| This ladder was left by a mason in the 1700s and nobody is allowed to move it. It was apparently forgotten after some construction work was done on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree the Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. All six property owners have to agree to any changes done to the church, and since they never are able to agree on anything, nothing will ever be changed. Reports tell about fist-fights among the priests over objects being moved without consent. One involves a chair being moved from the shadow and into a sunny area at a patio when a particular priest wanted a tan. Since there has been a general hostile environment in the church for hundreds of years, when the mason forgot his ladder after doing work on the church in the 1700s, none of the priests would agree that the ladder was to be removed. It has stayed put since (it has been stolen, and moved by pranksters but been put back in place after it was found again). It's nice that they're all such good neighbours. Here it is:
Bottom line: A mason forgot his ladder 300 years ago and nobody is allowed to move it since different churches don't agree on moving it. Seems reasonable ... |
