MOSCOW: A Russian priest who flaunted luxury items including Louis Vuitton bags and Gucci shoes on his Instagram account will face a disciplinary committee, an Orthodox Church spokesman said on Monday.

Vyacheslav Baskakov deleted the images of himself posing in his frock with the designer goods after they were picked up by Russian media and shared online last week.

“Such actions are not acceptable. The Church requires modesty and temperance of its representatives,” said Alexander Volkov, spokesman for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

Volkov said the priest would face a disciplinary committee in the Tver region where he is based, north of the capital.

Baskakov is not the first Church representative to find himself in hot water over luxury goods.

Patriarch Kirill caused a stir when he wore what was identified as a Breguet watch that costs around 30,000 euros during a trip to Ukraine in 2009.

Bloggers also found the patriarch was the owner of a luxury Moscow flat.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2018