Priest Helicopter Landing Stops Traffic in Russia

In Orthodox countries, high-ranking church officials get more or less the same treatment as generals or heads of state. That means they travel in limos, use jets and helicopters, all just to spread God's word.

Take this next video as an example. Two cars parked sideways block traffic in either direction just so a priest can land his helicopter. Well, the priest is probably not the one doing the flying, but it's still a bewildering sight.

The family filming this incident is just as stunned as we are, but they are much more accustomed to strange things happening on their national roads. You'd never see this stuff in Germany, maybe if somebody was about to die due to a severe accident, but never a priest.

Not only does this seem illegal but it's also very dangerous. Why can't they land in a nearby field, does his holiness not want to get his shoes dirty? And if this is an officially approved landing, why isn't the police stopping traffic. This being Russia, it would surprise us to see somebody pull a bat or machinegun from that gray Skoda Octavia.

Now, that's by no means an expensive helicopter, but it's still a helicopter used by a member of the church in an impoverished country. The light aircraft is probably worth around $100,000, but nothing beats the sky when you're in a hurry.

American reality television has taught us that "God wants the priest to be rich and own Ferraris." As offensive as buying a supercar with donation money may be, the Russians have it much worse. Their church owns real estate, does business with the military, and sucks up money from the national budget. At least you could say that the helicopter gets this fellow a little closer to God.