JERUSALEM CLERGY FIGHT THIS EASTER?
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
It could be. There’s not the purest of relations these years in the Holy City. That is, not only between Arabs and Jews but also within the Christian community. Clergy fight one another, even in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Not good. Not Christian. Not wise public relations, particularly during Holy Week. Yet a blow up could occur once again this Eastertide.
According to London Daily Telegraph’s Inigo Gilmore’s Jerusalem report, "Worshippers at Jerusalem's churches are braced for a violent Easter as relations between warring Christian clergy deteriorate to their most acrimonious level in decades."
Even police have been called in. In fact, during one fight-out a visitor with camera recorded what happened. It has yet to be released to the worldwide press but detail shows clergy dragging one another within holy precincts. Does this reflect the fracture within Christendom worldwide? Could be. There is much that is torn and worn within the global Christian Church.
The Episcopal / Anglican communion suffers its own potential split with theological liberals championing homosexual lifestyles as blessed by the divine while biblical believers hold that such is sin.
There is an evangelical contingent within each of the mainline denominations — United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Presbyterian Church of America, as well as the Episcopal Church — which fights against liberals for its spiritual existence every day.
Within the Orthodox Church there are accusations of sexual misconduct within the clergy ranks as well as questions about real estate transactions and holdings. "Extraordinary accusations of illicit land deals and sexual misconduct in the Orthodox priesthood have been aired in religious circles, leading one senior Greek cleric to warn of a potential split within the church."
Within the Roman Catholic Church there is likewise tension between those loyal to Rome and rebels who want to rewrite Catholicism. We saw that evident during the last presidential election when John F. Kerry and wife represented "Catholics" who desecrate the Blessed Sacrament by endorsing killing womb babies. And so the conflicts continue, even unto Jerusalem.
"Government officials called meetings with representatives from the churches and police last week after religious leaders warned of possible violence among priests during services.
"With thousands of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem ahead of Holy Week celebrations, church officials have been told that Israel's security forces will not tolerate any trouble. Security will be stepped up at churches in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the clashes that have marred the past two years.
"Fighting has broken out on several occasions at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City, which contains three Stations of the Cross and has long been fought over by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches.
"Emotions are still running high after an incident last September, in which priests and police officers were injured when a fight broke out during a Greek Orthodox procession."
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the first day of the week prior to His crucifixion. Peasants strewed palm branches on paths for the approaching King. That in itself upset Temple guards and eventually the Roman politic. Then came the Thursday night atrocities leveled against Jesus during mock trials, followed by the Friday crucifixion of the Nazareth Carpenter. It’s an understatement to write that the city was astir.
Now the city once again is astir. Clergy who claim to be "Christian" claw at one another, vying for turf within and without church edifices. They fight over historical tradition and legal documentation. They fight over who goes where and when. Has much changed in the Holy City over two thousand years? It’s the Lord’s ground. Then it’s the devil’s terrain. The sacred geography bobs about as an apple in a tub, sadly to report.
In the last two years, on one occasion "the procession was led by the Greek patriarch, Irineos I, elected four years ago and blamed by senior clergy from other churches for fomenting unrest. The fight was captured on video by a Palestinian photographer and a copy of the film, which never has been made public, has been obtained by the Sunday Telegraph.
"Patriarch Irineos can be seen telling his monks to close the door of the Franciscan chapel by force. In the ensuing commotion, a Franciscan priest, Father Athanasius, who represents the Catholic Church's interests at the Holy Sepulcher, is dragged off by several monks, who appear to punch and kick him.
"More than 30 police officers carrying automatic weapons are called in and, after a 20-minute standoff, the patriarch's two armed bodyguards join a large scrum of monks who charge a police cordon around the chapel in an attempt to reach the door.
"As the patriarch looks on, holding the relic of the True Cross on his head, bearded monks can be seen landing blows on the police officers."
Will pilgrims once again be subjected not only to political tension throughout all Israel but churchly disputes between denominations? Which clergy adhere to the definitions of location set in the early 19th century under Ottoman rule? Which denomination says what about where?
