The public enters the Resurrection Church, better known worldwide as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from a small plaza off of St. Helena Street, just across from the Omar mosque in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter. The facade that contains the main entrance has four arched openings (although one has been bricked up). Two are on the ground level and two are above on the second level. Between the levels is a small balcony ledge. On that balcony sits one of the curious features of the church’s exterior: an aged, wooden ladder. Popularly called “the immovable ladder,” it has been in place (with only minor interruption) since at least 1757. An engraving of the façade from 1728 shows that a ladder was in use in that location even then.
The church is administered chiefly by six (often rival) Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox. In 1757, during the rule of Ottoman sultan Osman III, a decree called the “Status Quo” agreement was signed. It served in part to stabilize the volatility among various groups seeking control of religious sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Under the decree, two important things happened. First, it established that whoever had control of a certain location at that point in time would retain control indefinitely. Second, if multiple groups had control over a location, all must agree unanimously to any changes made to the site, however small. The Status Quo was upheld in 1852 and 1853 by subsequent decrees.
Different stories exist concerning how the ladder got there in the first place. Some say it belonged to a mason who was doing restoration work at the church. Others attribute the ladder’s presence to a time when the Muslim Ottomans who ruled the land taxed Christian clergy each time they entered and exited the building. It is said that the Roman Catholics responded by taking up residence inside the church, and the ladder is associated with their occupancy. Still other sources say that the window belonged to the Armenians, who liked to put a ladder down to the ledge below to watch ceremonies in the square. The ledge is said to belong to the Greek Orthodox, but once the Status Quo took effect, there was nothing they could do about the bottom of a ladder resting on their ledge.
In any case, it is problematic when custody of the window, the balcony, and perhaps even the ladder itself does not belong to a single group. According to the Ottomans’ forced (and permanent, yet to be overruled) compromise centuries ago, the ladder cannot be moved without a unanimous agreement among all parties. So there it sits, perhaps the most photographed ladder in the world and a favorite sight at this last stop on the Via Dolorosa. It provides us not only with a grin but also with food for thought and an opportunity to reflect on what it means for Christians to be members in unity of one Body of Christ.
