The flag, a radical departure from Penza's coat of arms with three distinctive sheaves of wheat, is ruffling the feathers of non-Christian groups even though it has yet to be approved by the federal government, which gets the final say on all flags.
On the simple flag, a large head of Jesus stares out from a gold background. A green stripe runs along its left side.
Yury Leptev, the deputy head of Penza's committee on social politics, said it was a legend not the Bible that had prompted the regional government to put an image of Jesus on its flag. According to the legend, Ivan the Terrible stopped in Penza on a journey through central Russia and promised to present an icon of Jesus on his way back. Although Ivan took a different route back, one of his aides presented the promised icon to the locals, Leptev said.
NTV television reported that Jesus was Penza's runner-up to President Vladimir Putin, who was dropped when someone in the local administration pointed out that no region had a flag depicting a Russian leader.
No other regional flags have images of religious leaders either.
Penza administration officials could confirm the NTV report Tuesday.
The proposed flag was adopted by the regional legislative assembly Monday. It was unclear when Moscow would make a ruling on the design.
Leptev defended the choice of Jesus.
 |  heraldry.hobby.ru Penza's old coat of arms. |
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He said there were no protests from the local Jewish or Muslim communities.
"Jesus was also a prophet for Muslims," he said, adding, "I know the Koran very well."
Non-Christian faiths, though, are expressing concerns about the flag, saying it blurred the lines between separation of church and state.
"It's untimely," said Borukh Gorin, the press secretary for Berl Lazar, one of the two chief rabbis of Russia.
She said a flag with Jesus was not the right thing for a multi-confessional country or region like Penza. Penza has a community of about 5,000 Jews.
"It looks fake," said Farid Asadullin, an aide to Moscow mufti Ravil Gainutdin. "Jesus was not born in Penza ... you need to ask why he is on [the flag]."
Asadullin said there was a big Muslim community in the Penza region.
"How can they be worried?" Leptev said. "We didn't take anything religious. ... We didn't take the cross."
He conceded that the proposed design has gotten some flak at home. "The Communists are against it, even though some Communists go to church," he said.
He said the region had held an unofficial referendum before deciding support was strong for the flag.
NTV, however, showed a number of people in Penza expressing opposition to the new flag.
"No, I don't like it," said one woman, "I don't even know what is on there."
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