Immovable Ladder

The immovable ladder, Church of Holy Sepulchre, made of cedar wood has remained in the same exact location, since the 18th century, 2009 Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1885. The Immovable Ladder is visible below the upper-right window. (A different ladder is silhouetted against the dome.) The Immovable Ladder ( , lit.¹ "The status quo ladder") is a wooden ladder located above the facade, under the window of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem .² Made of cedar wood , possibly from Lebanon , it was first mentioned in 1757 and has remained in the same exact location since the 18th century, aside from being temporarily moved on two occasions. The ladder is referred to as immovable due to an understanding that no cleric of the six ecumenical Christian orders may move, rearrange, or alter any property without the consent of the other five orders. Upon the pontifical orders of Pope Paul VI in 1964, the ladder was to remain in place until such a time when the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church reach a state of ecumenism . The ladder has since been related to the agreement of Status Quo which defined the six Christian religious orders which claim rights over the use of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . The primary conflicts, however, surrounding the ladder and its immovability have been disputed by a lasting conflict between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church . The six Christian religious orders are the Latins (Roman Catholics), Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Christians and Ethiopians.³