The Priest, The ‘Lycra Nuns’, And A Cult In Plain Sight: Shocking Abuse Allegations Rock Church Of England
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Once hailed as the Church of England’s edgy golden boy, Christopher Brain was supposed to be the future of modern worship.
Instead, a London court has heard how he allegedly turned a youth-focused church group into a full-blown cult, with a “staggering” tally of sexual abuse victims and a bedroom rota that sounds more like a grimy casting couch than a house of God.
In the dock this week, the now 68-year-old ex-priest stands accused of turning the Nine O’clock Service (NOS)—a so-called “progressive” congregation in Sheffield in the ’80s and ’90s—into his personal playground. He faces one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault involving 13 women between 1981 and 1995, The Independent reported.
Courtroom jaws dropped as prosecutors laid out the grim details. NOS, once seen as a revolutionary way to connect with younger congregants through Christian rock and multimedia worship, morphed into what one complainant described as a cult of control, manipulation, and abuse.
Brain’s inner circle, dubbed the “Lycra Lovelies” or “Lycra Nuns”, didn’t just help him prep for services—they reportedly kept his house “spotlessly clean”, massaged him in their underwear, and, in some cases, were “on rota” to put him to bed. That included performing sexual favours, according to testimony. A whistleblower bishop was told all of this in 1995.
When confronted at the time with allegations involving up to 40 women, Brain’s reply, according to prosecutors? “I thought it was more.”
He resigned from holy orders that same year.
Appearing in court on Tuesday in a bold purple shirt—because apparently subtlety is still not his strong suit—Brain heard KC Tim Clark lay out the Crown’s case: that he “dominated and abused” the closed NOS group, exploiting his role as both charismatic leader and ordained priest. Members were isolated from friends and family, placed into “discipleship” cells, and taught to worship Brain as much as God.
“Members of NOS became utterly dependent on NOS and desperate for the attention and praise of the defendant,” said Clark. “They were encouraged to give up their time, finances and, eventually, their sense of self.”
It started, oddly enough, with a Christian rock band. Brain first turned up at Sheffield’s St Thomas’ Church with his group, Present Tense. By the early ’90s, he was ordained, though not without drama. The church allegedly blew a fortune getting him De Niro’s robes from The Mission for the ceremony. If that doesn’t scream delusional self-grandeur, then I don’t know what does.
The star treatment didn’t stop there. Brain, jurors heard, preferred to be surrounded by “beautiful women in heavy makeup wearing revealing clothes”. These women, often teenagers or young adults, when they joined the church, were ushered into a system of silence and submission.
One said she believed Brain to be a “form of prophet” who promised her “sexual healing”. Another described him as “almost a God”. The women, prosecutors claim, had no friends outside the church and were terrified of exile if they refused his advances.
“She describes becoming severely depressed… she submitted to it occurring in order to survive.”
One woman said he picked her up off the street in his car, while another claimed she was invited over when his wife was away and raped. “She recalls moving her head from side to side and saying ‘No’. She said his weight was too great… She felt that she froze.”
One particularly chilling account involved Brain allegedly telling a woman she “needed to accept that she was the sort of woman who wanted to be raped” and that spiritual purity required this admission.
“She didn’t hold such views, but she was scared of him.” He allegedly pinned her down until she complied.
In 1995, Brain made partial admissions in a documentary. He now claims that yes, there was sex, but it was consensual. And NOS? Not a cult, he insists.
The jury may beg to differ. The trial continues for eight weeks. Strap in.
Content retrieved from: https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2025/07/04/the-priest-the-lycra-nuns-and-a-cult-in-plain-sight-shocking-abuse-allegations-rock-church-of-england/.
