Russian church asks for Madonna concert boycott

The Russian Orthodox Church has advised its followers to boycott American pop diva Madonna's concert in the city on September 11.

The Russian Orthodox Church has advised its followers to boycott American pop diva Madonna's concert in the city on September 11.

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"This is not the first year this lady has been mixing singing about human passions with Christian symbols - crosses, statues of the Virgin, beads, and now it's self-crucifixion," deputy head of the Moscow Patriachate Foreign Relations department Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said.

"This means that the singer needs spiritual assistance," Chaplin was quoted as saying by Interfax.

Madonna, who is adored by millions of Russians, is to conclude her Europe tour with a solo concert at Vorbyovy Hills in Moscow State University area.

Unlike many western showbiz celebrities, it would be Madonna's first visit to the country.

"It appears that, by this interest in Christian symbolism, an interest more than strange, the singer seeks to justify her own passions and solve her own internal problems," Chaplin said.

Earlier, Italian cardinal Ersilio Tonini accused Madonna of blasphemy and threatened that the Roman Catholic church would excommunicate her for performances in which she wears a crown of thorns and hangs from a mirrored cross.