History Main / SinisterMinister

** ''Lords of Shadow 2'' has Guido Szandor, who dresses like a Catholic Cardinal, complete with the hood. In reality, though, he is actually the leader of the [[ReligionOfEvil Church of Satan]].

* In {{Film/Wonka}}, [[spoiler: Father Julius is a corrupt priest who is allied with a chocolate cartel and in has a base of their operations under his church. He is is also so greedy that when Noodles disguised as a hungry child begs him for some food he says he doesn't have any... and proceeds to eat chocolate right after]].

%%* "'''[[CatchPhrase KOKO]] [[SNKBoss DESU]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters KA]]?'''"

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}''

* ''Fanfic/AThingOfVikings'': Father Michael Henriksson is devout in his beliefs, [[TheFundamentalist if not a little too-devout]]. For the entirety of the Berkians' stay in Norway, he makes the demand that they must all convert to Christianity to solidify their treaty. When this does not work, he manipulates Wulfhild into a Christian wedding with Hiccup, using it in a long-term plan to convert Berk and bring it under the control of the church, intentionally omitting various details and technicalities (like how polygamy has been banned from Christian practices centuries ago). After Ruffnut becomes queen, Henriksson does everything he can to undermine her, including trying to take control of her hospital under the assumption that women are too fragile to care for the sick and injured. When she refuses to have her children baptized - believing that they have the right to choose their gods when they are old enough to decide - Henriksson [[spoiler:baptizes Ruffnut while she is sleeping before trying to smother her with a pillow, trying to make it look like a DeathByChildbirth]]. When Einar caught him in the act [[spoiler:he changes his plan to making it look like they killed each other.]]

* The Reverend Literature/DoctorSyn, a "mild-mannered clergyman from Kent", also known as the vicious criminal "the Scarecrow", and the feared pirate Captain Clegg.

* The Deacon from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' is the undisputed boss of all organized crime throughout the city (though he's just a mobster who adopted the "deacon" name for color). This is balanced by his greatest enemy, the Confessor, not only also being religiously themed, but actually being a real priest. [[spoiler:The Confessor is pretty sinister in his own right, but only because he's a CreepyGood ReligiousVampire -- his heart may be withered and long-dead, but it's definitely in the right place.]]

** Aeron Damphair is a priest of the Drowned God of the Iron Islands. He's extremely zealous in a religion that advocates drowning unbelievers and pillaging the mainland. It becomes more tragic considering [[spoiler:his POVs reveal he was sexually abused by his monstrous [[BigBrotherBully older brother]] Euron Greyjoy, who is clearly the most evil member of the Greyjoys]].

* Reverend Kane from ''Film/PoltergeistIITheOtherSide'': a deceased, insane preacher who returns as a poltergeist and attempts to destroy the Freeling family.

-->-- '''Reverend Lester Lowe''', ''Film/SilverBullet'' (1985)

** The Reverend William Stryker, an ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain. He and his CorruptChurch believe that mutants are demons from Hell, and has an army of mercenaries to carry out his will. He first appeared in the graphic novel ''ComicBook/GodLovesManKills'', and became a recurring villain after the success of the movies, as ''X2'' was loosely based on said graphic novel.
** Another example is Reverend Craig Sinclair, a church leader in a small Scottish hamlet who is introduced leading a mob with TorchesAndPitchforks after Rahne Sinclair (a mutant) to "burn the Devil out of her" (read: murder her) to fulfill God's will. In a later story, he's pulling the same shit on another mutant girl, prompting a now adult Rahne to confront him. She denounces him as a hypocrite and a bully who cares nothing for the outside world because he can rule here with impunity. She then speculates that when he decided to "save" her mother, a woman accused of loose morals and possibly prostitution, that he may have in fact sired Rahne.
** Some people like to claim that if there's a priest in ''X-Men'' who is not Nightcrawler, chances are he's going to be evil. But that is perhaps more a consequence of Chuck Austen's anti-Catholic Nightcrawler storyline on ''Uncanny X-Men''.

* Reverend Crane, father of the main protagonist of ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'', tortured and killed his wife for practicing witchcraft. Also on a smaller scale, Reverend Steenwyck: the austere, corrupt town pastor who had sex with the Villainess.

** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S5E10TheShroud The Shroud]]", Reverend Thomas Tilford had Marie Wells impregnated with a [[CloneJesus clone]] of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} without her knowledge. Her husband Justin was aware of the baby's true nature and went along with Tilford's plan but he gradually grew disillusioned with him. Justin comes to recognise that Tilford is not doing Main/{{God}}'s work but intends to use the baby for his own ends once he is born.

