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In Baikonur, the priest consecrated the Proton-M launch vehicle, and it did not disappoint.

Journalist Andrey Malgin, who posted this photo on his blog, comments sarcastically:

“… And now about the news from the world of science. Father Sergiy (Bychkov), the rector of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious in the city of Baikonur, consecrated the Proton-M launch vehicle with the Nauka multifunctional laboratory module before the launch on Wednesday... “Help, Lord,” the father commented on the upcoming launch... Module "Science" is intended for the implementation of the Russian program of scientific and applied research and experiments.

I think there is a lot of harm from this ritual. Religion is the exact opposite of scientific progress. The more religion there is in scientific institutions, the slower the progress..."

However, not all readers agree with the pathos of Malgin. For example, the popular blogger Yevgeny Zuser writes:

“Many scientific experiments, including great ones, were preceded by prayer. And even (oh horror!) Were made by pastors, priests and even muftis. many religious leaders and priests made a decisive contribution to the scientific progress of the past (I will not list - everyone can google it), and many scientists were and are sincerely believers ... "

Analyst Yegor Sedov looked at this phenomenon from the other side, noting that the Russian space technology is so outdated that one cannot do without the Lord God:

“Actually, knowing that the launch vehicle was developed in the 60s (and the phrase about“ something went wrong ”addressed to the same rocket, we remember) that the Nauka module was originally intended for the deceased 20 years ago "Mir", I, perhaps, solidarize with the priest..."

And after all, he is right, if we recall the launch of the Soyuz rocket with 19 satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome on November 28, 2017. Then Roskosmos reported on the launch of the upper stage with the three-ton Meteor-M spacecraft into the calculated orbit, but then said that the satellite did not enter the target orbit, communication with it could not be established.

Then the famous blogger, Deacon Andrey Kurayev blamed for the unsuccessful launch on Bishop Lucian, who consecrated the launch vehicle before the launch:

“If a person does something, but it turns out badly, then for him it is a question to think about whether he is doing the right thing. It is very strange that a church seems to provide services, but is never responsible for the quality of these services. There is a problem with that".

The priests distinguished themselves these days not only in the space, but also in the sports field: in the camp of the Russian Olympians in Tokyo, the father of the national team held the first liturgy. True, according to bloggers, this can still be somehow justified, since athletes have always been superstitious people, and sport is, in part, luck. So let them believe what they want...