A nun rings the bell for a mass at the Loaves' church in Israel. PHOTO: AFP
TABGHA, ISRAEL: A church in northern Israel reopened on Sunday after a lengthy closure owing to an arson attack.
The place of worship has Biblical importance for Christians, who believe that Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes where it is located.
The church reopened after a 20-month long closure following the attack by Jewish extremists.
In June 2015, two rooms of the complex in Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee were vandalised and damaged in a fire perpetrated by the fanatics.
Two Israelis charged in arson attack on Church of Loaves and Fishes
Christian dignitaries, as well as donors, attended a ceremony and mass in the Roman Catholic church upon its reopening.
It took an eight-month period to renovate the complex at a cost of one million dollars, out of which the State of Israel dispensed $400,000.
Three Jewish extremists were indicted for the attack on the grounds that it was a hate crime against the state's religious minority.
However, the accused are yet to receive a sentence for the alleged crime.
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