GREEK AND ARMENIAN ORTHODOX CLASH IN HOLY SEPULCHRE CHURCH
Agence France Presse
November 9, 2008 Sunday 10:35 AM GMT
Greek and Armenian Orthodox faithful kicked, punched and hit each other
with candles on Sunday in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre, the church built
on the site where Christians believe Jesus was buried and resurrected.
Israeli police were called as the free-for-all left several people
with black eyes, bruises and bloody cuts.
A number of the faithful hit out with religious artifacts as priests
tried to tear each others’ robes off in the brawl.
Police were called in to restore order in the Holy Sepulchre, where
rivalries between the various denominations is such that the keys
to the church have been entrusted for centuries to two Palestinian
Muslim families.
Custody of the church itself is shared by the Greeks, Armenians and
Roman Catholics, all of whom jealously guard their responsibilities
under a fragile network of agreements hammered out over the centuries.
The church is built on the site most Christians revere as the place
where Jesus was crucified, and also where he was buried and rose again.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
