 3rd International Scientific Conference TMM_CH, which is being held these days with the aim of disseminating the know-how acquired through the implementation of the project.

It is noted that the Tomb of Jesus was opened for the first time after centuries in October 2016, when the National Technical University of Athens proceeded with restoration work on the monument.

“What I will never forget and I would say has stamped my personality is that I learned to converse with my colleagues of various scientific specialties, the craftsmen, the ‘owners’ of the project – the patriarchs -, to converse with a city open to two peoples and three religions. Because this work was done in an environment of common acceptance by everyone, with only opponents who wanted the face of Jerusalem not to have the character of unity and peace, but of conflict and terrorism”, pointed out Mrs. Moropoulou, who he will also never forget the “lessons” he learned from the Holy Sepulcher itself.

“When we opened him the energy we felt was catalytic. It is a monument that speaks to all humanity, so I told National Geographic when I emerged from the sacred canopy that evening.

Three billion people watched this venture and we felt like we had all of humanity with us. A sacred monument that we opened and touched with great awe, a monument that inspires the unity of all forces, religion, science, progress. A monument that brings together all of humanity.

If there are 2 billion Christians, the 3 billion who watched the project understand what they mean. If there were 12 million a year who went on religious tourism to Israel, now there are 50 million, because this great interest of humanity in the Holy Sepulcher has changed the facts for Israel itself” said the professor.

She explained to APE-MPE that “at this moment, in continuation of our own work, the Sapienza University of Rome is in Jerusalem, which by the decision of the ‘three’ is carrying out excavations in the underground space under the Holy Cubicle. Sapienza University, however, participates with us, as well as with the Israeli University of Bezalel, as well as with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Israel, in ERASMUS+EDICULA in order to transfer the know-how we developed in our project and to the specific universities as well as to the whole the world. Because what is particularly important is that today we are returning not only to the Holy Sepulcher, but also to the international scientific community and to young people, the knowledge that this unique project allowed us to develop”, T. Moropoulou emphasized to APE-MPE. which also referred to what impressed her most from her experience as head and scientific manager of the project.

The opening of the works took place on Monday, March 20, 2023 at the Eugenides Foundation by the Vice-President of the Government, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, with the blessings of His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Hieronymos, and His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and opening greetings from the Rector of NTUA, Prof. Andreas Boutouvis, the President of TEE, Giorgos Stasinos, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Education, Culture and Youth, Marija Gabriel, the Secretary General of ICOMOS, Professor Mario Santana Quintero, the Director General of the Ministry of Antiquities of Israel, Dr Eli Eskosido, the President of ETEK, Konstantinos Constantis, the Rector of the University of Ioannina, Professor Anna Batistatou, the President of CHiFA and Honorary President of WMF, Bonnie Burnham, the President of CIPA Heritage Documentation, Associate Professor Efstratios Stylianidis , and the Director of the UNESCO Chair DC H, Dr. Marino Ioannidis.