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Asceticism In Today’s Russia

The Moscow Patriarch has issued an instruction to his clergy: The head of the Orthodox Church in Russia, the country famous for its penchant for expensive cars and an unsafe driving culture, called on his clergy to choose their vehicles “with modesty” and not to drink “holy sacraments” before driving. The Russian Orthodox Church has […]

The Moscow Patriarch has issued an instruction to his clergy:

The head of the Orthodox Church in Russia, the country famous for its penchant for expensive cars and an unsafe driving culture, called on his clergy to choose their vehicles “with modesty” and not to drink “holy sacraments” before driving.

The Russian Orthodox Church has been marred by scandals in 2012, some of which were vehicle-related. Social networks, popular with the Russian opposition and the country’s politically active middle class, have been inundated with photos of the clergy’s expensive cars.

In August, a monk identified as Ilya crashed into road workers in Moscow while driving his Mercedes SUV. He killed two people in the incident, leaving the scene without calling for help, said the police, according to state-run news agency RIA.

In July, Abbot Timofei, of the Church of Elijah the Prophet, got on the news after roadster BMW Z4 he was driving, carrying Maltese diplomatic number plates, crushed into two cars. He refused to take an alcohol test when police arrived, the police said. The Church later said he was driving the roadster as “a private person.”

“Private person”? Oy.

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