Priests of the Moscow Patriarchate to be banned from any stage activity and participation in vocal shows

This is reported by Interfax-Religion.

This week, a plenum of the Inter-Council Presence, an advisory body of the Russian Orthodox Church, was held in Moscow, where participants, among others, adopted the document "on secular work activities of clergymen". Now it will be submitted to the Court of the Hierarchical Council, scheduled for mid-November.

In particular, the ancient canons indicate that a priest cannot be a ruler, a worldly state chief, or perform military service.

"We are not talking about chaplains, but about those who participate in combat operations with weapons in their hands," explained priest Georgy Maksimov, a member of the editorial board of the Inter-Council Presence.

Members of the Inter-Council presence pointed out that professional sports are also not suitable for a priest.

"But I will emphasize that we are talking about professional sports. Here, the athlete is supposed to be fully involved, and it will not be possible to combine this with priestly service, which should also mean full return. He must either commit himself to one or the other matter," Father Georgy said.

At the same time, the document does not prohibit priests from working part-time as drivers. "In general, of course, there is a certain risk, but, as we know, many drivers drive all their lives and never hit anyone," the source said.

It is also asked to ban any stage activity of the clergymen, including participation in vocal shows. This means that priests shall not work part-time as waiters and bartenders, and shall not work in gambling establishments. A priest is not forbidden to be a doctor, but he cannot perform abortions or practice euthanasia.

The authors of the document indicated the acceptability of various intellectual and creative activities for the priest. So, a clergyman can be a teacher, tutor, consultant, translator and artist. In addition, they can sell goods of their own production, including rural priests who will be able to trade the surplus of their crops.