AustLit

'Although, or perhaps because, Gant didn't satisfy certain key diagnostic criteria, his case remains noteworthy. Those familiar with the Jerusalem Syndrome will know its defining symptom: the sufferer is convinced that he or she is in the Holy City to fulfil some religious or spiritual mission and, in many cases, believes him- or herself to be a biblical character. But Gant's delusions were not religious in nature. Having treated the Jerusalem Syndrome for some twenty years, I found this anomaly both curious and, at first, extremely refreshing. After all, how often can one converse with Ezekiel or the Virgin Mary without experiencing a certain weariness? How many times can one be warned that the Apocalypse is just around the corner without occasionally hoping that it really is? As for Messiahs, there are never less than three in the facility on any given day, and this figure tends to increase around Easter...' (Publication abstract)