Russian Orthodox Patriarch visits Ukraine in power show, calls for ‘church unity’

September 17th, 2009 Vatican sees end to tensions with Russian OrthodoxVATICAN CITY — Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have vastly improved, possibly paving the way for a papal visit to Moscow or a historic meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch outside of Russia or the Vatican, a senior Vatican cardinal said Thursday. Cardinal Walter Kasper told Vatican Radio "we have overcome all the tensions in recent years." He spoke after meeting with Archbishop Hilarion, head of external relations for the Moscow patriarch's office.

August 25th, 2009 Bulgaria's church deplores Madonna concertSOFIA, Bulgaria — Orthodox Church officials are urging Bulgarians to keep away from a planned Madonna concert this weekend, accusing the pop singer of showing disrespect to Christianity. The powerful Church of Bulgaria has issued a statement expressing "disapproval and disagreement" with Saturday's event, and says the U.S.

August 13th, 2009 Ukrainian president rejects Russian criticismKIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday rejected sharp criticism from his Russian counterpart, saying the Kremlin is to blame for a downturn in bilateral ties. Yushchenko was responding to an open letter from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has accused him of conducting a hostile policy toward Russia.

August 12th, 2009 Russian leader says Ukraine endangering gas supplyMOSCOW — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused Ukraine of endangering European gas supplies, and threatened to delay sending a new Russian ambassador until relations with its neighbor improve. In a letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko released Tuesday by the Kremlin, Medvedev also criticizes Yushchenko's push to make Ukraine a NATO member and his support for an Orthodox church outside Moscow's control.

July 27th, 2009 Russian Patriarch calls for Ukraine church unityKIEV, Ukraine — The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church has arrived in Kiev for a 10-day visit aimed at reasserting Moscow's dominance over the church's leaders in Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill said Monday he would pray for the two nations' "unbreakable spiritual and church unity." The statement was a reference to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's efforts to establish an independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

July 27th, 2009 Patriarch Kirill: No independent church in UkraineKIEV, Ukraine — The head of the Russian Orthodox Church rejected calls from Ukraine's president to create a local Orthodox church that would be independent from Moscow, saying he firmly supports the status quo. Patriarch Kirill arrived in Ukraine for a prolonged visit, which observers say is aimed at reasserting Moscow's religious and political influence over this predominantly Orthodox nation of 46 million, which is trying to integrate with the West.

July 21st, 2009 Russian pupils to have choice of religion, ethicsBARVIKHA, Russia — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced a pilot project Tuesday that will require schoolchildren to take classes in religion or secular ethics. The proposal is part of a Kremlin effort to teach young Russians morals in the wake of a turbulent period of uncertainty following the collapse of the officially atheist Soviet Union.

July 5th, 2009 Greek, Russian Orthodox leaders show unityISTANBUL, Turkey — The spiritual leaders of the Orthodox Christian churches in Istanbul and Russia led Sunday prayers together in a show of unity after years of jostling for influence. Istanbul Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said the two churches must overcome differences, though he stressed his church's status as "first among equals" with the historic role of coordinating between the various Orthodox branches, of which Russia's is the largest.

July 5th, 2009 Russian pagans from ancient cult greet solsticeMALOYAROSLAVETS, Russia — Tambourine throbbing in hand, Velislav chants to gods whose cult has almost been obliterated by a millennium of Christianity in Russia. Several hundred followers wearing linen, ancient Slavic ornaments and flower garlands circle around the high priest to celebrate the summer solstice, in an all-night festivity fought by the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries.

June 16th, 2009 YEKATERINBURG - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur, who has accompanied him to this Russian industrial city, Tuesday visited the site of the gruesome massacre of Russia's last tsar and his family that has now turned into a centre of pilgrimage. Tsar Nicholas II and his close family have been canonized and are now revered as saints.

March 22nd, 2009 KOTTAYAM - Irked at the Congress party for ignoring its candidate request, the Orthodox Church in Kerala has decided to put up four candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The 2.5 million-strong Kottayam headquartered church approached the Congress party with a request to put up a senior Indian Administrative Service officer at the newly constituted Pathanamthitta seat, where the church has a strong presence.

January 13th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russian gas has been stolen after being pumped into Ukraine's gas transportation system, an official spokesman for Russian energy giant Gazprom has said. Under Monday's deal with the European Union (EU) and Ukraine, Gazprom Tuesday resumed pumping gas into Ukraine for transit to Europe.

January 12th, 2009 KIEV - Energy officials in Kiev Tuesday said Russian natural gas was slowly moving into Ukraine's pipeline system, rejecting allegations from Moscow that Ukraine was blocking the flow. 'Gas has started to come in (to Ukraine's pipeline system from Russia),' an official from the Ukrainian natural gas monopoly Naftogaz Ukrainy said.

January 11th, 2009 MOSCOW/PRAGUE/BRUSSELS - Ukraine has agreed to sign a fresh accord for monitors to measure gas flow to Europe, minus the declaration that led Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to rescind the agreement, the European Commission said Monday. The move follows phone calls by commission president Jose Barroso to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Timoshenko late Sunday night.

January 3rd, 2009 MOSCOW - Ukraine illegally tapped 50 million cubic metres of Russian natural gas bound for European consumers, a spokesman for Russian energy giant Gazprom said Sunday. 'Over the past 24 hours (since Saturday), we fed 295 million cubic metres of gas into the Ukrainian gas transportation system that was more than requested by European consumers, but we had only 270 million on the output (data),' Sergei Kupriyanov said.