TheStatus Quo (Hebrew:סטטוס קוו;Arabic:الوضع الراهن) is an understanding among religious communities with respect to nine shared religious sites inJerusalem andBethlehem.[1] Other holy places inIsrael were not deemed subject to the Status Quo, because the authorities of one religion or community within a religion are in recognized or effective possession of them.[2]
Thestatus quo stemmed from afirman (decree) ofOttoman sultanOsman III in 1757[3] that preserved the division of ownership and responsibilities of variousChristian holy places. Further firmans issued in 1852 and 1853 affirmed that no changes could be made without consensus from all six Christian communities;[a][4][5] these firmans received international recognition in Article 9 of theTreaty of Paris (1856).[6] The termstatus quo was first used in regard to the Holy Places in theTreaty of Berlin (1878).[6]
The 1929 summary prepared byL. G. A. Cust,The Status Quo in the Holy Places, became the standard text on the subject,[7][8] and the details were further formalized in the 1949United Nations Conciliation Commission after the1947–1949 Palestine war.
Controlled by theRoman Empire and then, following its division, by theEastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, these eastern sites first became a point of contention in the centuries following 1054, when theCatholic Church and theEastern Orthodox Churchseparated. Following the seizure of the Holy Land by knights from the West in theFirst Crusade, the Catholic church became the custodian of the churches in Jerusalem. With the defeat of the crusader states and the rise of the Ottoman Empire, control of the sites oscillated between the Catholic (Latin) and the Orthodox (Greek) churches, depending upon which could obtain a favorablefirman (decree) from the OttomanSublime Porte at a particular time, often through outright bribery.[citation needed] Violent clashes were not uncommon. There was no agreement about this question, although it was discussed at the negotiations to theTreaty of Karlowitz between the Ottoman Empire and theHoly League in 1699.[9]
During theHoly Week of 1757, Orthodox Christians reportedly took over some of the Franciscan-controlled church, possibly leading SultanOsman III to write a 1757 decree forming the basis of thestatus quo.[10][better source needed][3] In the years preceding theCrimean War (1853–1856),Napoleon III of France pressured the sultan to invalidate the 1757 status quo in favor of the Catholic church, leading in part toNicholas I of Russia declaring war in favor of the Orthodox church's rights. This resulted in 1852 and 1853firmans by SultanAbdülmecid I which received international recognition in Article 9 of theTreaty of Paris (1856) leaving the status quo intact. The existing territorial division was solidified amongst the communities,[4] the treaty stating that "The actual status quo will be maintained and the Jerusalem shrines, whether owned in common or exclusively by theGreek,Latin, andArmenian communities, will all remain forever in their present state." Despite this declaration, there are no unanimous terms defining the status quo, sometimes causing contradictory differences of opinion.[11]
Despite the arguments over who would control what aspects of these sites, the Status Quo has remained largely intact from the 18th century to the present.
The termstatus quo was first used in regards to the Holy Places in Article 62 of theTreaty of Berlin (1878).[6][b] A summary of the Status Quo prepared byL. G. A. Cust, acivil servant of theBritish Mandate,The Status Quo in the Holy Places, quickly became the standard text on the subject.[7][6]
According to theUnited Nations Conciliation Commission, the Status Quo applies to nine sites inJerusalem andBethlehem,[1] whichCust separates into three categories:
David's Tomb andCenacle were not part of the Status quo arrangement during the British Mandate for Palestine; it is nevertheless in a similar position, being disputed by the Catholics who have built the current structure, the Muslims (the Ottoman sultan confiscated it from the Franciscans), and Jewish and Israeli institutions, who took control of it in 1948.
The so-calledimmovable ladder[c] under the window of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, made ofLebanon cedar wood, was in place by 1728 and has apparently remained there since the 1757 status quo was established (with temporary moves occurring in 1997 and 2009).[5][13] The ladder is referred to as immovable due to the agreement of the Status Quo that no cleric of the six Churches[a] may move, rearrange, or alter any property without the consent of the other five orders.
TheChurch of the Tomb of Mary has also been historically used by Muslims. Theqibla, a niche indicating the direction of Mecca, is currently boarded up. The two old bronze vessels once used by Muslims for ritual washing and the drainage opening underneath them are not being used anymore, but are nevertheless kept in their dedicated place.
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