Bar Proprietor Penalized for Offering 'Blood of Jesus'

A judgment by a Russian court has deemed a drinking establishment's Christian-inspired menu to be "disrespectful".

A bar owner from St. Petersburg has been penalized for exploiting religious figures such as Jesus Christ and Christian iconography to promote beverage sales. A police report was filed by at least one person who felt their religious sentiments were disrespected by the décor and menu of the S’aint bar.

The owner, Sophie Noskova-Avramovich, admitted to infringing on Article 148 of the Russian Criminal Code which deals with "disrespecting religious sentiments". The city's judicial spokesperson, Darya Lebedeva, stated that Noskova-Avramovich was fined 30,000 rubles (around $342).

In her Telegram message, Lebedeva mentioned that the bar's undertone was pervaded with Christian motifs like a large pink neon cross, and "traits of non-spiritual and anti-religious aesthetics meant to highlight unacceptable philosophies of hedonism and relativism from a Christian point of view."

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Lebedeva asserted that the accused had designed the bar's menu incorporating "Christian symbols and icons, depictions of Virgin Mary, the Holy Grail, the Crucifixion, and the symbols of the Holy Communion to market alcoholic drinks." Noskova-Avramovich had displayed "blatant disregard for society" by insulting "the religious sensibilities" of her clientele, according to Lebedeva.

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As per Restoclub's online catalogue, the bar, which had a "Medieval aesthetic", took inspiration from Paolo Sorrentino’s television series ‘The Young Pope’, where Jude Law plays the fictitious Pope Pius XIII. The drink list at the bar included cocktails named ‘The Blood of Jesus’, ‘The Sorrow of Madonna’, ‘Personal Jesus’, ‘Ave Maria’, and ‘Judas’ Kiss’.

Initial complaints about the bar came from conservative activists in late January. The management justified its aesthetic decisions claiming that 'The Young Pope' is not prohibited in Russia. "Our concept revolves around using Catholic symbols to engage the younger demographic in sacred values. We are not denigrating religious values in any manner, nor are we defaming the image of Christ or venerating Satan," the bar stated in February.