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."

This isn't the first time the Orthodox priests and monks of the Holy Land shrines have gone nuts on one another -- not even close. The Catholics probably get involved too, now and then. I don't know. Of course, most of the Latin priests out there are Franciscans and everyone knows they're too Peace n' Love to really throw down. They might need to bring in some diocesan priests for this one (preferably from states like Iowa). Maybe a few Legionaries as well.

Keep the Paulists at home.