Israel gifts Ghana sacred Jerusalem stone for national cathedral foundation

Ghana’s president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a national cathedral to be located in the capital Accra.

The president was joined by leadership of major Christian congregations, government officials, ambassadors, traditional authorities and a cross-section of citizens at the event.

A key talking point about the event was the importation of a stone from Jerusalem which the president dropped into the first digging at the site. Local online portal GhanaWeb reported that the Israeli ambassador Shani Cooper presented the stone to President Akufo-Addo.

The stone, according to her, will symbolize the sacredness of the land earmarked for the project as Christians regard Jerusalem to be the most sacred site in the world. She added that Isreal’s involvement in the construction of the Ghana National Cathedral will strengthen ties between the two countries, the report added.

Actual work on the cathedral begins today, March 6, 2020. Today marks Ghana’s 63rd independence anniversary with the national celebrations taking place in the second largest city of Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

The president in a Facebook post said the facility “will be the rallying point for the Christian community to come together to worship, to pray and to promote deep national conversations on the role of faith in building Ghana.

“It will house a Bible Museum, and it will be an iconic infrastructure for national, regional and international pilgrimage and tourism. It will be a monument to religious liberty. Its construction deserves the full support of the nation,” he added.

The interdenominational Christian Cathedral, when completed, will have a 5,000 seating capacity with chapels, a baptistery, a music school, an art gallery, and a Bible museum.

It will also serve as a venue for formal state occasions of religious nature such as state funerals, thanksgiving services among others.

“…since gaining our freedom from the colonial power sixty-three years ago on the 6th of March 1957, Ghana has so far been speared civil war, famine, and epidemics,” said the president.

“We are certainly no better than the other nations in our neighborhood who have been confronted with these challenges. I believe it is by the grace of God that we have been preserved and sustained. The construction of the Cathedral will be an act of thanksgiving to the Almighty for His Blessings, Grace, Favour and Mercies on our nation,” he added.