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Priest Banned From Cathedral After His Wife Wins 'Miss Sexuality' Pageant

Priest Banned From Cathedral After His Wife Wins 'Miss Sexuality' Pageant

She needs to 'repent' apparently

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A priest has been banned from entering a church and banished to a small village after his wife won a beauty pageant called 'Miss Sexuality'.

Right, so there is a lot to unpack there, not least the fact that people can still be banished. That's a bit medieval isn't it?

Basically, Oksana Zotova is a 32-year-old woman who is married to an Orthodox priest called Sergiy Zotov. Not so long ago, his wife entered - and only went and won - a beauty pageant with a pretty racy name.

Oksana was declared 'Miss Sexuality'. Ooh la la.

East2West News

As a result of that, he has been barred from giving services at the Magnitogorsk Orthodox Cathedral and has been moved to another parish in a tiny village about 45 miles from where he was based.

It would seem that the Orthodox church in that part of the world are not messing about. Well, I suppose they don't call them orthodox for nothing.

The 31-year-old priest must get his wife to 'repent' before he can come back.

East2West News

A representative of the church court, Father Feodor Saprykin, told Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda: "It is a great sin when the wife of a priest exposes herself like this.

"Father Sergiy Zotov will not go back to his previous place of service until his wife repents.

"What kind of priest is he, if he can't manage his own family?

"How can he run the local church community?"

East2West News

Since the contest, the beauty therapist says that she has received death threats and abuse. Also, she says that despite the risqué name of the pageant, she is not at all 'like that'.

She said: "I never wear too open clothes or a low neckline. I do not wear skirts that are too short.

"I put on shorts but only when on holidays.

"Of course, some people may get confused with my girlish style which is bright and unusual."

East2West News

She continued: "I am feeling ill from all this now.

"I am getting support from my family and friends.

"I am a calm person; I am not going to hide or to suffer depression.

"But this bullying affected all my family. I had to shut down my accounts in all social networks."

East2West News

Looking at some of the pictures, she seems to have a point. It's not immediately clear what she has to 'repent' for.

Perhaps people should just stop sending death threats. That's definitely worse.

Featured Image Credit: East2West News

Topics: News, Weird