Notre Dame: A Down Payment on What is Owed

11 Nisan 5779

This is no random, "tragic" incident - especially not when it occurs during "Holy Week" and on the 10th of Nisan.

Christians and art buffs are devastated over the potential loss of nine centuries of history and masterpieces

France is mourning the obliteration of one of the most prominent symbols of its national heritage just days before the Easter celebrations.

But in a glimmer of hope, Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo said cops and rescuers formed a human chain the save some of the artworks - including the crown and tunic of Saint Louis.

France’s Interior Ministry said firefighters are optimistic they can save the main structure and the building’s two bell towers, despite the steeple being destroyed.

Shocking pictures show the collapsed roof and smoke-filled interior of the iconic building.

Among the most celebrated artworks inside are its three stained-glass rose windows, placed high up on the west, north and south faces of the cathedral.

Notre Dame’s most precious treasure, a relic venerated as the Crown of Thorns worn by [Yeshu], is understood to have been saved from the fire.

The Crown of Thorns, which is considered Paris’s equivalent of the Crown Jewels, is stored at the end of a nave of the cathedral, not readily visible to visitors.

It is encased in an ornate gold and glass container commissioned by Napoleon and is only brought out on Fridays during Lent and on Good Friday.

While the authenticity of the relic has not been certified, historians have dated it back to [Yeshu's] crucifixion.

The relic originally came from Jerusalem and was carefully placed in the nearby Sainte-Chappelle, a chapel built in the 13th century specifically for the crown.

The massive South Rose glass window is an awe-inspiring sight inside the famous cathedral.

Originally a gift from King St. Louis IX, the window was created in 1260 and is dedicated to the New Testament.

It was removed from the facade of Notre Dame during the Second World War when the French feared the Germans would target it and was replaced in the Sixties.

The cathedral’s website boasts that its three rose windows “constitute one of the great masterpieces of Christianity.”

But it is not yet know what damage the smoke and falling debris could have on the artwork.

...The iconic cathedral was first commissioned in 1163 by King Louis VII and completed in 1345, nearly 200 years later.

...Dramatic drone pictures show the devastation caused by the savage blaze which has already laid waste to the 850-year-old church's spire and much of its Gothic roof.

Emmanuel Gregoire, the deputy mayor of Paris, said the cathedral had suffered "colossal damages" and that emergency workers were trying to salvage the priceless pieces stored inside.

Scaffolding that had been set up around the building has been decimated along with large parts of the cathedral, including the spire, which dates back to the mid-19th Century.

A "stray flame" linked to £5 million renovation work is thought to have sparked the inferno in the loft at around 5.30pm local time on Monday. (Source: The Sun)

France will not get any expressions of sympathy from me. I'm thrilled to see a major symbol of the false, idolatrous and antisemitic religion crash and burn.  And so may be the fate of every place of worship for false gods.