Another Church Riled by Madonna's Shock Schtick

Officials from Bulgaria's Orthodox Church implore followers to boycott pop star's upcoming gig due to its "disrespectful" attitude toward religion

It may be time to invest in a bigger bandwagon.

We're not trying to play into the stereotype that Eastern Europe is slightly behind the trends, but the Western World has been calling for religious boycotts of Madonna for years now.

As it is, orthodox church officials in Bulgaria have added their holy ire to the mix, calling on followers to steer clear of the pop star's concert scheduled for its capital city of Sofia Saturday night.

"Louise Esther Ciccone, with almost every concert in a Christian country, displays a disrespectful and intolerant attitude to the religious feelings of the Christians there," the church said in a statement—which, somewhat ironically, left out her Christian name.

So what exactly has Madonna done to cause offense? Other than date a guy named Jesus, hang herself from a bedazzled cross and don the odd crown of thorns, that is? Glad you asked...

The major sin from which Madonna apparently can't be saved is simply her failure to consult a calendar before booking her gig.

Saturday night's show coincides with one of Orthodox Christianity's holy days, wherein they mark the beheading of Saint John the Baptist by spending the day fasting. It's a ritual Madonna, and no doubt her nearly sell-out 50,000-strong crowd, won't be adhering to.

The church went on to express its "disapproval and disagreement with such musical artistic events which, in many cases, openly profane Christian symbols and events."

Sounds like someone's due for some confessing. But preferably not on a dance floor.