Posted on 12/27/2007 11:31:17 AM PST by barryg
Seven people were injured on Thursday when Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows in a dispute over how to clean the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Following the Christmas celebrations, Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the walls and ceilings of their part of the church, which is built over the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born.
But the ladders encroached on space controlled by Armenian priests, according to photographers who said angry words ensued and blows quickly followed.
For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid into each other with fists, brooms and iron rods while the photographers who had come to take pictures of the annual cleaning ceremony recorded the whole event.
A dozen unarmed Palestinian policemen were sent to try to separate the priests, but two of them were also injured in the unholy melee.
"As usual the cleaning of the church afer Christmas is a cause of problems," Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh told AFP, adding that he has offered to help ease tensions.
"For the two years that I have been here everything went more or less calmly," he said. "It's all finished now."
The Church of the Nativity, like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, is shared by various branches of Christianity, each of which controls and jealously guards a part of the holy site.
The Church of the Nativity is built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born in a stable more than 2,000 years ago after Mary and Joseph were turned away by an inn.
Who drew the short straw to clean up the church after the Pali squatters left a few years ago?
Tis the season, after all ..
Let’s get ready to rummmmmblllllle....
Tis the season, after all ..
Let’s get ready to rummmmmblllllle....
Why don’t they avoid the conflict, pitch in, and hire an outside cleaning service?
Just another example of Christians forgetting to emulate Christ.
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Mahatma Gandhi
I am guessing that they consider cleaning the church to be an honor that they don’t want to farm out to someone else.
One of the Priests allegedly said, “I don’t do windows”. That was what started the whole thing. /sarc
Probably because some of the iconography is centuries if not millenia old.
I love the Orthodox, but let’s face it, they have a long history of trading fists over religious issues.
some of the iconography is centuries if not millenia old.
—
Strange if it hasn’t been declared a UN Heritage site. or maybe it was tried but the priests kicked the UN out the door.
We visited Bethlehem last month and our guide told us about the issue of restoration being held up because the different sects could not agree on who paid and what was done. Sad that orginized religion keeps showing it’s bad side rather than Christian charity and brotherhood.
The leaders of the churches should find some new delegates who and knock their heads together.
Can there be a worse job than Palestinian policeman?
How was your trip to Bethlehem? Did you feel safe?
Over the years, I’ve heard some mixed stories. Most said that they weren’t too uneasy and yet a few others said they’d never go back.
ROP?
Yes. Unarmed Palestinian Policeman.
Well, there was that guy that spent Christmas Eve upside down hanging in his septic tank but that wasn't his job, so I guess not.
Because they’d have to fight over which service to hire.
Just another example of what Christ came to earth to save us from - our sinful nature.
Organized religion shows its downside...
good grief ... Ridiculous!
Well, why not set up an independent fund for funding restoration? Each group could contribute what they wished, and funds could be gathered from other sources, including American Baptists and British Anglicans. Then it would GET DONE, and no one would have to fight!
What? No video? Darn.
Tonight on FOX:
“When Clerics Attack!!!!”
This is nothing new. The various Christian denominations have been fighting over control of these holy sites for years. You’d almost think they were Muslims.
Jesus wept.
This enmity between “rival factions” within Christianity is nothing to be proud of. They should drop their mutual distrust and start action like Christians are supposed to act.
Enough of this “my Christianity is better than yours”.
This one leaves me speechless. The video must be a hoot.
There's just so much WRONG with that statement.
Jesus wept.
I don’t know. I suppose Jesus would have laughed about the whole thing.
A damnable lie! $5 bucks the Armenian threw the first punch. $5 Drachmas on the Orthodox. (Those hats they wear shoukld be able to absorb a lot of punishment)
There is only one way to end this shameful intra-Christian fighting. Let the Irish Christian Brothers maintain the shrine, or at least enforce Marquis of Queensbury Rules and sell tickets to the faithful. Wait a minute ... I meant to say raffle off the tickets.
You mean like the Crimean war?
And Jesus wept.
Such behavior follows naturally from the error of virtually “worshipping” physical relics, or buildings, or locations, even presuming to attribute “magical” healing powers to physical objects such as bones of the departed.
Should have called Molly Maid.
Acts 17:24
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that
he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made
with hands;
Ac 17:25
Neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed
anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all
things;
-—I think these fellows need to be reminded of this.
Someone must have spiked the ceremonial wine................
Probably because some of the iconography is centuries if not millenia old.
They should try Joe's Icon Cleaning Service Inc. They do good work at reasonable prices. They're in the Bethlehem yellow pages.
This is shameful...and sickening...the Muslims gloat. Every single one of these fools should be recalled and new priests should be installed.
Not just the Muslims...many Christian groups do too.
For monastics to resort to violence, is unacceptable. But then a lot of this is going on in Mt Athos and other places, with various groups dragging others through courts, lying, falsifying documents, etc.
Serbian Bishop Yovan in Macedonia is in jail, thanks largely to the uncanonical "Macedonian" Orthodox "Church" and the Serbian Archbishop of Montenegro had to go on hunger strike for not being allowed into Montenegro (which also has an uncanonical Orthodox "Church").
This behavior is not of people who have given up the world, and the way some bishops behave makes one wonder if there really is Apostolic succession!
.
No wonder the Gospel is not aways accepted, look at what we the believers do to each other.
Hey, brothers and friends, if you priests cannot do the job of a decent housecleaning, send us women to do the job. We have always had to clean the messes left by you guys for years. Sarc.
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