From the BBC:
The Russian Orthodox Church has come out in support of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in the face of calls from hardline Christian activists for it to be banned.
Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida says that while works like the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical might give rise to disputes and discussions, “it is not right to forbid an artist from drawing inspiration from the Holy Scripture”.
Mr Legoida was commenting after residents in the Siberian city of Tyumen wrote to the governor demanding that a production of the musical be cancelled because it gave a false portrayal of Christ.
“Between blasphemy and non-canonical depictions of the sacred there is a huge gulf which is only invisible to the culturally short-sighted,” Mr Legoida says in a statement, adding that many people have been drawn to the Church by Jesus Christ Superstar.
Last month, a production failed to go ahead in another Siberian city, Omsk, after protests and a petition backed by a hardline Christian pressure group called Family, Love, Fatherland. The performance in Tyumen is due to take place on 7 November.
