117 Russians in hospital after drinking holy water

[Christa]

MOSCOW – More than 100 Russian Orthodox believers have been hospitalized after drinking holy water during Epiphany celebrations in the eastern city of Irkutsk, an official said Monday.

A total of 117 people, including 48 children, were in the hospital complaining of acute intestinal pain after drinking water from wells in and around a local church last week, said Vladimir Salovarov, a spokesman for the Irkutsk Investigative Committee.

Salovarov said 204 people required some medical treatment after consuming the water, the source of which was a stagnant lake. He said, however, that it was too early to say what caused the illness.

Many Russians consider any water obtained on Epiphany — which they celebrate on Jan. 19 — to be holy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100125/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_believers_hospitalized

[customerserviceguy]

1. We have a Western equivalent of that

Many people think that if they go to dating site that features people of their religion, "God" won't let any creeps or psychos there.

[rd_kent]

2. I guess god was taking the day off from work......

[struggle4progress]

3. ... it is too early to say what caused the illness, Vladimir Salovarov said ...

Church-goers suffer intestinal pain after drinking from local wells
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35054709/ns/world_news-europe/

... The regulator said tests showed that water from the city's Archangel Michael Church corresponded to sanitary norms, but ... "Water from a pond and underground wells does not correspond to hygienic norms," the regulator said. The regulator said 18 people who drank water taken from the wells near the church, which is located in an industrial zone between two major thoroughfares, have been diagnosed with rotavirus-caused gastroenteritis ... The secretary of the Irkutsk diocese, Father Maximilian, said an ice hole was made in the lake for bathing, in line with an old Russian tradition, not for drinking ... He said water from the lake could have caused poisoning ...
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100125/157676341.html

[DeSwiss]

4. Not to worry.

I'm sure that the priests will be able to handle something as innocuous as a 'lil bellyaching, right? Why just last week I was commenting to another poster about the wonderful abilities one acquires upon becoming a Jebus-Beleeber:

Mark 16:15-18 (KJV) And he said unto them, {This is Jebus talking here in the red words}----->Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So it would seem that the diagnosis is clear: Holy water demons.

The cure: A fresh supply of new holy water. From the same http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Kiev2C-Ukraine-Epiphany/photo//100119/481/d52385761dbf4eaab814e35ec28dc4de//s:/ap/20100125/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_believers_hospitalized">Holy Swimming Hole they've been in. And the laying on of hands should do it.

No need to confuse matters with science and fancy ideas about germs. And there's certainly no need to get any doctor's involved in this holy bidness.

- Because Jebus will always look out for his own. Right? Right? Hello!!! Is this thing on?!?!?

K&R