Angry monks with sledgehammers and crowbars: how typically xian
21 December 2006 by Stardust
Seems like we are at a sluggish time. Maybe it is just that time of year. Maybe it is because we are just sick and tired of things like this:
Here is just another example of xian love in the world and, once again, how xians cannot even seem to get along with each other.
Greek monks clash on Mount Athos, seven injured
ATHENS (Reuters) – At least seven Greek monks were injured on Wednesday when opposing groups of monks in the Mount Athos monastic community clashed inside a disputed chapel.
The monks of the Esfigmenou monastery, which has broken away from the 19 other monasteries on the male-only community and refuses to recognise the Ecumenical Patriarch as the head of the Orthodox faith, said they had come under attack.
“We were inside the chapel when a group of monks broke in with sledgehammers and crowbars and attacked us,” Father Methodios, the abbot of Esfigmenou, told state television.
“How could they do this during this time of peace, days before Christmas?”
They are just spreading some of their xmas cheer!
He said the opposing monks had been appointed to replaced them by the community’s top administrative body. Three of those injured belonged to the alleged attackers.
The chapel belonging to the monastery was in Karies, the capital of the community in the mountains of northern Greece.
The community has been trying to evict the rebel monks for years, saying they had no place there since they refuse to fall under the patriarchate’s jurisdiction.
Under Greece’s constitution, the Patriarchate has supreme spiritual authority over the semi-autonomous region.
“We did not provoke them. They came to throw us out of the chapel that is ours and we defended ourselves,” Father Methodios said. “They hit us and we defended ourselves.”
Holy community representatives could not be reached for a comment.
Police confirmed seven monks had been taken to a hospital and several of them were being treated for head wounds.
Esfigmenou monks say the 1,000-year-old monastery is theirs. They have also clashed before with police sent to evict them.
The monks have sharply criticised attempts to improve ties with the Catholic Church and the Pope.
The Mount Athos peninsula is considered as Orthodox Christianity’s spiritual home from which all females are banned.
The spirit of gawd moves in mysterious ways, doesn’t it?
21 December 2006, on 11:45 pm
RE: “The Mount Athos peninsula is considered as Orthodox Christianity’s spiritual home from which all females are banned.”
Why am I not surprised? Religion has been “secret men’s business” for a long time. Apparently one needs a penis to gain admission to the club.
22 December 2006, on 1:03 am
It’s only peaceful coexistence if you believe as we believe.
22 December 2006, on 3:58 am
Were they singing this song?
“I want to be your sledgehammer
why don’t you call my name
oh let me be your sledgehammer
this will be my testimony”
Were they trying to ‘hammer’ the point home?
Seriously, haven’t these zealots ever heard their ‘kingdom is not of this earth?’ Are these wackadoos Circumcillions or somethin’?
How a religion of peace stirs up so much violence completely loses me, it does.
22 December 2006, on 7:03 am
Doesn’t that just exemplify what a bunch of fucking phoneys these so-called ‘religious believers’ are!
22 December 2006, on 12:58 pm
This is comment is SOMEWHAT related to the monk’s tale…perhaps, only tangentially?
The whole monk fight shtick reminds me of spending the 1964 Fall semester at the Saint Procopius Benedictine Monastery in Lisle, IL…as a prospective monk, no less. [It's now called Benedictine College.]
After JFK’S assassination, I was very disillusioned, and was looking for a way to escape the world. I’ve mentioned this story before on GifS; so I won’t go into too much detail here; but while I was there; as a 1963 Graduate of DePaul’s Music school, I immediately was welcomed by the priest who headed the Music department. I took advanced piano lessons from him and sang in the chorus, and a musical. I inevitably had a key to his marvelous music studio; equipped with a Grand piano, great record collection, a very good sound system and…
a fully stocked BAR, no less! [I was a Scotch drinker in those days…well…OK…almost anything alcoholic!]
On Friday nights, I’d sneak out of the dorm to go there and ‘party’ all by myself, listening to the marvelous Classical record collection. I did have to be discreet…like leaving a dummy in my bed to fake out the room check priest…say what?
Anyway, one Classical piece that I was not at all familiar with during my undergraduate Music school years was Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. I immediately ‘dug’ the piece, of course…Hey…it was about monks, and debauchery; and I was quite an experienced debaucher! [I had been an agnostic during college; and resumed that viewpoint, very rapidly, after leaving my ‘monk delusion’ in 1965. Then it was on to…
Sex, Sex, Sex….[I’ll skip my usual Cleese/Python link, here]
Sorry for blabbing on…”Gee willickers”, I feel like I just went to Confession…YIKES! ;(
Anyway, leaving the above scenario…I couldn’t help checking out YouTube for a ‘taste’ of that marvelous piece of music.
There are a lot of rip-off versions; but nothing quite comes close to Orff’s original Orchestral concept. Of course, it takes a HUGE ‘cast’ of soloists, chorus and orchestra, to pull it off…and there does exist a ballet version also [no YouTube] …a ‘George Balanchine’ choreography, I believe; which I once saw at Chicago’s Lyric Opera, shortly after I left the Monastery.
I guess this comment really DOES fall under: “And now for something completely different!”…?
I realize, most of you are ‘Rockers’; but, for those of you who might be interested [and are still reading this!], check out:
Carmina Burana – O Fortuna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea9xrbdUivg&mode=related&search=
22 December 2006, on 1:06 pm
ChuckA – That was wonderful! My son, who is a trombonist, and my daughter who is a orchestral trumpeter have been members of orchestras which performed this and it gives you goosebumps to hear it live.
23 December 2006, on 12:12 am
ChuckA, I too thank you for the link. I’m a heavy metal fan from way back (remember old Queen?). As I age gracefully, I’ve discovered that most successful metal bands guitarists(Metallica, GnR, Led Zep, etc.) are masters of classical guitar. Since I learned this, I developed a whole new respect for classical music, especially the mandolin (spelling?). Strange how the ear changes, yes?
23 December 2006, on 6:40 am
Nothing like a good old slugfest over whose version of god has the biggest penis.