His political party is called the Church of the Militant Elvis Party, a name he came up with in 2001, when he stood against Conservative MP Eric Pickles in Brentwood.

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"He cultivates a militant humility, but can prove humiliating for the church, " Bouchacourt said in a recent article, criticizing the "dilapidated" state of the clergy in Buenos Aires and the "disaster" of its seminary.

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In a letter to Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Mr Yerofeev apologised for inadvertently hurting the feeling of believers, but blasted the church for siding with a group of anti-Semitic, militant radicals.

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The Christian church was far too comfortable and conservative for him, and his militant attitude was more in tune with political groups than with his co-religionists.

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