|
The Immovable Ladder ((ヘブライ語:סולם הסטטוס קוו), lit. "The status quo ladder") is a wooden ladder located above the facade, under the window of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. Made of cedar wood, possibly from Lebanon, it was first mentioned in 1757 and has remained in the same exact location since the 18th century, aside from being temporarily moved on two occasions. The ladder is referred to as immovable due to an understanding that no cleric of the six ecumenical Christian orders may move, rearrange, or alter any property without the consent of the other five orders.〔The six Christian religious orders are the Latins (Roman Catholics), Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Christians and Ethiopians.〕 Upon the pontifical orders of Pope Paul VI in 1964, the ladder was to remain in place until such a time when the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church reach a state of ecumenism. The ladder has since been related to the agreement of ''Status Quo'' which defined the six Christian religious orders which claim rights over the use of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The primary conflicts, however, surrounding the ladder and its immovability have been disputed by a lasting conflict between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. ==History== According to various accounts, the ladder once belonged to a mason who was working restoration in the Holy Sepulchre. The first account by mention of the ladder was related to a ''Firman'' or edict dated in 1757 by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid I followed by another edict by Sultan Abdülmecid I in 1852. The ladder is thought to be owned by the Armenian Apostolic Church along with its accompanying ledge.〔The Status Quo in the Holy Places, Ariel Publishing House, Jerusalem. Republished in 1980, page 17, 3rd paragraph〕 Various lithographs show that the ladder was in place by the late 1830s. Possibly the oldest image is an engraving which the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land dates to 1728. While the Franciscans make no reference to the ladder, something in the form of a ladder can be seen in the right window above the entrance. The earliest photograph showing the ladder dates from the 1850s. In 1981, just a month after the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, an attempt to remove the ladder from its location was made, but was quickly prevented by local Israeli police though the culprit was not caught. In 1997, the ladder was removed and remained missing for weeks. Thought to be a prank, it was returned later amidst rumor of further conflicts between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church leaders.〔(Holy Sepulchre Ladder )〕 In 2009 the ladder was moved again. It was placed against the ''left'' window for a short period, perhaps in order to clear scaffoldings at the completion of renovating the bell tower. 〔 (Who Moved thy Ladder? )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Immovable Ladder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|