Christmas, what a crock.

becky said:

I'm back Friday, today and tomorrow are concession days. Isn't this year the last of them?

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We didn't get concession days. If people wanted any time off apart from Monday in lieu of Christmas Day and Tuesday in lieu of the Stephens Day bank holiday they had to take them out of their annual leave allowance.

Peace and Goodwill at the time of "Our Lords" birth eh


The annual cleaning of one of Christianity’s holiest churches deteriorated into a brawl between rival clergy today, as dozens of monks feuding over sacred space at the Church of the Nativity battled each other with brooms until police intervened.

The ancient church, built over the traditional site of This post will be deleted if not edited immediately’ birth in Bethlehem, is shared by three Christian denominations – Catholics, Armenians and Greek Orthodox. The fight erupted between Greek and Armenian clergy, with both sides accusing each other of encroaching on parts of the church to which they lay claim.

The monks were tidying up the church ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations in early January, following celebrations by Western Christians on December 25. The fight erupted between monks along the border of their respective areas. Some shouted and hurled brooms.

Palestinian security forces rushed in to break up the melee, and no serious injuries were reported.

A fragile status quo governs relations among the denominations at the ancient church, and to repair or clean a part of the structure is to own it, according to accepted practice. That means that letting other sects clean part of the church could allow one to gain ground at another’s expense. Similar fights have taken place during the same late-December cleaning effort in the past.

Tensions between rival clergy at the church have been a fact of life there for centuries and have often been caught up in international politics.

In the 1800s, friction between the denominations at the church – each backed by foreign powers – became so fraught that Russian tsar Nicholas I deployed troops along the Danube to threaten a Turkish sultan who had been favouring the Catholics over the Orthodox.

Those disagreements threaten the integrity of the church itself, which was originally built 1,500 years ago and parts of which have fallen into disrepair. Although the roof has needed urgent work for decades, and leaking rainwater has ruined much of the priceless artwork inside, a renovation has been delayed by disagreements among the denominations over who would pay.

Only recently, the Palestinian Authority brokered an agreement to move ahead with replacing the roof, and officials hope work will begin next year.
Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/br...rch-of-the-nativity-533787.html#ixzz1hvC9nS6h

Banker..

.. your last post reminds me of the time I climbed the Mount of Temptation just outside Jericho. The steep hill path is (or was in 1966) blocked by a small greek orthodox monastry. When I and my travelling companion got to the gate it was closed. I knocked on the door and a monk shouted in broken English -we're closed till tomorrow.
I replied in Greek which surprised him and his fellow monks. They opened the door and were friendly to someone they considered a true fellow Christian Greek Orthodox (which my mother was). I didnt tell them that i was a Proddy of the atheistic branch.

They were extremely friendly (so much so that i wondered whether they were going to extend the type of friendship that catholic clergy can show young men). But they were quite hostile to my Christian, but non-Orthodox, friend. It seemed that a Moslem or Jew would have been treated better than a non-Orthodox Christian "who aren't true Christains" I was assured).

My father had a similar experience with his parents when he returned from the War saying he was marrying a Greek. "Oh no a Catholic!" my Orange grandparents wailed. "No, she's Greek Orthodox". "Thank God" they replied.

If religion doesn't turn one's stomach it can at least sometimes make you laugh.

oldnick said:

Banker..

.. your last post reminds me of the time I climbed the Mount of Temptation just outside Jericho. The steep hill path is (or was in 1966) blocked by a small greek orthodox monastry. When I and my travelling companion got to the gate it was closed. I knocked on the door and a monk shouted in broken English -we're closed till tomorrow.
I replied in Greek which surprised him and his fellow monks. They opened the door and were friendly to someone they considered a true fellow Christian Greek Orthodox (which my mother was). I didnt tell them that i was a Proddy of the atheistic branch.

They were extremely friendly (so much so that i wondered whether they were going to extend the type of friendship that catholic clergy can show young men). But they were quite hostile to my Christian, but non-Orthodox, friend. It seemed that a Moslem or Jew would have been treated better than a non-Orthodox Christian "who aren't true Christains" I was assured).

My father had a similar experience with his parents when he returned from the War saying he was marrying a Greek. "Oh no a Catholic!" my Orange grandparents wailed. "No, she's Greek Orthodox". "Thank God" they replied.

If religion doesn't turn one's stomach it can at least sometimes make you laugh.

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Good post Oldnick, it made me laugh!!

The_Banker said:

The ancient church, built over the traditional site of This post will be deleted if not edited immediately’ birth in Bethlehem, is shared by three Christian denominations – Catholics, Armenians and Greek Orthodox.

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And for that church the keyholder is a Muslim as the Christians don't trust any of the others Christian groups to do it

So the Muslim is neutral, well sort of.
The arrangement works anyway

....he sleeps most of the year but when he does work he thinks he overshadows This post will be deleted if not edited immediately Christ.

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At least Santa exists. This post will be deleted if not edited immediately Christ is a figment of his own imagination, out there ripping it up with some other imaginary deliquent called Allah causing mayhem wherever they set up shop....off to Newgrange for the solstice with the lot of you.