** ''[[AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'' brings us Cyril of Rhodes, the rare example of an [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Eastern Orthodox]] priest. He is a member of the Templar Order and plans to assassinate the patriarch of Constantinople.
** Finally, in ''[[AssassinsCreedOrigina Origins]]'', we have Hetepi, the Lizard. He is a powerful priest of Anubis and has the trust of the high priest, Pasherenptah. Since Anubis is the Egyptian god of mummification and the afterlife, Hetepi's acts as the Lizard were contrary to his priestly duties.

* Kotomine Kirei of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', whose appearance and [[Creator/JojiNakata voice actor]] practically screams 'sinister' despite being the overseer of the Grail War and Rin's guardian -- [[spoiler:and sure enough, he ends up as the BigBad of the first route, the one responsible for much of the grief in the second, as well as being the FinalBoss in the third, even though in this route he is not as evil as in the previous routes]]. In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', [[spoiler:he also usurps several stronger villains and ends up as the BigBad yet again]].

* An episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' had a priest who killed people using drug-laced holy water in his exorcisms, specifically targeting [[spoiler:four people who he believed to have murdered a fellow priest while on pilgrimage.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' has a rough prehistoric equivalent in Thunderclap, a vicious and deranged [[PteroSoarer pterodactyl]] who leads an obsessive cult that deifies the storms. He speaks very much like a corrupt religious leader.

* The Deacon from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' is the undisputed boss of all organized crime throughout the city (though he's just a mobster who adopted the "deacon" name for color). This is balanced by his greatest enemy, the Confessor, not only also being religiously themed, but actually being a real priest. [[spoiler:The Confessor is pretty sinister in his own right, but only because he's a CreepyGood ReligiousVampire - his heart may be withered and long-dead, but it's definitely in the right place.]]

* ''Film/DoctorKrishna'': In this [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherwoods Carnatic language Indian film]], you have Swamy Haivadan Rai, a charismatic popular Hindu priest on the outside, but a greedy schemer, who ultimately [[spoiler: murders his best friend and frames that friend’s son for it]].

* In ''Literature/TheSecretsOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool'', the school chaplain, the Reverend Mr Bainter, is a smarmy man with leanings toward some non-Christian, and probably [[ReligionOfEvil evil]], religion. The school gossip has it that he's a white slaver; the truth is arguably worse. Since Drearcliff is an AcademyOfAdventure by design, it may be that some degree of sinister is part of the job description; the new school chaplain who arrives at the end of the book is implied to be a vampire. (Although [[Literature/TheHauntingOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool the sequel]] reveals [[spoiler: his wife was the vampire]].)

[[folder:Myth and Legend]]
* The tales of Myth/RobinHood frequently feature greedy and venal abbots and other religious leaders. However, the worst is the Prioress of Kirklees Abbey, who murdered Robin when he went to the abbey for sanctuary. In some versions, she and Robin were related, so he assumed he could trust her.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'': The Heretics and Pagans from the Sixth Circle are dressed like demonic clergymen are capable of casting magic and are immune to Dante's Cross attacks. The backstory features a creepy smiling bishop who claimed he absolved the crusaders of all their sins - the Grim Reaper has made it clear to Dante that they were absolved of nothing.

* ''VideoGame/DeadInVinland'' has one that comes as a shock: [[spoiler: the seemingly sweet and gentle missionary Brother Angelico, who appears to be a GoodShepherd but is actually a delusional or possibly possessed SerialKiller who will murder another member of the PlayerParty at random if he's kept around long enough.]]

* Hyness, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', is the head of the Cult of the Jamba Heart. He was once much more benevolent in his practices, even [[spoiler: saving the Three Mage Sisters from dying by giving them elemental powers]], but years of isolation at the edge of the universe combined with worshipping a dark god [[spoiler: that's implied to be connected to [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2 the]] [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3 Dark]] [[VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards Matter]]]] have driven him insane. Now he plans on resurrecting his god to destroy the entire universe as revenge on those who cast him out, even [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing himself and his Mage generals to complete the ritual]].

* ''WebAnimation/HourOfPoop'': [[WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973 Friar Tuck]], the VillainProtagonist of "Friar's Rubbing Hood - Fall of Nottingham". This incarnation of the friar is a man of the cloth, a murderer, and a practitioner of dark magic [[spoiler: who committed genocide against the citizens of Nottingham by saluting the sun cursing Nottingham to suffer eternal destruction over not getting away with stealing a children's ice cream and being humiliated for it.]]

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII had Antonio Maffei, a Florentine monk, member of the Templar Order, and a participant in the Pazzi conspiracy.