Russia Today
Dec 29 2011
Fierce faith: Priests clash at Jesus’ birth site (VIDEO)
Published: 29 December, 2011, 20:22
Taking Jesus Christ’s initiative to cast unwanted people out of temple
too literally, a bunch of clergymen have clashed with each other
inside the Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
`God’s people’ – coming from Armenian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox
churches – were screaming out loud and beating one another with
broomsticks, fiercely protecting their territory from the competing
community’s invasion.
The row broke out when the clergymen were cleaning up the church ahead
of Orthodox Christmas celebrations. As agreed, each of the two
denominations controls a particular section of the church located
right on the `border’ between their zones of influence.
The brawl, which took place in front of a stunned tourist group, went
so far that the Palestinian security forces had to break it up –
thanks to them, no serious injuries occurred.
`No one was detained, as all of the clergymen participating in the raw
are known as true people of God,’ said the Palestinian police
spokesman.
This is not the first time such fights have taken place in the Church
of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Built at Jesus’
traditional birthplace, the venue draws millions of visitors from
around the world.