Church Wrecker

   Happy Friday with Chairman Joe.

   On this day in 1009 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah demolished the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This was a big deal for Christians because the church, really a complex of buildings, was built on the supposed sites of Jesus' death and his resurrection. Al-Hakim was known as the "mad caliph." Some historians say he was called "mad" out of spite by his enemies. The fact remains that he tore down a church that had stood for six centuries, a church that had been tolerated by the previous caliphs.
   Al-Hakim was unusual in other ways. He would take off by himself on hikes around the countryside. At the age of thirty-six he disappeared while on one of these hikes. All that was found was his donkey and some bloody garments. It is thought that his sister, tired of his antics, had him assassinated. No one seemed to miss him. Within a few years work began on a new Church of the Sepulchre which still stands today. Pilgrims flock there in the millions.
   The church that al-Hakim tore down had been built in the fourth century on the site of a Roman temple to the god Jupiter. When the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312 A.D., he sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem to look for Christ's tomb so he could build a church on the site. The search party found a cave filled with dirt under the Jupiter temple, and near it, three crosses. The bishop of Jerusalem said this had to be Christ's burial spot.
   Constantine ordered the temple demolished and a church built over the tomb, which of course was also the site of the resurrection.  Also discovered in the same general area was Calvary where Christ was crucified. Another church was built over that. While all this was going on, Helena found the site of Jesus' birth down in Bethlehem. Constantine ordered up another church.
   The church was destroyed by fire when the Iranians invaded in 614. This was before the Iranians were Muslims. A few years later the Christian Byzantine emperor chased the Iranians out and rebuilt the church just in time for the Muslims to take over the city in 640. The Muslims respected the church and allowed Christian pilgrims to visit up till  the time of the mad caliph in 1009. Over this period the church suffered more fires and was damaged by earthquakes.
   After al-Hakim's death, the Byzantine emperor negotiated with the Muslims to allow the rebuilding of the church, paid for by the emperor. The Byzantines rebuilt much of the church but the great basilica remained in ruins. Infighting among various Muslim factions during this time made travel for Christians pilgrims difficult and was one of the motives for the First Crusade.
   The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099 and held the city for almost 150 years. Repairs continued to the church buildings during the time Christian kings ruled the city. In 1244 the Muslims were back in control, but they allowed Christian pilgrims to visit. Control of the church complex shifted between Roman and Orthodox Christians depending on who had the ear of the Muslim ruler. These squabbles went on until 1757 when the Muslims said "enough!" and established the Status Quo which declared everything had to stay the way it was unless all six Christian religious groups involved with the church could agree to a change. This is why so little has changed. There is even a small ladder leaning against a wall which still stands were it was when the Status Quo went into effect.
   The Status Quo also divided the Old City of Jerusalem into the four present day quarters: Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Armenian. When the Muslims first took control of the city in the seventh century, they gave the key to the church to a Muslim family whose descendants opened the door every morning and locked it every evening. They lost the job when the Crusaders arrived, but when the Muslims returned a century and a half later, the Nuseibehs got their old job back. Tradition! Without it, everything goes to wrack and ruin.

Let me get the door for you. (That is not the "immovable ladder.")