"The Conversion" is the 75th episode of the NBC sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

''. It is the 11th episode of the fifth season, and first aired on December 16, 1993. In this episode,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

converts to Latvian Orthodoxy so that he can continue seeing his girlfriend, incidentally prompting a Latvian Orthodox

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

to consider leaving the order when she becomes smitten with Kramer. Meanwhile,

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

seeks the advice of Elaine's podiatrist boyfriend after he finds a tube of

fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, ...

in his girlfriend's medicine cabinet.

Plot

George decides to convert to a religion called Latvian Orthodoxy after his girlfriend Sasha tells him that her parents will not allow her to date a man who is not a member of their religion. George visits the church and talks to the head priest about converting. When Kramer arrives to pick George up, a

, Sister Roberta, becomes smitten with Kramer. The priests are worried over Sister Roberta's infatuation and tell Kramer that he has "the ''kavorka''," a Latvian word for "the lure of the animal," making him irresistible to women. Not wanting to be the cause of Sister Roberta leaving the order, he is instructed to buy various foul-smelling foods and wear them, which stinks up the apartment building. Jerry is disgusted when he sees a tube of

in the medicine cabinet of his girlfriend Tawni. He takes the tube home and asks Elaine to get her

podiatrist A podiatrist ( ) is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for ...

boyfriend to identify what it is used for, but Elaine and her boyfriend bicker over whether he is "really a doctor". Jerry later finds out that her fungicide was only being used for her cat. At Elaine's apartment, she and her boyfriend are reconciled until he sees the tube of fungicide and is disgusted, thinking Elaine has a fungal infection. George's parents discover that he is converting and are infuriated. George undergoes the conversion ceremony. Just before he is about to receive the final benediction from Sister Roberta, she reveals her attraction for Kramer. But when he arrives, smelling foul, she loses her attraction. At Monk's, George tells Sasha that he has converted for her. She is charmed by the gesture but informs him she is moving to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

for a year.

Production

Bruce Kirschbaum revealed later that he was unaware that the

Latvian Orthodox Church The Latvian Orthodox Church ( lv, Latvijas Pareizticīgā Baznīca) is an Eastern Orthodox church on Latvia, part of the wider Eastern Orthodoxy community. The primate of the church carries the title of ''Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia'' ( ...

actually existed while writing the episode. His intention was to have a fictitious sect."Inside Looks" ''Seinfeld'' on DVD Volume 4 Disc 3 Kirschbaum received many

thank you letter A letter of thanks or thank-you letter is a letter that is used when one person/party wishes to express appreciation to another. Personal thank-you letters are sometimes hand-written in cases in which the addressee is a friend, acquaintance or r ...

s from the church for bringing attention to the denomination. The exterior shots of the church are of the

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord is a historic Russian Orthodox cathedral at 228 North 12th Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The cathedral was designated a New York City landmark by ...

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conversion, The Seinfeld (season 5) episodes 1993 American television episodes Latvian-American culture Latvian Orthodox Church