'Flamboyant Monks' Get Some Etiquette Lessons

I guess the proper ways to sashay and accessorize aren't included in these etiquette lessons.

SENIOR Thai monks are to teach Buddhist etiquette to homosexual novices to help curb "flamboyant" behaviour including wearing lipstick and overly tightening their saffron robes.

They said numerous reports of new monks plucking their eyebrows into a feminine arch, walking with a exaggerated swing of the hips and carrying handbags were all sullying the reputation of the conservative Buddhist faith.

"The aim of teaching them etiquette is to educate them on how they should act, talk, eat and dress properly," leading preacher Phra Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi, who is launching the behaviour classes next month, said.

"The biggest concerns are they don't walk properly, they wear lipstick... and carry colourful bags. Some also indulge in sexual behaviour," he said.

But Phra Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi said that, while monks found to have sex in their sleeping quarters would be thrown out, homosexuality itself was not banned.

"Otherwise more than half of them would be defrocked," he said.

Monks Brawl at Jerusalem Church

Here's something you don't see every day: Brawling monks. Not exactly a Crips-Bloods type throwdown, but it gets pretty testy.

Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.

The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — and give the Armenians a claim to the site.

The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were forced to intervene after fighting was reported. They arrested two monks, one from each side, he said.

A bearded Armenian monk in a red-and-pink robe and a black-clad Greek Orthodox monk with a bloody gash on his forehead were both taken away in handcuffs after scuffling with dozens of riot police.

Six Christian sects divide control of the ancient church. They regularly fight over turf and influence, and Israeli police are occasionally forced to intervene.