Holy war! Shocking moment a priest is shoved to the floor in church only to leap to his feet and start throwing punches as a wild brawl breaks out
- Two women filmed fighting at Church of the Nativity of Christ in Odessa
- Priest tries to separate them before he is thrown to the floor in the brawl
- He then leaps to his feet and begins throwing wild punches in Orthodox church
- Social media users blasted those involved for brawling at a religious site
This is the moment a priest is shoved to the floor in a church and then begins throwing wild punches during a brawl between clergy members in a church.
The fight erupted in the Church of the Nativity of Christ, an Orthodox church in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa.
Video of the shocking incident was recorded by an onlooker and shows how the row began with two women fighting.
A priest in a purple robe then appears to try to break up the fight but he is shoved to the floor by another man.
He springs to his feet and begins throwing punches as other clergymen begin shoving each other and ornaments are knocked to the ground.
The priest can be seen in a purple robe trying to intervene after two women began fighting
The priest is pictured being thrown to the floor after he tried to stop a fight in the church
Local media report the incident occurred when an abbot became angry with the newly-elected Bishop of the Odessa Orthodox Church, who ordered for the abbot to be fired.
It is unclear if any punishments have been handed out by church officials as a result of the incident.
The priest springs back to his feet and starts throwing wild punches at the Orthodox church
After the footage surfaced online, social media user Mila Sultanbekova blasted the people involved, saying they ‘keep nothing sacred’ and adding: ‘Shame on you!’
Another named ‘Nikitos’ said: ‘And these are the people who tell us how to be united?!
‘They don’t even have solidarity in their own church! How dare they teach others how to live?!’