Priest blesses strip joint in Chelyabinsk

It’s uncertain why nightclub Studio 74 decided to bless the dance floor where its busty strippers wiggle away on weekends. The owners may have wanted to promote the establishment once more before Lent.

“We wanted to improve the atmosphere – just to make things a bit more positive,” said Anna Usmanova, Studio 74’s press attache. Easy said, easy done.

Studio 74 asked Father Nikolay to participate in the event, who works at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. He agreed and held a traditional ceremony at the establishment, including prayer reading and sprinkling holy water. Local TV stations broadcasted the event.

It wasn’t long, though, before the Church caught on. A scandal ensued. Father Nikolay was later rebuked by the Metropolitan of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust. But the local eparchy says the priest was deceived into blessing the den of debauchery – and lured to the nightclub under false pretenses.

“Father Nikolay was asked to bless a store,” Archbishop Theophylact, vicar of the Chelyabinsk eparchy (ed. deputy of the ruling bishop), told KP. “Father Nikolay doesn’t live in the area. He’s from a small village on the outskirts of the city. He had no idea this was a nightclub and not a store. The tables inside didn’t look suspicious. He thought the nightclub was a regular cafe. Father Nikolay was also asked to bless the store free of charge. Thus, he brought no money from the event into the Church.”

But Usmanova says Studio 74 didn’t lie to the priest. READ MORE