A mobile phone store chain in Georgia is
experiencing a boost in iPhone sales after
arranging for a priest to bless the entire Apple
stock at one of their stores in Tbilisi. According
to iPhone+ store manager Georgiy
Machavariani, the holy ceremony has
mollified fears and concerns that people have
about iPhones being the “device of the devil”.
“We have a lot of customers that restrain from
buying an iPhone for the sole reason that it is
a so-called device of a devil,” he said. “In order
to tackle this concern, we decided to sanctify
our shop and have the phones blessed.” I guess
the fear he is referring to has to do with the
Apple logo, which people are probably
associating with the forbidden fruit eaten by
Adam and Eve.
The shop’s management recorded and released
footage that shows a priest spreading holy
water around the place and then blessing their
entire inventory of iPhones. The strange move
seems to have had a calming effect on local
residents, who are now coming in droves to buy
the blessed phones.
“I am pleased to hear that the shop’s
management has finally decided to sanctify its
property,” said Anna Aslanishvilli, one of the
first to buy a consecrated iPhone. In fact, the
response has been so positive that the shop
plans to invite the priest to bless future iPhone
stocks.
News of this controversial event quickly went
viral with the video released by the mobile
phone retailer getting tens of thousands of
views. Contacted by the media, the priest who
conducted the blessing said that his holy act
has been used as a marketing stunt by iPhone
+ and that he had actually blessed the shop
itself and the employees, not the mobile
phones. He told Georgian news site Info9 that
if he had known the purpose of the video from
the beginning, he would not have allowed the
ceremony to be video-recorded.

Source: http://www.odditycentral.com/news/georgian-shop-has-iphones-blessed-by-priest-to-increase-sales.html