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Russian Priest Shocks Internet With His Saber Skills (VIDEO)

© Photo : Facebook/pravmirValeriy Kolesnikov, rector of St. Nicholas Church, the Yamal
Valeriy Kolesnikov, rector of St. Nicholas Church, the Yamal - Sputnik International
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A controversial video of a Russian Orthodox Church archpriest, who is a virtuosic saber master, took over the internet in Russia.

Footage of the "dance with sabers" performed by the priest of a preeminent rank has gone viral.  In the video, Valeriy Kolesnikov, the abbot of St. Nicholas Church in Gubkinsky, a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, masterfully handles the weapon, with a Cossack song playing in the background.

Filmed on November 20 at the conference dedicated to the interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Cossacks, the video caused a stir online. Some Internet users admired the archpriest's skills; others considered it inappropriate claiming that weapons and religion can't be mixed.

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Valeriy has been involved in sports throughout his whole life, according to the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. He has a black belt in Real Aikido — the highest rank in the modern martial art, which is a mixture of aikido, judo and jujutsu techniques.

The archpriest turns out to be the self-taught saber virtuoso in only only six weeks. He learned how to handle the swords from the Internet, looking at videos and repeating the movements. Being a confessor of local Cossacks, Valeriy wanted to become a good example for the elderly generation, which is hardly able to perform any physical activity, as well as introduce young ones to the secular traditions of the Cossacks.

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