Alexander's Compound in Jerusalem can be transferred to Russia within 60 days, said Israeli Minister of Ecology Zeev Elkin.

“Russian claims have been published, and now, within 60 days, if no one contradicts this and submits his evidence, this compound will be written in the name of the Russian Church (ROC). If there are alternative requests and appeals, it will go to court to make a decision on the basis of the documentation that is, ”Elkin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The issue of transferring the compound was raised at a meeting of the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission on January 22.

The minister said that Russia has submitted documents that prove that the Alexander Compound should be “part of the property of the Russian Orthodox Church through the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society”.

Earlier, Assistant to the President of Russia Yuri Ushakov, responding to questions from journalists, noted that the process of transferring the farmstead was “in a positive direction”, but “not all legal formalities were completed yet.”

According to Yuri Ushakov, the decision of the Israeli side on the compound is in line with the good relations that have developed between the countries and personally between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Historically Russian property

“Alexander’s Compound, as well as many objects in Israel, historically belonged to Russia,” said Sergei Gavrilov, president of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, head of the State Duma committee for the development of civil society, and issues of public and religious associations, in an interview with RT.

According to him, such objects - churches, pilgrimage houses, shelters for pilgrims, shelters for patients - were bought by Russia, including with state funds.

The land on which the Alexander Compound is located was acquired in 1859 from the Coptic clergy to host the Russian consulate. The site was located a few tens of meters from Calvary - in the immediate vicinity of the place of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ. The consulate was soon decided to place in another part of Jerusalem.

In the 1880s, archaeological excavations began on this site under the guidance of the head of the Russian mission in the Holy Land and the Byzantine scientist Archimandrite Antonin. Famous archaeologists and orientalists from around the world took part in the studies. In 1883, a fragment of the second bypass wall of the Jerusalem with the Threshold of the Judgment Gate, the arch of the Hadrian Temple, fragments of the walls and the remains of two columns of the basilica of the Church of the Resurrection from the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, as well as other structures from the antiquity and the Middle Ages, were discovered here.

After completing archaeological research, the construction of a compound for the needs of Russian pilgrims arriving in the Holy Land began. It was ready in 1891. Six years later, the house church was consecrated in the courtyard in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky.

  • Alexander's Compound in Jerusalem. Photo F.M. Timon. The end of the XIX century
  • © Wikimedia commons

In connection with the outbreak of the First World War, it became difficult for Russian subjects to get to the Holy Land. Compound fell into decay. After the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks separated the church from the state, and the leadership of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, the official direct owner of the compound, found itself in exile. At the end of the twentieth century, the Alexander Compound was occupied by a foreign organization. Around his belonging, active negotiations began between the authorities of Russia and Israel.

“The issue of international law and justice”

If the Alexander Compound is returned to Russia, it will have serious spiritual and international political significance, said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University.

“This will be an extremely important event for the Orthodox of Russia, and for Russian society as a whole, and for Palestine, and for the Middle East. Russia has always been present in the Middle East, not so much politically and economically as in the spiritual, ”Vladimir Shapovalov emphasized in a commentary to RT.

  • © Wikimedia commons / Krupski Oleg

The scientist noted that Russia's actions aimed at protecting Christianity in the Middle East should not be forgotten.

“The role of Russia was indeed key to preserving the Christian world in Palestine and the Middle East. The fact that the process of returning the compound to our jurisdiction is now taking place is an extremely important symbolic act. It is also important because Russia over the past five years has significantly changed the situation in the Middle East with its military, economic, diplomatic and cultural assistance, when it saved Syria. Now it’s quite difficult to imagine what the processes in the Middle East would be without Moscow’s participation, ”said Vladimir Shapovalov.

According to Sergei Gavrilov, the work to return the Alexander metochion of Russia is extremely relevant.

“Given the church schism, the need for pilgrimage land and a visit to the Alexander metochion is very great for us,” he said.

The parliamentarian stressed that work in this direction has not yet been completed.

“A huge archival work is still underway to restore documents to all our facilities. Complex work is ongoing in the courts of Israel, ”said the president of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy.

Vladimir Shapovalov also noted the importance for pilgrims from Russia of the return of the Alexander Compound.

“Every year, it’s several hundred thousand people arriving on the Holy Land. The return of the compound will not only create material conditions for their accommodation, but will also become an important signal. Russians will understand that they are in our Holy Land, where there is a part of Russia, ”the expert emphasized.

Sergey Gavrilov believes that the deployment of Russian objects in the Middle East will benefit the secular authorities of Israel, as it will allow a much larger number of pilgrims and tourists to come to its territory.

  • The roof of the Alexander Compound with an Orthodox cross in the Old City of Jerusalem. In the background Mount of Olives
  • © Wikimedia commons / Marcel Masferrer Pascual

“The status of the Alexander Compound is a matter of international law and justice. We hope that the negotiations will be completed and solutions will be found, ”summed up the head of the State Duma committee on the development of civil society, issues of public and religious associations.