The Cleanest Stair in Jerusalem
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the place where, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was crucified and buried, and for that reason it is considered to be one of the most significant and important sites for Christianity. Due to its sensitivity, the church has become a source of disputes and debates between the different sects and factions in the Christian church, which have acquired or assumed various rights regarding it over the years. The many frictions led to the signing of a Status Quo agreement in the middle of the 19th century, which established the division of rights between the various Christian factions regarding rituals, actions and responsibilities for different areas within the church. The prayer times for each faction were determined, the order of worship was decided, it was determined who was responsible for cleaning and maintaining various areas in the church, and more.
The agreement that was signed was meticulous and went down to every detail. Despite this, in 1901 a violent struggle took place between two Christian factions over the issue of the lowest step in the staircase that leads to the Chapel of the Franks, which is located to the right of the main entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The entrance courtyard to the church was defined as a common area for all Christian factions, but the right to clean it was given to the Orthodox Greeks alone. The staircase that leads to the Chapel of the Franks, on the other hand, belongs to the Catholics according to the status quo agreement, and therefore they are the ones responsible for cleaning it. An open dispute remained about the lowest step in the staircase. This step is lower than the rest of the stairs and is only slightly above the level of the courtyard, so the question arose as to whether it belongs to the staircase or to the courtyard. The conflict heated up and even reached a point of violence between the monks, and in the end it was decided that the Catholics could clean the lower step at dawn, and the Orthodox Greeks could clean it again together with the whole yard. Because of this, this single step is considered the cleanest step in all of Jerusalem, because it is cleaned twice every day...
Ownership of various areas in the church:
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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