News from Jerusalem yesterday showed Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks exchanging kicks and punches, with many of them featuring bruises and bloodied faces.
Of course it is odd that these are religious figures fighting inside a holy site, but if one examines the news deeper, he will see that this is a frequent occurance.
Earlier in 2008, Armenian and Greek Orthodox fought like they did yesterday.
In September 2004, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox clerics also fought in the church.
However, this is mostly about turf and control, not so much about sectarianism.
Back in 2002 Ethiopian Orthodox and Egyptian Coptic Orthodox priests fought over control of the roof of the church. They both belong to the same church and acknowledge the same Pope of Alexandria.
Due to these disputes, for more than eight centuries, the key of Christianity's most holy site has been in the hands of two Muslim families in Jerusalem, the Joudeh and Nusseibeh
Comments
Aboo Alee Muham... (not verified)
It seems quite clear that
Wed, 2008/11/12 - 07:35It seems quite clear that this is a burning undying hatred that cant be easily doused out. Anyway, on a humorous side it did remind of all those old martial arts Bruce Lee flicks I used to watch as a youth, with all those number of people fighting it out lol.
TTLoanShark (not verified)
Well, it's the place where
Wed, 2008/11/12 - 20:09Well, it's the place where Christ was entombed. Worth fighting over. A small area, and a lot of different Christian sects trying to keep a foothold in it; bound to lead to trouble, no matter how holy you are.
Joey Aramathea (not verified)
priests brawling
Sat, 2008/11/15 - 14:16Very sad indeed. They should all be embarrassed by their very un-Christ - like behavior.
Call them all back to their respective monastic orders and ban the instigators from EVER returning to this site.
This has been a tempest in a teapot boiling for too long. Fighting occurs too often.
The monk's uncooperative and distempered personalities are all to blame. This is not about beliefs, but is about earthly power and control over a sacred shrine. And that my friends is exactly what Christ rejected. Having visited the site earlier this year, the monks were not exactly models of friendliness. Maybe they need to examine why they are there.
-JA