Monks brawl at Jerusalem shrine

Story from BBC NEWS:
middle_east/7718587.stm

Published: 2008/11/09 14:37:23 GMT

Scenes of chaos as the church brawl breaks out

Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity’s
holiest sites after a brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem’s Old
City.

Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ’s
crucifixion.

Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded
kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.

Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the
Cross.

Tapestries toppled

Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled
during Sunday’s clash.

Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian
denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay
their hands on.

The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognising their rights inside
the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of
their traditional ceremonies.

An Armenian clergyman said the Greek clergy had tried to place one of
their monks inside the Edicule, an ancient structure which encases the
tomb of Jesus.

"What is happening here is a violation of status quo. The Greeks have
tried so many times to put their monk inside the tomb but they don’t
have the right to when the Armenians are celebrating the feast," he
told Reuters TV.

The Armenians had been preparing to commemorate the 4th Century
discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

A Greek clergyman said: "We protested peacefully, we stood here in the
middle and we claimed that we shall not leave the procession finished
unless they leave our guardian be inside. This didn’t happen and in
that moment the police interfered."

Six Christian sects share control of the ancient church and the BBC’s
Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says confrontations between them are not
uncommon, but rarely descend into violence.