What Would Jesus Say About Brawling Monks?

I just had to say something about this article. It never ceases to amaze me how decidedly 'un-Christian' many Christians can be. I find it particularly sad and hypocritical when this sort of behavior comes from people who find themselves called to a life of serving God.

This recently published article, describes a brawl by monks of different Christian Sects at one of Christianity's holiest of sites in Jerusalem.

The pettiness, immaturity and possessiveness shown by these monks is as far from my understanding of what Jesus Christ taught as you could possibly get.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the site where this occurred. I'd like to point out that a Muslim family in Jerusalem actually holds the keys to this building because the two Christian sects cannot agree on which of them should have it, nor evidently do they feel they can share responsibility for keeping the keys.

This is the sort of drivel that gives Christianity a bad name. All religions have their version of this.

Jesus would be sorely disappointed in this sort of behavior. I'm fairly certain of that!

Here's a link to the published article: Monks Brawl at Christian Holy Site

Text of this article is included here:

Monks brawl at Christian holy site in JerusalemBy MATTI FRIEDMAN
Sun Nov 9, 2008

JERUSALEM – Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.

The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — and give the Armenians a claim to the site.

The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were forced to intervene after fighting was reported. They arrested two monks, one from each side, he said.

A bearded Armenian monk in a red-and-pink robe and a black-clad Greek Orthodox monk with a bloody gash on his forehead were both taken away in handcuffs after scuffling with dozens of riot police.

Six Christian sects divide control of the ancient church. They regularly fight over turf and influence, and Israeli police are occasionally forced to intervene.

"We were keeping resistance so that the procession could not pass through ... and establish a right that they don't have," said a young Greek Orthodox monk with a cut next to his left eye.

The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.

Father Pakrat of the Armenian Patriarchate said the Greek demand was "against the status quo arrangement and against the internal arrangement of the Holy Sepulcher." He said the Greeks attacked first.

Archbishop Aristarchos, the chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, denied his monks initiated the violence.

After the brawl, the church was crowded with Israeli riot police holding assault rifles, standing beside Golgotha, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, and the long smooth stone marking the place where tradition holds his body was laid out.

The feud is only one of a bewildering array of rivalries among churchmen in the Holy Sepulcher.

The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit in the church, which regularly fills with thousands of pilgrims and has only one main door, but the sects cannot agree where the exit will be built.

A ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down.

More recently, a spat between Ethiopian and Coptic Christians is delaying badly needed renovations to a rooftop monastery that engineers say could collapse.