Men must pray after seeing scantily clad women – Orthodox priest

Seasonal temptation and lust should be fought with prayer, according to Father Feodorit

Men should pray if they feel temptation and lust when they see women in revealing summer clothing, a Russian Orthodox Church cleric has suggested.

Speaking to Abzats news outlet, Hieromonk Feodorit went on to say that temptation is always a sin, regardless of how a woman is dressed, referring to the Bible verse which reads: “The Lord said that he who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

He stressed that men should fight temptation within themselves and try to restrain their thoughts, noting that humans consist of both body and soul, and while “bodily does not mean bad,” it is “inferior.”

“If lustful thoughts arise, then we must try not to accept them and do something else, ideally – pray,” Feodorit said. He added that there is a prayer specifically for deliverance from temptation.

Last month, the cleric of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hieromonk Makarii, told Abzats that marital intimacy is the “road to paradise.” He said sex is one of the primary components of a strong and happy marriage and gives a married couple an “emotional, physiological lift.” Makarii argued that condemnation in intimate matters is more often needed when one spouse avoids fulfilling their marital duties.

READ MORE: Russian regional MP calls for internet ‘abstinence’ for childless couples 

Meanwhile, the Russian government has been actively encouraging citizens to have more children and raise the country’s total fertility rate to a replacement level of 2.1 children per woman within the next five years to counteract the declining birth rates.

Russian officials have stressed the importance of improving economic and social conditions to encourage people to have larger families.