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Bernat Armangue / AP
A Greek Orthodox monk cleans the Church of the Nativity, believed by many to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.
Oliver Weiken / EPA
Greek Orthodox members clean the floor of Church of Nativity, the traditionally accepted birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Dec. 28.
Oliver Weiken / EPA
Armenian clergymen scuffle with police and Greek Orthodox clergymen during the annual cleaning of the Church of Nativity, the traditionally accepted birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Dec.28. Several hundred clergy of different Christian sects, as well as some faithful, pitch in to clean the entire church, one of the oldest in the world, but with special care taken not to overstep one's boundaries and delicate cleaning responsibilities. The entire church is swept, dusted, cleaned with kerosene and covered in sawdust to soak up the flammable liquid as the church is cleaned of all the dirt accumulated in the past year and made ready for the next year's onslaught of pilgrims, clergy and tourists.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Palestinian police officers stand between Armenian Orthodox, left, and Greek Orthodox clergymen, not seen, during the cleaning of the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, Dec. 28.
This annual cleaning of the holy site, turned into a brawl as Armenian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox clergymen screamed at each other and beat each other with broomsticks inside the Church of the Nativity, when the sides accused each other of crossing into each other's territory. Full story.
Police were called after scuffles broke out at a holy site in Bethlehem. Msnbc.com's Richard Lui reports.
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Can you believe it??!
If even these guys can't get along, what chance do we have?
They should all be de-Frocked with a capital "F" for their behavior...and never again allowed to clean that place .
Shame. Shame on them all.
There's a better chance that the alter boys who were abused can get de-f..ked!
This is awesome. Nothing like a good old fashion christian brawl over stupid issues to make us realize that our religion's roots/history are no more peaceful then any other one out there.
EXACTLY
I wish folks would see that with a clear lens, and stop making fun of muslims/Iran for this and that before looking inwards at their own stupid religion.
Now children! Don't make me turn this church around!!
Wow... MForrest, I totally agree! It's like the "He's touching me" cry. Who the F cares? I'd say as long as it's clean for whatever G-d you believe in, get the job done!!
More religious fanatics. This makes me suspicious of all organized denominations of all religions and their true objectives.
And Gary you should be. Because it's all about "My God is better than your God" , a lot like politics.
Oh Yeah Kim! Well "My dad can beat up your dad"!
LOL!! thats good, but i highly doubt it :)
Dang, gotta go back to work boys....
Oh Yeah! Well, well, "My job is better then your your job"! So there (:b
they should have let children do the janitorial chores in an effort to teach them better work habits.
Not a good idea! We already know what happened the last time they tried to "teach" the children!
These freaks are probably taking a break from molesting little boys
Hideous.
Shameful behavior and Christ would have been appalled by this behavior. I wonder if he would have whipped them from this place of prayer like he did when he expelled the corrupt money changers conducting business in the Synagogue?
I agree, Jesus taught to "love one another" and "turn the other cheek" and "consider others better than yourself". These guys are clearly not following the teaching of Jesus in their behavior.
I'm sorry, but I do find this hilarious. As Robin would say, "Holy broomstick brawl, Batman". I guess even holy folks can show their immaturity.
This makes me sick and to think it happened in the birth place of Jesus. Just goes to show you that they are no better than anybody else. It also bothers me that Americans were involved because we are the ones telling other Countries how they should live their lives and what relegion they should follow. I'm telling you, the end is coming
So much for a display of true brotherly love, as taught by our lord some 2000 years or so ago. And people wonder why religion is having such a hard time these days; between brawls among priests at the Church of the Nativity, to the pederasty plaguing the Catholic Church... Just what IS this world coming to?
So much for real christianity. In this case, it's a show of non-christianity. Orthodox, whether armenian o greek, are not true christians. This brawl proves it. Real christians have patience, charity and love for each other. This brawl definitely was inspired by the Devil.
I almost want to say Jesus must be spinning in his grave, but I think He's more likely facepalming up in Heaven right now.
These types of conflict never made any sense to me. My brother and I were raised by an Episcopal father and Russian Orthodox mother, half of Mom's extended family is Catholic, and one of my cousins converted to Judiasm when she got married. My parents have been together for almost 35 years and so far we've had no religious conflicts at family gatherings. I simply can't understand how people can fight like this over how to worship the SAME GOD.
We need to pray that both sides will reflect and find the peace and love of Christ above all else. People need to remember that clergy are still human. Everybody always points to the hideous scandals of the Church...but it happens everywhere in all walks of life. Look at college football...PSU Sandusky or whatever his name was. Do people still admire the sport of football? Sure, they will continue to support Penn State.... I don't know...yes, it's amazing that these clergy are fighting in the church where Christ was born. No, it's not right. But should we still hate Christianity because some of the team captains are duking it out? Personally, I don't think so.
I visited this church last May and witnessed the competition between these "Christians" who hate each other, not to mention the Catholics just through the wall. We could not go into the "Holy Grotto" pictured here (the circular steps) because Russian priests were down there, dancing and chanting and swinging smoking silver and gold objects. They smelled like hippies and sounded like Hare Krishnas.
I think the original scene was NOT LIKE THAT. These organized churches are corrupt.
Every religion has nuts! These people who are fighting happen to be Christian nuts!
At best, it's a scene Monty Python would have had great fun with. At worst, its evidence as to why Christ came to die for our sins. He knew mankind was in a heap of trouble and incapable of saving itself.