The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church called for increasing the age limit of the animated series “the Simpsons” in a recently published series which was featured as one of the main characters, Homer Simpson, catches pokémon in the temple, reports TASS. Now the series is rated “16+”.
As noted by the hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church, a cleric of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk diocese Macarius the popularity of “the Simpsons” is based on the ugliness of the characters, so they are not “role models, admonition.” Although, according to Macarius, according to the law of the series cannot deny, children and adolescents should be protected from the influence of “antiestetika” cartoon.
A member of the Synodal biblical-theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity on the Sparrow hills in Moscow, Archpriest Andrey Novikov saw in the new series “the Simpsons” propaganda “about moral values,” and also complained about the appearance of movie and TV characters with a different sexual orientation. He called for tougher control over the media.
Associate Professor of historical faculty of St. Petersburg University, deacon Vladimir Wasylyk agreed with the theses of colleagues and invited the creators of “the Simpsons” “remove the next episode is about catching pokemon in the mosque for the greater popularity of the animated series”.
In August 2016, the new Ruslan Sokolovsky published in the Internet a video in which he plays Pokemon GO during the service in the Orthodox Church. The video includes profanity and also ridicule Christianity. It was a criminal case under part 1 article 282 (“inciting hatred or hostility, and humiliation of human dignity”) and part 2 of article 148 of the criminal code (“violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion”). On 28 April, the state Prosecutor asked to sentence the blogger to 3.5 years of imprisonment. The final decision is still pending.