Thread by @DavidVidecette

This is the moment The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was closed due to Coronavirus.

Last time this happened was in 1349, during The Black Death, a bubonic plague pandemic.

What’s fascinating about this story is the guy with the keys.

The church is in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Within its complex it is said to contain the two holiest sites in Christianity; the site where Jesus was crucified, and the empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and then resurrected.

The site, which has existed in one form or another since the 4th century, is occupied by a number of rival Christian denominations. These denominations often don’t agree with each other and conflict has been a recurring feature among them during its history.

Disputes continue even in recent times. In 2002, a Coptic monk moved his chair from its agreed spot into the shade. This was interpreted as a hostile move by the Ethiopian Christians and eleven people were hospitalised.

In another incident in 2004, during Orthodox celebrations of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a door to the Franciscan chapel was left open. This was taken as a sign of disrespect by the Orthodox and a fistfight broke out.

The various entities coexist, just about, in the complex under arrangements put in place by the Ottomans, which preserves a status quo of coexistence and sharing.

Clearly the locking up of the church and who holds the keys in order to do that is a big thing then?

And this is the fascinating part.

Since the seventh century, a Sunni Muslim family has held the keys of the Church. And this remains the case even today, in the hope of avoiding clashes among rival Christian sects for control over the church.

We don’t often hear stories in the media about Muslims keeping the peace among the rival Christians, and this story is surprisingly absent in today’s news I think.