This man went through a gay exorcism – and it was horrifying
(Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
A gay activist has filmed an “agonising” mass exorcism at a church which aims to ‘cure’ participants’ homosexual urges.
Nik Jovcic-Sas, a British-Serbian LGBT advocate, went to the Saharna Monastery in Moldova, near the border with Ukraine, to see if the monks there would agree to show him their methods.
To see what a gay exorcism looked like, he had to convince the clergy that he was looking to rid himself of his homosexuality.
One of the monks (Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
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Eventually the monks relented and allowed Nik to take part in the shocking ceremony.
Speaking to PinkNews, he said the experience – which every participant had to pay for – was traumatic.
“When I first realised that I was gay at the age of 11,” Nik recalled, “I thought I was sick and going to hell because of what my faith had taught me.
(Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
“It led me to a dark time in my life where I struggled a lot with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
“When I was in that room full of people who believed me to be demonically possessed because of my sexuality, I felt transported back to that time in my life,” he added.
“It also made me feel acutely aware of how normal the belief that being LGBTQ+ is some sort of disease is in many parts of the world.”
Related: A UK Christian school offered ‘exorcism’ to save gay pupil from the Devil
Then the actual exorcism began.
(Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
He said that “people were anointed with rose oil, doused with holy water, and the exorcism prayers of St Basil the Great were chanted.
“Each stage invoked wild reactions from members of the audience – from screams of agony to falling on the floor in fits of convulsions.
“However, many of the most visceral responses came at the end when people were jabbed with these ceremonial knives, called ‘holy lances.'”
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, the jabbings cause some victims to roar as if overwhelmed by a primal fear or pain.
(Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
Related: Church accused of conducting ‘transgender exorcism’ on 13-year-old
After the ceremony, the monks told Nik that they had been unable to find “the demon inside him,” and that he would have to come back for another exorcism – which, of course, would mean more money for the church.
As the exorcism was performed on him and others, he said an audience of hundreds looked on.
Nik told PinkNews: “It was a mixture of families from the capital, who had come as part of an outing, and others seemed like they had turned up as part of a night out.
“It made it all feel like some sort of occult freak show.”
(Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
He explained that he had wanted to show that gay exorcisms were not simply an expression of religious freedom, but a dangerous exercise which preyed on the weak and vulnerable.
“There are many Christians – Orthodox and other denominations – who claim not to hate the LGBTQ+ community per se, but defend the right of the Church to persecute individuals under the idea of “freedom of religion,” Nik said.
“I wanted to go through this experience to show that this is more than just a clash of ideals – people’s lives are at stake, and in this instance, the situation is being exploited for money.
(Orthodox Provocateur/youtube)
“My hope is that people on either side of the fence who watch my video will think twice about what we should tolerate when it comes to religious persecution of the LGBTQ+ community.”
This was especially important, Nik explained, when it came to nations like Moldova.
“With extreme levels of LGBTphobia in many Eastern European countries, levels of suicidal thoughts and serious mental health issues among the queer and trans communities are at staggering levels,” he said.
“These exorcism rituals prey on vulnerable people and humiliate them in public to make money.
“It was a horrible ordeal that left me shaken for a few weeks – but for someone in a more fragile position it could be the thing that pushes them over the edge.”
Watch Nik’s incredible video below:
