Priestfight!

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-04-20 02:41pm

JERUSALEM - Greek and Armenian priests and worshippers scuffled at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday, part of a growing rivalry over religious rights at Christianity's holiest shrine.

In the fight, a Greek priest was pushed to the ground and kicked, according to witnesses from both sides. Two Armenian worshippers were briefly detained by Israeli police. Scores of Armenian supporters staged a protest outside the police station during the questioning of the two, beating drums and chanting.

The Holy Sepulcher, built on the site where tradition says Jesus was buried and resurrected, is shared by several Christian denominations according to a centuries-old arrangement known as the "status quo."

Story continues below ↓
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fights over rights of worship at the church have intensified in recent years, particularly between the Armenians and Greeks.

On Sunday, Armenian and Greek Orthodox clergy accused each other of trying to violate the status quo.

Father Pakrad, an Armenian priest, said Sunday's incident started when several Greek priests insisted on being present during the Armenian ceremony in the traditional tomb area. Pakrad said the presence of the Greeks was a violation of Armenian rights under the status quo.

The Armenians "couldn't tolerate the presence of a Greek priest during the procession," he said. "Our priests entered the tomb. They kicked the Greek monk out of the Edicule."

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Land, Theofilos III, told The Associated Press the Armenians are pushing to change the rules governing prayers and services.

"This behavior is criminal and unacceptable by all means," he said. "They wanted to trespass on the status quo concerning the order that regulates the services between the various communities."

Fight before last Christmas
Last year, pre-Christmas cleaning in the Church of the Nativity turned ugly when robed Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests went at each other with brooms and stones. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem — built over Jesus' traditional birth grotto — also falls under the status quo arrangement.

Pakrad accused the Greek Orthodox of trying to step on the Armenians' rights. "We are the weak ones, persecuted by them for many centuries."

Theofilos accused the Armenians are becoming increasingly aggressive.

"They are trying and claiming to acquire equal status and equal rights. They are not ready to admit that there are various communities there ... and that the Greek Orthodox is the main one in charge of the Holy Sepulcher and the head."

The status quo divides the Holy Sepulcher among the Armenians, Roman Catholics and the Greek Orthodox who have the largest share. The Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox churches also have duties to maintain specific areas.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24226085/

Could anything highlight the failure of Chrisitanity as a peace-bringing enterprise, when priests standing on possibly the holiest of locations in their entire faith, can't resist smacking each other around?

I mean, heck, doesn't stuff like this teach them anything?

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-04-20 03:01pm

This happened on Christmas Day too.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-04-20 03:03pm

Pity no one thought to bring a camcorder or six.

"Priests Gone Wild" would probably have a lot of entertainment value.

Particularly with a Merry-Melodies-style soundtrack.

Zixinus · Post by **Zixinus** » 2008-04-20 03:22pm

You can't make this shit up. You just can't.

The Vortex Empire · Post by **The Vortex Empire** » 2008-04-20 03:27pm

Hawkwings wrote:This happened on Christmas Day too.

I thought it looked familiar.

Invictus ChiKen · Post by **Invictus ChiKen** » 2008-04-20 04:03pm

I knew I've seen this at least five times on this message board...

CLERICAL COMBAT!

Cecelia5578 · Post by **Cecelia5578** » 2008-04-20 04:11pm

Fights happen all the time between the different Catholic and Eastern Orthodox sects in Jerusalem all the time. Nothing new here.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-04-20 05:02pm

Zixinus wrote:You can't make this shit up. You just can't.

What's sad is that after two thousand years of religious tribalism, people are still surprised by things like this.

Darth Onasi · Post by **Darth Onasi** » 2008-04-20 05:17pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Zixinus wrote:You can't make this shit up. You just can't.
What's sad is that after two thousand years of religious tribalism, people are still surprised by things like this.

I think most of us have had the idea that religion is inherently peaceful and clergymen especially so beaten into our heads over the course of our lives that sometimes we still react with surprise subconciously.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-04-20 05:20pm

It's not that, so much as manners being learnable, hope springs eternal that maybe this year,i]this[/i] time, certain people have finally learned some.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2008-04-20 05:20pm

Kanastrous wrote:Pity no one thought to bring a camcorder or six.

"Priests Gone Wild" would probably have a lot of entertainment value.

Particularly with a Merry-Melodies-style soundtrack.

I actually saw this on the news, not so hilarious. It's just two people attempting to fight in a crowd.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-04-20 05:22pm

Ace Pace wrote:
Kanastrous wrote:Pity no one thought to bring a camcorder or six.

"Priests Gone Wild" would probably have a lot of entertainment value.

Particularly with a Merry-Melodies-style soundtrack.
I actually saw this on the news, not so hilarious. It's just two people attempting to fight in a crowd.

Reality frequently doesn't live up to imagination.

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2008-04-20 06:21pm

Do the Armenians have some historical beef against the Greeks, e.g., the Greeks helping the Turks kill their ancestors during the Armenian Holocaust? Outright war between the Greek and Armenian Orthodox Churches? A sense that the Greeks stabbed them in the back in... whatever happened in the past to make the Armenians hate the Greeks?

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2008-04-20 06:54pm

Actually, Greco-Armenian relations are generally very positive. The two nations have several treaties regarding military and other forms of cooperation.

Greece was also one of the first countries to not only recognise Armenian independence in 1991 but to also recognise the Armenian genocide. There is also a not entirely insignificant Armenian community in Greece.

This incident is borne entirely from religious bullshit, not nationalistic bullshit.