Revelers should swap beer and dancing for tea and reading at "spiritual nightclubs" organized by the Russian Orthodox Church, a senior church official said.
Many young people don't sleep at night, and the church needs to "give them a place where they could at 2, 3, 4 or 5 in the morning have an opportunity for serious dialogue, reading and unhurried conversation over a cup of tea," Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said in a televised interview Saturday.
"A nightclub does not have to be a place where debauchery, boozing and drug addiction reign," said Chaplin, who added that the church-inspired clubs would stay open until 5 a.m. like most drinking holes.
Chaplin is an outspoken proponent of conservative values. He angered some feminists earlier this year when he said women should dress more modestly and refrain from walking down the street "painted like a clown."
(Reuters, MT)