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An incident between police and Coptic clerics that occurred outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has drawn accusations of police violence against the monks, after officers tried to break up the group of protesters who would not let Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) maintenance workers into the church... Police said they initially spoke with protesters and warned them that if they did not leave the area and allow the workers to enter, they would have to be evacuated. According to police, the protesters ignored these warnings, leading one who refused to move to be arrested... Anba Angaelos, the Coptic Orthodox...

The leaders of the major Christian sects in Jerusalem closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, for several hours on Sunday to protest an Israeli plan to tax their properties. The Christian leaders responsible for the site issued a joint statement bemoaning what they called a “systematic campaign of abuse” against them, comparing it to anti-Jewish laws issued in Nazi Germany.

Christian leaders today took the rare step of closing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, in protest of Israeli tax measures and a proposed property law. The decision was made in protest against the bill, which is expected to be discussed today by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, allowing the State to expropriate land that the churches have sold since 2010, as well as to protest the Municipality's intention to collect municipal property taxes. "We are following with concern the systematic campaign against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land, in flagrant violation of the...

Officials at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Wednesday dismissed the significance of a letter written by the site’s Muslim keyholder in which he vowed not to receive US Vice President Mike Pence as irrelevant, since the man is not an official of the church and does not represent it. A spokeswoman for Pence, who is due next week, said the vice president has not reached out to plan a visit to the church at this stage, and a church official said no visit had yet been planned. Adeeb Jowdeh al-Husseini, the Custodian of the Keys to...

From National Geographic, this exclusive:   For the first time in centuries, scientists have exposed the original surface of what is traditionally considered the tomb of Jesus Christ. Located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb has been covered by marble cladding since at least 1555 A.D., and most likely centuries earlier.“The marble covering of the tomb has been pulled back, and we were surprised by the amount of fill material beneath it,” said Fredrik Hiebert, archaeologist-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, a partner in the restoration project. “It will be...

Restorers working in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel uncover stone slab venerated as the resting place of Jesus Christ.Jerusalem, Israel For the first time in centuries, scientists have exposed the original surface of what is traditionally considered the tomb of Jesus Christ. Located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb has been covered by marble cladding since at least 1555 A.D., and most likely centuries earlier. "The marble covering of the tomb has been pulled back, and we were surprised by the amount of fill material beneath it,” said...

Michael Coren, former Catholic apologist and journalist, has been stripped of his papal knighthood following his reception into the Anglican Church of Canada in 2013. Coren is known for his popular work of Catholic apologetics, Why Catholics Are Right, and for his schism from the Church over her doctrine on homosexuality. He is married with four children. Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic made Mr Coren a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in October 1992, for 'services to Catholic media'. According to an interview with the ultra-liberal Catholic journal, The Tablet, "Coren was stripped of his papal knighthood and asked to return the...

Archaeologists digging around an ancient church in Turkey say they’ve made a startling discovery and unearthed a piece of the cross that used to crucify Jesus. The diggers found a stone chest this week and inside were several relics believed to be tied to the crucifixion. Among them was a piece of the actual cross upon which Jesus was nailed, one historian with Turkey’s Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts said in the Hurriyet Daily News.

Archeologists conducting excavations at the site of a church in Turkey have unearthed a stone chest containing a relic that may be part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The items were discovered during a large-scale excavation at the Balatlar Church, which was built in A.D. 660 near the Black Sea, Today's Zaman reported. Professor Gülgün Köroğlu, an associate professor at Turkey's Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and excavation leader, told the newspaper the artifacts are linked to Jesus' crucifixion.

The True Cross Separating Myth from History Jan Willem Drijvers In the days of Constantine the Great, the cross on which Jesus died was “rediscovered” in Jerusalem. Tradition gives Constantine’s mother, Helena, full credit for the find. Today, visitors to Jerusalem are shown the very spot, in a cistern beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the empress is said to have unearthed not only the true cross, but the nails that punctured Jesus’ hands and feet, the crosses of the two thieves who died beside Jesus, and the plaque, naming Jesus “King of the Jews,” that hung on...

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has warned that it may shut its doors to pilgrims in protest at a dispute with an Israeli water company, reports the BBC. The church, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, has had its bank account frozen at the request of Hagihon over an unpaid $2.3m bill. The dispute has left hundreds of priests, monks and teachers unpaid. The church has traditionally not been charged for water, but Hagihon says it is owed money for the past 15 years. According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, there was a tacit agreement between...

Today when Barack Obama told Israel to move back to the 1967 borders he effectively gave half of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall, The Temple Mount, Old Jerusalem, The holiest Christian Church in the world, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the Hamas-Fatah terror alliance. This is what Barack Obama wants to give to Hamas.

JERUSALEM -- With a raucous crowd jammed shoulder to shoulder Saturday inside the fortresslike Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a parade of Greek and Armenian Orthodox clergy slowly walked to the tomb of Jesus Christ.     And that's where the trouble began.     Priests from the competing sects shoved each other as part of an ancient dispute over who would emerge first with the flame they believe miraculously descends from heaven during the Easter Ceremony of the Holy Fire, celebrated this weekend by the Eastern Orthodox.     Israeli riot police quelled the small disturbance, which last year erupted in...

Israeli police rushed into Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre to break up fist fights between dozens of Greek and Armenian worshippers on Orthodox Palm Sunday, witnesses said. Some 20 officers intervened after Armenian worshippers threw a Greek Orthodox priest out of the church, sparking a free-for-all, they said. Several worshippers then started beating the police officers with palm fronds they were holding for the Palm Sunday celebrations that mark the return of Jesus to the Holy City a week before he was crucified. After the incident, dozens of members of Jerusalem's Armenian community marched from the church to the...

Thursday, April 24, 2003 Nisan 22, 5763 Israel Time: 23:05 (GMT+3) Police plan to block worshipers from disputed church ceremony By Jonathan Lis Jerusalem police are gearing up to prevent the entry of thousands of Christian worshipers to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday, for fear of violence. Police believe there could be fighting between rival Greek Orthodox and Armenian clergy over conducting the "Sabbath of Light" ceremony that falls on that day. Minister without Portfolio Natan Sharansky has held several meetings over the past few days with the church leaders, police and government officials in an attempt...

JERUSALEM-- A violent brawl broke out Monday afternoon at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher between Catholics over religious rights at the church, police said. Police forces were called in to separate Franciscans and Greek Orthodox priests after they got into a fight over who would open the door of the church. Several people were lightly wounded by blows, and several suspects were detained for assault. After police intervened, the religious ceremony continued and calm was restored. The church is the scene of periodic brawls between various Christian sects who share control over the church, as to who will take...