JERUSALEM — Dozens of Greek and Armenian priests and worshipers exchanged blows at one of Christianity’s holiest shrines on Orthodox Palm Sunday and used palm fronds to pummel police.
The fight came amid growing rivalry over religious rights at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site where tradition says Jesus was buried and resurrected.
It erupted when Armenian clergy kicked out a Greek priest from their midst, pushed him to the ground and kicked him, according to witnesses.
When police intervened, worshipers hit them with the palm fronds they were holding for the religious holiday. The Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calendar from Western Christians and celebrate Easter next Sunday.
The Holy Sepulcher is shared by several denominations, according to a centuries-old arrangement known as the “status quo.” Each denomination jealously guards its share of the basilica, and fights over rights at the church have intensified in recent years.
