Several Russian media outlets have caused confusion by reporting that the Russian Orthodox Church is opening a new temple in Westeros – not the fantasy continent from ‘Game of Thrones’ but a city in Sweden pronounced the same way.
Västerås is a city of some 120,000 people in central Sweden, some 100 kilometers west of the capital Stockholm. It is one of the oldest cities in that Scandinavian country, and apparently has a large enough population of Russian Orthodox faithful to merit the construction of a new temple.
Several other temples are being built around Europe, said Alexander Volkov, spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. But of course, multiple media outlets chose to highlight the Swedish location, given that its Russian spelling is identical to the setting of the popular HBO show and George R.R. Martin’s fantasy books.
Even though reports explained the difference between the two, tweets and other social media posts did not – leaving many Russians scratching their heads and responding with references to the show and the books.
“Glory to the Seven,” wrote one Twitter user, referring to the dominant religion in Westeros, while another wondered if the parish priest will be the High Sparrow (played in the show by Jonathan Pryce).
Several replies accused the Russian Church of discrimination for neglecting other (fictional) lands, such as Essos, Sothoros, the Summer Isles and the Iron Islands.
Surprisingly, no one chimed in with a joke about replacing the Great Sept of Baelor – dramatically destroyed during the season 6 finale three years ago – even though it practically wrote itself.
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