The priests in Russia’s Tver Oblast region flew the plane over the city and sprayed holy water on it to cure its residents of addiction to drunkenness and fornication.
In honour of All-Russian Sobriety Day on Wednesday, Metropolitan Savva of Tver and Kashinsky, Father Alexander Goryachev and two other members of the Russian Orthodox Church boarded a plane in which they hovered over the city and sprayed the evils out of it.
A report by Odditycentral.com said the men of God and their crew boarded the plane with 70 litres of holy water and two icons – the “Inexhaustible Chalice,” said to be able to cure people of alcohol and drug addiction, and one of John the Baptist.
The news website further reported that after taking off from an airfield near the city of Tver, the clergymen strapped on their safety harnesses opened the aeroplane door, and organized a prayer service before pouring the holy water over the city.
Tver News quoted Father Alexander Goryachev as saying: “Any disease is from a virus, and a virus is a demon. Therefore, any disease is primarily a spiritual disease.”
When asked whether they care about the likelihood of people ridiculing their aerial blessing, the man of God said no amount of mockery would stop them from carrying out their priestly work.
“What is the joke? That we’re trying to help people get rid of diseases? We promote stopping alcohol consumption, drugs and fornication — is this laughable?’ he asked, stating: “Let them laugh and we will do our job.”
As to whether the people of Tver have indeed been cured of drunkenness and fornication, time will tell.
Watch a video of the cleansing performance below: