Russian Orthodox Church Doctors Photo to Remove $30,000 Watch

The hypocrisy of the church was uncovered when a Russian blogger noticed the reflection of the watch on the table in the "official" church photograph on the official church website. Sure enough, you can see the reflection of the watch clear-as-day in the highly polished surface of the table immediately next to the good Patriarch's left wrist. 

The church has since restored the original photo to the official church website, but Patriarch Kirill was not to be outdone. Instead of owning up to his ethical lapse and admitting that he's a fraud for purchasing a watch worth more than an average Russian's salary, he flat-out lied. During an interview with Russian media, the Patriarch insisted that any photos showing him wearing such an expensive watch must have been photo-manipulated to put the watch on his wrist. 

Church leaders, for thier part, apologized and owned up to the fraud calling it a "mistake". And promptly blamed their photo editors and vowed to punish all the wrongdoers who followed their explicit instructions to edit the watch out of the photo. 

Happy Easter. Oh, due to austerity measures, the church will not be serving bread and wine for mass today. 

Photos: Press Service of the Patriarch (Church website)