Fairfax Media quoted one of the priests as saying that a "god spoke to him" when he was staying in an evacuation center last week.
Jero Mangku Ada said that they "were not there to pose or be daredevils," and that they "had already evacuated as per the instruction of the government."
"But I was requested to make an offering and I did just that because I want the people of Bali to be safe. If I was not told to go up there by something higher up than the government I would not have gone up there," he said.
The priests trekking to Mount Agung prompted Balinese authorities to issue a warning that all those who visit the peak of this mountain are putting lives at risk.
Footage has emerged of Indonesian priests making an offering at the top of Mount Agung's peak ahead of eruption threat. #7News pic.twitter.com/MSErDIGYSX
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) 1 октября 2017 г.
Local police, meanwhile, said that they would not arrest the priests because they had not committed an actual crime.
The volcano, which is located about 50 miles (75 kilometers) from Kuta, a popular tourist destination, has been rumbling since August. Over 1,000 people died in Mount Agung's last eruption in 1963.
