[Finanziamento]

When I hear that someone, or myself, has "a strong desire" for anything, my first instinct is to think of what that strong desire is for, if that desire is a good one, from whence that desire comes (God, satan, or my own whimsy). Please, consult an experienced spiritual father on this matter.

As for citing Copts and Ethiopians having tattoos, this in itself is meaningless as a reason for an Orthodox Christian to get a tattoo. What are the positions of the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches on tattoos? They could be very much against them. These incidents could just be a folk practice. Well, frankly, there are many folk practices which would be banned by the Church, but are still practiced by Orthodox Christians, and even given some sort of popular spiritual dimension. There must be proper discernment in order to distinguish what is authentically Orthodox, and what is passed off as such.