God help us. Apparently He’s the only One who can come to the aid of the holy Easter 2005. Again: God help us.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
It could be. There’s not the purest of relations these years in the Holy City. That is, not only between Arabs and Jews but also within the Christian community. Clergy fight one another, even in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Not good. Not Christian. Not wise public relations, particularly during Holy Week. Yet a blow up could occur once again this Eastertide.
According to London Daily Telegraph’s Inigo Gilmore’s Jerusalem report, "Worshippers at Jerusalem's churches are braced for a violent Easter as relations between warring Christian clergy deteriorate to their most acrimonious level in decades."
Even police have been called in. In fact, during one fight-out a visitor with camera recorded what happened. It has yet to be released to the worldwide press but detail shows clergy dragging one another within holy precincts. Does this reflect the fracture within Christendom worldwide? Could be. There is much that is torn and worn within the global Christian Church.
The Episcopal / Anglican communion suffers its own potential split with theological liberals championing homosexual lifestyles as blessed by the divine while biblical believers hold that such is sin.
There is an evangelical contingent within each of the mainline denominations — United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Presbyterian Church of America, as well as the Episcopal Church — which fights against liberals for its spiritual existence every day.
Within the Orthodox Church there are accusations of sexual misconduct within the clergy ranks as well as questions about real estate transactions and holdings. "Extraordinary accusations of illicit land deals and sexual misconduct in the Orthodox priesthood have been aired in religious circles, leading one senior Greek cleric to warn of a potential split within the church."
Within the Roman Catholic Church there is likewise tension between those loyal to Rome and rebels who want to rewrite Catholicism. We saw that evident during the last presidential election when John F. Kerry and wife represented "Catholics" who desecrate the Blessed Sacrament by endorsing killing womb babies. And so the conflicts continue, even unto Jerusalem.
"Government officials called meetings with representatives from the churches and police last week after religious leaders warned of possible violence among priests during services.
"With thousands of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem ahead of Holy Week celebrations, church officials have been told that Israel's security forces will not tolerate any trouble. Security will be stepped up at churches in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the clashes that have marred the past two years.
"Fighting has broken out on several occasions at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City, which contains three Stations of the Cross and has long been fought over by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches.
"Emotions are still running high after an incident last September, in which priests and police officers were injured when a fight broke out during a Greek Orthodox procession."
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the first day of the week prior to His crucifixion. Peasants strewed palm branches on paths for the approaching King. That in itself upset Temple guards and eventually the Roman politic. Then came the Thursday night atrocities leveled against Jesus during mock trials, followed by the Friday crucifixion of the Nazareth Carpenter. It’s an understatement to write that the city was astir.
Now the city once again is astir. Clergy who claim to be "Christian" claw at one another, vying for turf within and without church edifices. They fight over historical tradition and legal documentation. They fight over who goes where and when. Has much changed in the Holy City over two thousand years? It’s the Lord’s ground. Then it’s the devil’s terrain. The sacred geography bobs about as an apple in a tub, sadly to report.
In the last two years, on one occasion "the procession was led by the Greek patriarch, Irineos I, elected four years ago and blamed by senior clergy from other churches for fomenting unrest. The fight was captured on video by a Palestinian photographer and a copy of the film, which never has been made public, has been obtained by the Sunday Telegraph.
"Patriarch Irineos can be seen telling his monks to close the door of the Franciscan chapel by force. In the ensuing commotion, a Franciscan priest, Father Athanasius, who represents the Catholic Church's interests at the Holy Sepulcher, is dragged off by several monks, who appear to punch and kick him.
"More than 30 police officers carrying automatic weapons are called in and, after a 20-minute standoff, the patriarch's two armed bodyguards join a large scrum of monks who charge a police cordon around the chapel in an attempt to reach the door.
"As the patriarch looks on, holding the relic of the True Cross on his head, bearded monks can be seen landing blows on the police officers."
Will pilgrims once again be subjected not only to political tension throughout all Israel but churchly disputes between denominations? Which clergy adhere to the definitions of location set in the early 19th century under Ottoman rule? Which denomination says what about where?
God help us. Apparently He’s the only One who can come to the aid of the holy Easter 2005. Again: God help us.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
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