Watch: Russian Priest forces toddler’s head into holy water

Composite photos from dailymail.co.uk

A 2 – year old girl in Russia screams for her life as a Russian priest forces her head underwater during a rather extreme baptism supposedly to expel the presence of evil from her.

The incident took place in Yessentuki, South West Russia about 2 years ago, where a priest named Ilia Semiletov, the one who executed the baptismal rites, may possibly be nullified from priesthood after a viral video of him emerged while pushing the child’s head into a chalice – shaped font full of water.

Both the Church and even the girl’s mother DENIED claims that the priest thrice struck the girl’s head into the font during the said ritual but the video shows, otherwise.

Although the mother admitted that their child ‘cried because she was scared of the priest’, she and her husband never filed a complaint against the priest or the church, in any way.

Surprisingly, the mother herself was even GRATEFUL to the priest for baptizing their daughter.

Photo from dailymail.co.uk

Also in the video, nuns with mops are only seen arriving to dry the water on the floor as the Orthodox Priest, Semiletov forces the child into the font.

Meanwhile, the child’s adult companions were only seen standing aside watching the entire ordeal without the intention to even intervene at all – with the sound of laughter emerging from among the crowd!

Liliya Reznikova, a concerned parishioner, said the priest later admitted that young children, other than new – born babies must be ‘broken’ during baptism because ‘Satan is sitting inside them’.

In a statement, Reznikova said, 'I remember how I was scared when he began to speak this nonsense.'

The Russian Orthodox Church condemns the exaggeration of the Priest’s ritual over the video which has gone viral in Russia this week, though the actual incident happened 2 years ago.

Archpriest Mikhail Samokhin, of the Pyatigorsk and Circassian Diocese believed that Semiletov’s actions were unbecoming and said, 'The priest acted too harshly.’

Photo from dailymail.co.uk

“He has been suspended from officiating at services and he will he will be judged by the church court,” he said.

Semiletov is a resident priest at St George’s Convent in Yessentuki, in Russia’s Stavropol region.

Describing her daughter’s experience with the ritual, the Mother anonymously posted on Facebook, saying, 'My daughter was two then.

'She was crying because she was afraid of the priest. She was in church for the first time.

'We are very grateful to the priest that he agreed to baptize her.'

The said video received negative remarks from other Netizens condemning the priest as “sick” and even took a swipe at the relatives “who failed to stop this nightmare”.

Another asked: “How could the parents calmly watch it?”

“This is a priest from hell,” said another. With many demanded that the cleric must be expelled from the church.

Meanwhile, a netizen by the name of Samokhin said: “Everything is fine with the girl. Her parents did not complain nor make any claims either against the priest or to the convent or the diocese.”

Watch the video HERE

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Source: dailymail.co.uk