A former priest (not pictured above) in the Russian orthodox church has accused his fellow clergymen of sleeping their way up the ranks of the institution.
Alexander Usatov was a priest in the Rostov and Novocherkassk diocese until he came out as gay and fled to Holland last year.
Writing at that time for the Russian-language Snob, Usatov explained that he’d lost his faith. The “belief in an anthropomorphic heavenly being, who is angry and takes revenge on people” had become “alien and unpleasant,” he wrote.
In a new piece, he elaborated on his departure from the church and country, explaining he endured harassment from his colleagues.
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“I am gay and have never felt safe in the Russian orthodox church, and in recent years I have become the object of persecution by the Metropolitan and his entourage, who knew about my orientation,” he wrote.
Usatov describes regretting his decision to come out to Metropolitan Mercurius, aka Igor Ivanov, the head of his diocese.
He says the situation was all the more complicated given that priests in the church were regularly having sex with their male superiors to secure promotions.
“Gays in the Russian orthodox church are in a dual situation,” he wrote.
“On the one hand, everyone knows about the existence of the gay lobby and the opportunity to make an easy career after going through the bishop’s bed.
“On the other hand, the most active parishioners of the church are ardent homophobes, and by relying on them, the church is building out of itself a stronghold of traditional sexual morality.”
One fellow priest who Usatov claims was sleeping with other men even wrote a “denunciation” of Usatov after he came out.
“He didn’t like the fact that I was talking with the guys he had an eye on, and out of jealousy, he began to spread false rumors about me, scare the Metropolitan, and even write denunciations… I think he was intimidated by the possibility of his own exposure.”
Usatov was later accused of “support for [opposition leader] Navalny, propaganda of opposition ideas and LGBT+ campaigning among young people.”
The church fired him, and he eventually fled the country.
The diocese, of course, denies all of Usatov’s claims.
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Cam
The Russian Orthodox Church was a puppet of the Tsars, preaching whatever sermons supported the rulers, usually about how living hard and being poor here would be rewarded in heaven, which was designed to keep the serfs from revolting.
And now the Church is supporting Putin, so as far as I’m concerned, I have no problem if the scandal causes them trouble.
ambroses
xmeet.fun – great project for single men who are looking for a sex partner!
justgeo
Whatever I’d do him in an instant and thank GOD!
Catholicslutbox
The guy in the picture in NOT the actual priest.
There are pictures of the actual priest but queerty decided to go with a hunky one instead of the actual priest.
I thought gay sex was an open secret, with most of them hiring escorts.
marshal phillips
The bishop’s bed: priceless.
barryaksarben
The Russian church ( if you can call it that) has a terrible history. It pushed the CZARS to stage pograms against the Russian jews for centuries. It is swimming in blood and it is no surprise it is happy to help Putin persecute gays even tho many of them are gay. They helped the czars keep the millions of russians under their thumb while millions starved or were killed. In my opinion it is typical of all organized religions
Joshooeerr
There’s zero difference between the Russian church and any other. The Catholic Church (in Germany and beyond) colluded with the Nazis and has the blood of millions of jews, gypsies and gays on its hand. Anyone who supports it is supporting a sick organisation with a genocidal history.
rural queer socialist
Queerty likes to publish pieces like this that appears to be supportive of queer people but actually ADDS to a culture of abuse in queer communities.
What must I mean?
Take this quote from the article: ““On the one hand, everyone knows about the existence of the gay lobby and the opportunity to make an easy career after going through the bishop’s bed.”
It is a disclosure of abusive hypocrisy. Queerty likes to talk about every groups abusive hypocrisy without talking about its own, by queer cultural/media elites.
For example, queer cultural/media
– routinely praises abusive promiscuous relationships. What are those?: any that involve any lie, any deception, or harm to others. Raise your hand – any queer person – who HAS NOT been harmed by someone else’s promiscuity? by your own promiscuity?
– routinely minimizes the impacts of use/abuse of alcohol, party drugs, sexual enhancement drugs, etc on human health
– routinely promotes images, stories, and other accounts that feed false ideas about the impacts of alcohol, party drugs, sexual enhancement drugs, etc
– routinely promotes images, stories, and other accounts – often driven by paid advertisers or product placement (non-transparent marketing strategies) – that feed addictions and abuses related to emotional manipulation of readers
– routinely presents constricted ideas about LGBTQ diversity that feed false ideas about self-worth, self-efficacy, self-advocacy
These are systemic oppressions. You’ve heard of other systemic oppressions in cultural/media ideas about women, about people of color, about persons with disabilities, etc. Queer cultural/media elites are leader in forms of systemic oppression.
Kangol2
You’re trolling and we see right through it. Sorry, no dice.
Den
@”rural queer socialist”
So sad to see someone who wastes so much time here just to be laughed at by your intellectual superiors. We know you are a sad het troll. The first time anybody saw your posts perhaps they had pity on your foolishness. Now we just laugh.
We don’t need breeders to point out the aspects of our culture that spring from your distaste for LGBT people, we are well aware of them.
So just go away creep, unless you like the humiliation you are heaping on yourself.
controversial2019
I consider myself to be pretty intelligent, but what on earth are you on about?!
Your post makes zero sense.
The simple answer: if you don’t like Queerty, don’t visit the site!
mailliw110
So why are you here?
James
FUK RELIGION…….. WHAT HAS RELIGION EVER DONE FOR GAY PEOPLE EXCEPT PERSECUTE THEM.
controversial2019
I question what good religion has done for anyone; not just gays.
There is a huge difference between faith and religion.
I feel faith in a deity, or numerous deities, or leaders/icons of a belief system can bring great comfort to believers, and it can create a great sense of community (akin to the LGBTQ+ community). So whilst I personally have no faith, I can see how beneficial faith can be to people
Religion, however, as you say, just brainwashes people, restricts them in life, and persecutes certain sections of society. There has never been war in the name of faith, only in the name of religion.
To be a Christian one need only believe in one God and believe that Jesus was His son who came to Earth to rid humanity of their sins. If you believe that, you’re a Christian and you needn’t congregate every week to listen to a person stand up and deliver their interpretation of a book written by everyone other than your God and His son.
To be a Jew one need only believe in one God and believe that Jesus was not His son but simply a normal man with a superiority complex. If you believe that, you’re Jewish and you needn’t congregate every week to listen to a person stand up and deliver their interpretation of a book written by everyone other than your God.
To be a Buddhist one need only believe that the Buddha found enlightenment via realising the Four Noble Truths, by following the Eightfold Path, and overcoming the Five Hindrances. If you believe that, you’re a Buddhist and you needn’t believe in the devas that the Buddha did, or become a monk and pursue enlightenment.
Faith – good (but equally good if you have none)
Religion – bad
SarcasaticMisanthrope
Back in the day it was either Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox priests that always would go to Club Columbus Baths for “stress relief”.
Lightbulb
I dated a Catholic pries for awhile and I am also Catholic. I met many of his fellow priests in the city on Fridays in the “gayborhood” for Happy Hour. The seminary I was told was like a free for all at night when the lights went out? Duh?
The reason there were so many priests in my opinion was because it was safe there and to not come out…I am NOT TLAKING ABOUT PEDOPHILES that is completely different.
The church is so desperate to fill the seats they need more priests so they are recruiting heavily in the poorest of the poor countries like in Asia and Africa. It’s all about filling up the pews for cash. Nothing more nothing less. Can you say Jerry Falwell Jr. Keep moving ain’t nothing to see in any church but a cash machime!
one more thing
just saying the priest in the stock photo is hot…….
Doug
I was thinking the same thing, and I was hoping it wasn’t a stock photo.