Forget lions, Christians fight each other

Reuters

OUCH: Member of the Greek Orthodox clergy battles with Armenian worshipers in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Reuters

CALL THE LAW: Police were called in to subdue a fight between Greek Orthodox and Armenian believers.

Reuters

SCUFFLE: Two clerics were arrested after a fist-fight erupted during a procession at the site of worshipers say Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection took place.

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Greek Orthodox and Armenian worshippers traded blows in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christian denominations jealously protect their hold over areas of the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion.

Israeli police moved into the shrine, which faithful also believe contains the tomb of Jesus, to restore order and said they arrested two clerics.

Dozens of worshippers, dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, traded kicks and punches, knocking down tapestries and toppling decorations at the site in Arab East Jerusalem.

The brawl erupted during the Feast of the Cross, a ceremony in which the Armenian community commemorates what it believes was the fourth century discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

Fights are not uncommon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre among the representatives of Christian denominations who are responsible for maintaining its different chambers.

- Reuters