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DigitalJournal.com
Dec 28 2011
Priests in Bethlehem come to blows in battle of the brooms
By Katerina Nikolas
Bethlehem - The annual Christmas clean-up of the Church of Nativity in
Bethlehem descended into a broom-fighting brawl between priests.
In a scene more reminiscent of pantomime performance than religious
peace, rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests fought with
broomsticks inside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Up to 100
priests were involved in the fighting.
AFP reported "For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid
into each other with fists, brooms and iron rods ." None of the
priests was seriously injured in the fighting.
Problems regularly break out between the two groups as they argue over
who should be responsible for maintaining the upkeep of the Church.
The 1,700-year-old Church is one of the holiest sites in Christendom.
Pictures of the fight provide great hilarity to other religious groups
and amused tourists who were visiting the site.
According to the BBC, Lt-Col Khaled al-Tamimi of the Bethlehem police, said
"It was a trivial problem that... occurs every year. No one was
arrested because all those involved were men of God."
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/316842
From: Baghdasarian
Dec 28 2011
Priests in Bethlehem come to blows in battle of the brooms
By Katerina Nikolas
Bethlehem - The annual Christmas clean-up of the Church of Nativity in
Bethlehem descended into a broom-fighting brawl between priests.
In a scene more reminiscent of pantomime performance than religious
peace, rival groups of Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests fought with
broomsticks inside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Up to 100
priests were involved in the fighting.
AFP reported "For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid
into each other with fists, brooms and iron rods ." None of the
priests was seriously injured in the fighting.
Problems regularly break out between the two groups as they argue over
who should be responsible for maintaining the upkeep of the Church.
The 1,700-year-old Church is one of the holiest sites in Christendom.
Pictures of the fight provide great hilarity to other religious groups
and amused tourists who were visiting the site.
According to the BBC, Lt-Col Khaled al-Tamimi of the Bethlehem police, said
"It was a trivial problem that... occurs every year. No one was
arrested because all those involved were men of God."
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/316842
From: Baghdasarian