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Sepulcher's guardians won't bury old jealousies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM -- In the dimly lit labyrinth of winding corridors and chapels of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre lie the most sacred sites in Christianity -- the places where tradition says Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
Bells toll, incense burns, monks chant and pilgrims rent crosses to retrace Jesus' final steps where the cavernous structure now stands.
Millions of Christian pilgrims are expected to heed the call of Pope John Paul II to visit the sacred sites of the Holy Land in the millennial year and throngs will be passing through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The church's dome is a landmark among the spires and minarets of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. But beneath every step and behind every pillar lies a potential minefield of centuries-old jealous quarreling among the denominations that share control of the church.
Decisions are often painstakingly slow when it comes to making alterations to the 900-year-old church where the denominations are wary of any infringement on their rights at the site.
Under rules set down in the early 1850s by the then-ruling Ottoman Turks for guardianship of holy sites, the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Orthodox share principal control of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
But other groups, such as the Ethiopian, Egyptian Copt and Syrian churches, have control over small parts. And they fiercely safeguard their space -- no matter how marginal it may be.
Twenty-six Ethiopians monks, for example, control only the part of the roof that covers the tomb of Jesus.
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