Man changes name to Jesus Christ

Moscow, April 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A man from Russia's Chelyabinsk city has changed his name to Yeshua Ben Maryam Al-Masih, which means in Hebrew "Jesus Son of Mary, Messiah".

Originally named Vyacheslav, the 49-year-old man had already changed the personal information on his passport four times, the Chelyabinsk.ru news website cited Yana Goldybayeva, head of the local Federal Migration Service department, as saying.

This time, she said, the man had changed his name and passport on the basis of his religious beliefs.

The First Regional TV channel cited the man as saying that he "had always spoken with the Holy Spirit", and that the passport with the name of Yeshua was needed for him to travel abroad and go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as well as to seek permanent residence in Israel in the future.

Father Igor Shestakov, secretary of the Chelyabinsk eparchy, said the Orthodox Church usually has no strong position on the changing of names, but this case was different.

"If a person says they are the Messiah, then they are either, if you'll excuse the expression, a psycho or a provocateur," Igor told the TV channel.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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