Word: russian
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...billion strong Roman Catholic Church and the largest Orthodox Church (which claims 110 million adherents though perhaps less than 5% are regular churchgoers). There was little hope for major reconciliation during the 26-year reign of Pope John Paul II, a Polish native who was seen by Russian religious leaders as a threat for poaching faithful in its sphere of influence...
Cyril, 62, the Metroplitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, was elected overwhelmingly on Tuesday as the new head of the Russian Orthodox Church. He arrives at the top job in Moscow with a very long and public resume. He served for nearly two decades as head of the Church's office of external affairs, a kind of roaming secretary of state, the Russian church's ambassador on the world's religious chessboard. (See pictures of the Pope in France...
...bless your efforts to maintain Communion among the Orthodox Churches and to seek that fullness of Communion which is the goal of Catholic-Orthodox collaboration and dialogue," the Pope wrote. "I assure Your Holiness of my spiritual closeness and of the Catholic Church's commitment to cooperate with the Russian Orthodox Church for an ever clearer witness to the truth of the Christian message...
...Western view of Cyril as a closet liberal is naive, noting that he is as conservative as most other Metropolitans, and a longtime operator within the Church's tight bureaucratic machinery. He is believed to have maintained close relations with Vladimir Putin since he took over as Russian President in 2000. Both Putin, who is now Prime Minister, and current President Dmitry Medvedev, called the new Patriarch soon after the votes were tallied on Tuesday. It is widely believed that no Patriarch can emerge from the tightly controlled process of candidates? selection and voting, unless vetted by the Kremlin...
...pictures of the fashion of Russian czars...