A Greek Island monastery has banned foreign wedding after a British couple posed for a picture appearing to perform a sex act after tying the knot.
Matthew Lunn, 27, and his wife Carly, 34, from Birmingham, got married in one of the holiest sites in Greece, on the island of Rhodes.
After their civil ceremony at the Greek Orthodox monastery, they wanted to pose for a ‘unique’ photograph that reflected their cheeky sense of humour.
Near the harbour, the bride kneeled in front of her new husband and appeared to perform a sex act on him in her wedding dress, while he had his trousers and boxers down to his ankles – punching the air
Matthew Lunn, 27, and his wife Carly, 34, from Birmingham, got married in one of the holiest sites in Greece, on the island of Rhodes
Near the harbour, the bride kneeled in front of her new husband and appeared to perform a sex act on him in her wedding dress, while he had his trousers and boxers down to his ankles – punching the air.
The picture, which was taken by one of Matthew’s family members, was posted on Facebook and immediately went viral.
But now the island’s top bishop, Kyrillos of Rhodes, has decided to ban all foreign weddings at the monastery of St Paul – forcing hundreds of British couples to cancel their dream days.
Giorgos Eleftheriou, president of the local Lindos community in Rhodes, told The Times: ‘We are Greek and we cherish our traditions and the sanctity of our religious sites. We cannot allow this disgusting behaviour to prevail.’
‘I have hundreds of soon-to-be brides from Britain and all over the world calling me today in tears because of this decision.
‘Shame on those two for the damage they have done. Would they have done the same in their homeland; in front of a British chapel, a Jewish temple, a Muslim mosque? They would have been beheaded by Muslims!’
Following their wedding on September 25, Carly said they had always planned to do the photo
The island’s top bishop, Kyrillos of Rhodes, has decided to ban all foreign weddings at the monastery of St Paul – forcing hundreds of British couples to cancel their dream days
Following their wedding on September 25, Carly said they had always planned to do the photo.
After it went it viral, she said: ‘It was something we said we’d do for a joke.
‘We expected a lot of laughs and jokes from people but didn’t expect it to be as popular as it was.
‘People back in England were commenting on it, the whole thing went mad.’
Have you been affected by the ban? Email anthony.joseph@mailonline.co.uk or call 0203 615 1875