2 posts tagged “orthodox”

Following is perhaps the most pointedly biased piece of informative news I've read this year.  You judge for yourself.

Bush prays in Bethlehem amid sea of barricades

Jan 10 11:26 AM US/Eastern	12 Comments

View larger image Bush Emphatic on Palestinian State

Security forces flooded Bethlehem on Thursday as US President George W. Bush prayed at the traditional birthplace of Jesus at the start of a pilgrimage to some of Christianity's holiest sites. The president -- a fervent Christian -- landed by helicopter and then was whisked to the Church of the Nativity in a motorcade through streets largely deserted as part of a massive security operation aimed at protecting him. After a short tour of the sixth century Byzantine church he descended into the Grotto of the Nativity, an underground chapel glimmering with hanging lanterns, where he lit a candle at the believed site of Jesus's birth. "For those of us who practise the Christian faith, there isn't a more holy site than where our saviour was born," Bush said as he came out of the church. Thousands of Palestinian security forces had fanned out across the town in the occupied West Bank at dawn, shutting off all major roads to the church and sharply limiting pedestrian traffic along empty streets with shuttered shops. Snipers patrolled the roof of the church near a hanging plastic Santa Claus left over from Christmas, while Bush remained inside for less than an hour. "We are excited, of course, it's a great event," the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, said after Bush's motorcade roared away from the church, his face beaming through a thick grey beard. "We wanted to send a message to all the world that the place is safe and all people can come and pray here," he added. But Bush's visit to the West Bank -- only the second to the Palestinian territories by a sitting US president -- failed to impress the locals. "He comes here, they close all the shops, they don't let us work," said Alaa, a 26-year-old Christian who works at a restaurant near Manger Square in front of the church and who was sent home ahead of Bush's arrival. Elite Palestinian presidential guards used metal barriers to push small groups of onlookers back up the streets leading to the empty square as helicopters buzzed overhead. Several dozen youths gathered behind barricades near Manger Square, but every time they tried to cheer, police silenced them. "Stop making so much noise, show some respect," one policeman snapped at kids behind the barricade. "There are journalists here." Amid the massive security operation, few Bethlehem residents caught a glimpse of the president, widely unpopular among Palestinians because of his perceived overwhelming support of Washington's close ally Israel. "They closed everything. What is he so afraid of? World leaders come here all the time," said Rami, a Christian shopowner. "I think he is scared because he has so many enemies, because he has slaughtered so many people in Iraq." Bethlehem's own mayor Victor Batarseh was not invited to the ceremony because he is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the US State Department considers a terror organisation. "I have not been told anything. I was simply asked to have the streets cleaned, which has been done," the 72-year-old Christian mayor said. Residents said the security measures were far more draconian than the last time a US president visited -- 1998's trip by Bill Clinton. "When Clinton came he spent some time with us. He ate here," said an older woman with a headscarf tucked into a heavy winter coat. "Don't use my name or they will think I am a terrorist," she added with a smile. A couple dozen demonstrators gathered on the outskirts of Bethlehem, waving Palestinian flags, pictures of family members in Israeli jails, and signs saying "Stop Israeli terror" and "Set our prisoners free." Bush's first visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories since taking office is primarily aimed at encouraging revived peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a regional tour which will include Arab allies. But Bush will also be tracing the footsteps of Jesus Christ, whom he once described as his favourite philosopher and whose teachings he says have informed his presidency, including his divisive foreign policies. On Friday Bush will fly north to the Galilee, where Jesus delivered many of his most famous teachings, including the Sermon on the Mount in which he said "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God".

I often highlight the faults and crimes of radical Islam on this blog.  In an attempt to be fair, here's something from my own people.  This happens every year.  Every year.  The fight in Jerusalem is also a yearly occurrence.  Don't mess with the Orthodox, because apparently they carry iron rods around with them to church.  Even Franciscans got into the mix a few years ago. 

Very much highlights the necessity of everyone coming back to the fold of the Catholic Church, in my humble opinion.  But that's a religious matter.  In political terms, this kind of stuff highlights the very strong convictions that can lead to violence, even among a religion that explicitly asks its adherents to turn the other cheek.

Priests brawl at Bethlehem birthplace of Jesus

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Seven people were injured on Thursday when Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows in a dispute over how to clean the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Following the Christmas celebrations, Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the walls and ceilings of their part of the church, which is built over the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. But the ladders encroached on space controlled by Armenian priests, according to photographers who said angry words ensued and blows quickly followed. For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid into each other with fists, brooms and iron rods while the photographers who had come to take pictures of the annual cleaning ceremony recorded the whole event. A dozen unarmed Palestinian policemen were sent to try to separate the priests, but two of them were also injured in the unholy melee. "As usual the cleaning of the church afer Christmas is a cause of problems," Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh told AFP, adding that he has offered to help ease tensions. "For the two years that I have been here everything went more or less calmly," he said. "It's all finished now." The Church of the Nativity, like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, is shared by various branches of Christianity, each of which controls and jealously guards a part of the holy site. The Church of the Nativity is built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born in a stable more than 2,000 years ago after Mary and Joseph were turned away by an inn.