Roman Catholics had placed a silver star over the birthplace of Jesus in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and it hung there for many years. Eastern Orthodox Christians wanted to replace the star with one of their own, but the idea was rejected by the Catholics. The Eastern Orthodox church was backed by Russia, and the Catholics were backed by France. At the time Turkey had jurisdiction over Palestine, and in this conflict Turkey sided with the French. As a result Russia declared war on Turkey. Great Britain, France and Italy rallied to the side of Turkey, and for three years (1853-1856) the Crimean War raged. Two years after the war the silver star was permanently removed from the site. The immediate cause of a war was the maintenance of the place where it was declared that there would be peace.