You see many strange things at the holy places in Jerusalem.But this is the strangest I've seen at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
A young man in a white garment, with long flowing hair, walking BAREFOOT across the Parvis (the entrance courtyard of the church), entering the doorway to the Ethiopians' chapel.
Do you suppose he has Jerusalem Syndrome?
This is a condition of becoming literally intoxicated by the Holy City.
People (usually tourists) start acting like a prophet or messiah.
Every year dozens are taken to Kfar Shaul psychiatric hospital because of this spontaneous psychosis.
It is fascinating to read about.
Here are articles, the first more poetic, the second more scientific, the last kind of funny:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jersynd.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome
http://people.howstuffworks.com/jerusalem-syndrome.htm
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-29/living/simpsons.messiah.syndrome_1_jerusalem-syndrome-kfar-shaul-homer-simpson?_s=PM:LIVING
A post for Monday Doorways and Our World Tuesday.
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