Armenian, Greek monks row at Church of the Holy Sepulcher

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City.



Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion.



Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.



Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross.



The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognizing their rights inside the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of their traditional ceremonies.



An Armenian clergyman said the Greek clergy had tried to place one of their monks inside the Edicule, an ancient structure which is said to encase the tomb of Jesus.



"What is happening here is a violation of status quo. The Greeks have tried so many times to put their monk inside the tomb but they don't have the right to when the Armenians are celebrating the feast," he said, BBC reports



The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Surp Harutyun) is a Christian church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. The site is venerated by most Christians as Golgotha, (the Hill of Calvary), where the New Testament says that Jesus was crucified, and is said to also contain the place where Jesus was buried (the sepulcher). The church has been an important pilgrimage destination since at least the 4th century, as the purported site of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.