Ukraine’s new traffic police decide controversial Orthodox priest is above the law (Video)

Video shows high-ranking priest in luxurious car clashing with police patrol officer

Kyiv patrol police have reportedly decided not to charge a Ukrainian Orthodox priest for violation of traffic regulations despite a video of the incident emerging online showing the religious figure suggesting the police consult their conscience with god before denying the charge.

The police stopped the Mercedes Benz for a traffic violation in the Ukrainian capital over the weekend only to discover after stopping the car that the luxurious vehilce contained the high-ranking priest of Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra, Bishop Pavel.

The priest refused to acknowledge the offence committed by his driver, asking the patrol officer whether he had been in the church that day.

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Bishop Pavel also said that the officer should think of his soul first and then ask questions, adding that the driver was not guilty because he was fulfilling the priest's order.

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After the police officer kept insisting that the driver had broken the law, Bishop Pavel said, "That's nothing, thank God," and ordered the driver to move.

The footage shows the registration plate AA 0004 MB, which, according to the Interior Ministry, costs 20,000 hryvnia (USD 900). The approximate price of the priest's car is 2,300,000 hryvnia (USD 100,000).