Jurisdiction and Holiness: Reflections on the Coptic-Ethiopian Case

Abstract

The Coptic-Ethiopian case is the first dispute between Christian Churches over their rights in the Holy Places to come before the Supreme Court of Israel. It concerns only a small area, but the legal issues involved are far-reaching. They deal with the jurisdiction over Holy Sites, and therefore affect potentially all Christian communities which claim rights in the Sanctuaries.The history of the jurisdiction over the Holy Places is dramatic and rich in contradictions. For many centuries control over the Sanctuaries was in the hands of Moslem rulers who decided disputes according to their discretion. In view of the widespread impact of these decisions on the Christian world as a whole, the tendency gradually developed to avoid all changes, and in 1878 the Treaty of Berlin suspended every jurisdiction by its Art. LXII which prescribed “that no alteration can be made in thestatus quoin the Holy Places”.