Once again, Israeli police had to break up a brawl taking place in a church that was between the Greek and Armenian Orthodox priests. The two denominations were participating on Orthodox Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The two of them were trying to get access to certain parts of the Church. As a result, a fight broke out between the clergymen of both denominations.
But, one should not be really surprised. In fact, brawls between denominations such as the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian Orthodox clergymen are very common. This brawl was sparked with an Armenian priest booted a Greek priest from an area that is close to Jesus’ tomb.
Before being able to break up the fight, the police clashed with the worshippers.
This mirrors a similar brawl on back in late December of 2007 in which the clergy of the same two Orthodox denominations fought each other with brooms and stones. That brawl took place during the annual cleaning of the Church of Nativity, located in Bethlehem.
Palestinian police had to break up the fight. In the case of that church, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and the Armenian Orthodox administer three separate sects.
On a humorous note, there is one thing the Israelis and the Palestinians have on common: they have to be the ones that break up the fights that take place in such churches.