See the story of the stairs of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher where no one moves
The place where Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead became a highly contested region visited by believers from different religions around the world. Today called the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the building located in the ancient city of Jerusalem brings together mysteries and rumors dating back several centuries.
One of them involves a very common object and has nothing to do with all the mystique surrounding the resurrection of Christ: a simple maintenance ladder placed under a window that has not been moved for nearly 300 years.
Visitors to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher can now see the object there, in the same place it was left in the early 17th century. No one is quite sure how it got there, but it was simply never taken out, and now no one dares to move it. This is because the Basilica is run by various religious organizations that have been in conflict for centuries, and there is no agreement on this point.
Too Chief for Little Indian
Since the early eighteenth century, Christians, Muslims and Jews have shared responsibility for the administration and maintenance of the Holy Sepulcher Basilica, built in the fourth century. Certain regions of the city are under the tutelage of each group, and most of the construction is up to the Christians, who are divided into six religions with local attributions.
And the old problem of too much chieftain for little Indian is probably what explains why the ladder is still there. Every little decision involving altering and maintaining common regions demands so much discussion that the object has simply been staying at the same point literally for centuries.
In a way, it eventually became the symbol of universal religious disagreements. Nothing can be moved within the Basilica without everyone agreeing on it; otherwise big fights can start. And this is not just in theory: in 2008, a Coptic monk moved a chair 20 centimeters sideways to be in shadow during a preaching, and this was interpreted as a hostile act by the Greek faithful, so that a huge dispute was started in the church. Yes, they "went out" in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.
To prevent this kind of situation from recurring, as no one knows exactly who was responsible for positioning the ladder where it is, none of those responsible for the Basilica have the courage to move - not to provoke the others.
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