Church authorities have suspended a Filipino priest after video emerged of him riding a hoverboard during Christmas Eve mass.

The priest, named as Father Albert San Jose of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish in Binan City, is seen in the footage deftly gliding between aisles while singing a Christmas song to applause and laughter from the congregation.

But the The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo said the holy roller's action had been "wrong." "The Eucharist demands utmost respect and reverence," it said in a statement posted to Facebook. "It is not a personal celebration where one can capriciously introduce something to get the attention of the people."

The diocese added that Jose had now said that the incident had been a "wake-up call," and he'd apologized and promised it wouldn't happen again. "He will be out of the parish and will spend some time to reflect on this past event," the statement continued.

The church has remained quiet on the devices' poor safety record, however. "Hoverboards," which unlike their fictional namesake do not actually hover, have caused a rash of festive season injuries and several are reported to have caught fire.

A number of Facebook commentators also disapproved of Jose's decision to deliver a portion of the service from this year's must-have Christmas gift, which one said demonstrated a lack of "correct understanding of the nature of the sacred liturgy." But others welcomed what they saw as playful gesture embracing modern technology and suggested that Jesus might have given the hover board a try if he had the opportunity.