NSFW-Priests I’d like to F*

Have the Romanian team behind OC (Orthodox Calendar) gone to far with it’s 2017 Calendar themed P. I. L. F.

A play on the MILF colloquialism, Priests I’d like to F* according to the team takes an ironic approach too the Orthodox Church itself, which in recent years has been embroiled in artist repression, questionable behavior and homophobia.

Through their unconventional and bold images, OC’s creative Team seeks to counteract the negative and outdated influences of most of the Orthodox Church leadership. While recognizing that change might not come quickly to the official Orthodox Church position, OC nonetheless believes that at least it can encourage people (believers or not) to reflect and realize that there is an urgent need for an update in values as part of the modern society.

“The [Orthodox] church has lost its way and is desperately trying to prevent hundreds of millions of people living in modern societies that respect human rights,” Magdalena De Iona, press representative for the calendar, told the Huffington Post.

“We’d like to think that our art could empower people to question traditional forms of authority.”

But is this sensationalist manner in which the team aim to empower the LGBTI community and create allies within religious and perhaps Orthodox community really the best way to go about it?

I personally find the video distasteful and counter productive to our cause. Whilst the cinematography and creative licence is controversial and well produced the message and negativity that will come as a repercussion will only further fuel the homophobic people and slowly take us back in time.

What are your thoughts? Am I being overly sensitive, am I betraying my “community” leave me a comment below or on Twitter HERE

You can see the promotional video below, be warned it contains nudity, WILL BE SHOCKING and is NSFW:

The makers say, ‘Increasingly driven by profit and greed, concerned only with perpetuating itself for its own benefit, the Church has lost its way. It has morphed into a very different beast, and it has failed its people. These are the times of the blind leading the blind…

‘While the Church grows more and more concerned with Pharaoh-like projects, homophobia inside the Church is still as feverish as ever, and real world issues remain unaddressed. In an age where churches everywhere have forgotten their true calling, we cannot stay silent. For what is freedom if not the liberty to question traditional authority?…

‘Through the #OC2017 charity wall calendar, we wish to raise awareness of homophobia inside the Church. Years after its creation, the OC Art Project is still the only organised global effort against homophobia in the Orthodox region.’

MORE ABOUT THE TEAM & OC:

The team met in Bucharest during a shooting in summer 2010, from that meeting a friendship was born and an exchange of viewpoints and ideas that led to a creative collaboration that is the Orthodox Calendar, the very first project of the OC ART Project.

They created stories featuring some of their members striking a pose and openly standing for whom they are, not the religious garments or out of date views of the Orthodox Church: regular people with passions, preferences, interests and desires.

The first series (OC 2013) called “FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH, UNITY AND TOLERANCE” tells the individual story of 12 intensely masculine young men and their guests representing different parts of Eastern Europe. All are open-minded and believe in the importance to be perceived as individuals that reject contempt and violence, committed to diversity and acceptance against homophobia. Disrespect for gay human beings weakens thousands of children and adolescents, promotes risk-taking, and increases vulnerability to HIV and leads them into silence, shame and secrecy.

The second series (OC 2014) called “LOVE IS LOVE – ORTHODOX OR NOT!” pays tribute to gay marriage. It’s the story of young gay couples from Eastern Europe sharing a common dream of one day being able to wed their beloved at the altar of their local Orthodox chapel.

The third series (OC 2015) called “SALIGIA” pays tribute to social tolerance. The story takes place on the right bank of the Moskva River south of Moscow where some priests believe that same-sex unions are not a sign of the coming apocalypse and that sinning just feels divine. We could not agree more!