In a recent speech, Church of Cyprus Bishop Neophytos Masouras claimed that a mother will have a gay child if she enjoys anal sex during her pregnancy.

He said that the enjoyment the mother experiences is transferred to the fetus, resulting in a child who is gay.

“It happens during the parent's intercourse or pregnancy,” Masouras said. “It follows an abnormal sexual act between the parents. To be more clear, anal sex. Saint Porphyrios says that when the woman likes that, a desire is born, and then the desire is passed on to the child.”

Masouras made his remarks at a primary school in Akaki, Cyprus during a series of “spiritual meetings of dialogue.” Video from his speech was translated by LGBT blog Metro.co.uk.

“[W]e can find no evidence of any scientific studies being carried out to find out if pleasure from anal sex in expectant mothers is or ever has been a factor,” editors wrote.

Saint Porphyrios, who was an Athonite hieromonk – a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church – died in 1991, according to Wikipedia. Other bishops have also attributed the claim to him.