- An English vicar has become known for his massive Instagram following, which he says has brought him unsolicited attention.
- Rev. Chris Lee, 36, has drawn comparisons to the "hot priest," who is played by Andrew Scott in the English series "Fleabag."
- Aside from unwarranted nude photos, Rev. Lee told The Telegraph that social media allows him to capture his personal take on his faith and present it to the masses.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Followers are key to a successful religion, but traditionally that has nothing to do with Instagram.
Rev. Chris Lee has more than 100,000 followers on his Instagram account, where he posts a mix of sweet snaps showing off his family life alongside brief reflections and comments about faith and religion.
The 36-year-old vicar is based at St. Saviour's Church in west London, and told the UK's PA news agency that he uses social media to extend messages of faith way beyond his home church.
"Social media is a tool, it's neither good nor bad, but a lot of the time it's used for a very vain pursuit in a superficial way," Lee told the agency. "I'm trying to invade that space with faith, with positivity, with hope."
Lee has been compared to the "hot priest" character in the BBC TV series "Fleabag" who develops a romantic relationship with the main character throughout the second season, which he told The Telegraph he "didn't recognize it as priestly at all."
He even mentioned in one Instagram post that he was taken aback at a Marie Claire article that rounded up "hot priest influencers," which he wrote in the caption he thought was going to be about "faith and social media."
Being mentioned in the same breath as the character has earned him some unwanted attention, Lee told The Telegraph.
"I've had some dodgy stuff sent to me — like some women sending me nudes or whatever," he added. "My wife is like, 'right, block!"'
Even though the massive following has come with its unique challenges, Lee told the Telegraph that his main goal is to reach as many people as possible and give a fresh take on what it means to live in faith.
"There's many better looking people than me out there and my content speaks more volumes… although the looks can't hurt if they compare me to the 'hot priest' that's a nice ego-boost — but not one I'm going for!"
Lee is one of many social media savvy individuals from a wide variety of communities to become popular digital personalities, including children, US military members, and ex-cons.
Read more:
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Most maps of Louisiana aren't entirely right. Here's what the state really looks like.