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The article deals with the plan of Ukraine to break away from the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church. The leader of the new Ukrainian church is Metropolitan Epiphanius who will be granted legitimacy on January 6, 2019 from the Constantinople patriarchate. The plan was criticized by Russia's political and religious leaders which raised concerns that Russia will prevent the plan using force.

The article discusses the persecution of religious groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses, which compete with the Russian Orthodox church and are at odds with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin's ideologies. Members of Jehovah's Witnesses are often portrayed and mistreated as extremists because of their practices which include refusal to vote, refusal of military services and refusal to participate in patriotic festivals promoted by the government of the Russian Federation Kremlin.

The article reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the suspension of the construction of a Russian Orthodox cathedral on a site of a city park in Yekaterinburg after protesters clashed with the police and private security guards that led to several arrests.

The article focuses on the statue of the Russian Orthodox Church patron saint St. Vladimir unveiled by Russia President Vladimir V. Putin on November 4, 2016. Topics discussed include the embodiment of the statue as the core identity of the country, the eagerness of the advocates of the monument to reaffirm the sense of identity of the country, and the fight culminated by the launch of the St. Vladimir statue lasting for approximately two years.

The article discusses the role faith plays in Russia's efforts to exert its political influence in France through its construction of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral and spiritual center in Paris, France. An overview of Russian President Vladimir Putin's role in the construction of the aforementioned church is provided.

The article reports on the plan of the Russian Orthodox Church to sever all ties with its mother church Constantinople Patriarchate to oppose the creation of an independent church in Ukraine.

The article focuses on the debate between the Russian Orthodox Church and the government on the status of the Solovetsky Monastery found in Solovetsky Island. Brief overview of the history of the monastery, which was founded in 1436, and its role for serving as the Soviet Union's first gulag and remnants of a horrific period, is provided. The disagreement between the church and the government on the commemoration of gulag victims and plans to make it a World Heritage site is also mentioned.

The article reports on the project commissioned by Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinsky and the Russian Orthodox Church to erect a statue of Saint Vladimir, Russia's patron saint, atop one of the few hills in Moscow. It notes the petition filed by residents of the city against the statue, as Kiev, Ukraine has already a statue of the saint. The move also caused demonstrations outside the Moscow City Hall against the plan, citing legal, technical and aesthetic objections.

The article reports on the disapproval of the Russians over the film "Matilda," directed by Aleksei Y. Uchitel as it insults the religious sentiments among the Russian Orthodox Church believers while rekindling a firestorm on the culture wars in the country.

The article focuses on the pilgrimage of Russians to the Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius in Sergiyev Posad, Russia to celebrate the 700th birthday of Saint Sergius, along with the insights of historians and church figures on the role of President Vladimir V. Putin on the event. Topics include the comment of historian Irina Karatsuba on pilgrims whom she described as manipulated by politics, Russian Orthodox, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The article reports that as of July 5, 2014 pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk, Ukraine were defeated by Ukrainian military forces. Topics include appeals to Russian President Vladimir Putin by the rebels for support, a dispute between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kiev, Ukraine Orthodox patriarchate, and statements by Ukrainian President Petro O. Poroshenko.

The article discusses homophobia in Russia and provides reasons for why it is rampant in the country. Topics discussed Russian xenophobia, arguments against homosexuality made by the Russian Orthodox Church, and challenges that face queer theorists and feminist scholars in the country. The Russian belief that homosexuality is a disease that can spread to others is also examined.

In this article the author discusses the Russian feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot, focusing on an incident wherein members of the group were jailed due to a protest they staged within the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia on February 21, 2012. The author notes how the mission of the protest was to explore the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and various texts from the Bible are cited which explore the theological purpose of the mission of Pussy Riot's protest. Quotes from jailed Pussy Riot members Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina, and Nadya Tolokonnikova are also presented.

The article reports that people of Saint Petersburg in Russia have protested on February 12, 2017 in fight for the transfer of Saint Isaac's control into the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The article reports on the decision of the Russian Orthodox Church not to participate in the gathering Holy and Great Council or the Pan-Orthodox Council, which put the 55-year of preparation for the gathering into disarray.

The article discusses the effect of the election of Bishop Margot Kässmann as chairwoman of the German Protestant church on their ties with the Russian Orthodox church. Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk has said that the ties of the Russian church with the Evangelical Church of Germany are threatened by the recent election. Hilarion has said that this could also be the end of relations and the election of a woman as the head of a church results in simple questions of protocol.

The article presents an overview of the history of the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the government of Russia, and of the relationship Russian President Vladimir Putin has with the church in 2007. A discussion of several Orthodox Church leaders, including Sergei Taratukhin, who have faced government punishment for expressing sentiments which did not match those of the government, is presented.

The article focuses on Adelaida Nekuloff, an 83 year old Russian Orthodox dissident who has led prayer services at the Sviato-Pokorovsky Russian Orthodox Church in Buena, New Jersey since the 2004 death of her husband, the church's former priest. A court case involving Nekludoff and a Russian Orthodox diocese in the U.S. which sued to evict her and take control of the church,which is based in part on Nekludoff's opposition to the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow and its prelate, is discussed.

This article discusses how Russian President Vladimir Putin used the funeral of his predecessor, Boris N. Yeltsin, to portray the decedent as the patriotic father of Russia's democracy. Yeltsin was the first Russian leader since 1894 to have his funeral officiated by the Russian Orthodox Church. The service was held in the Christ the Savior Cathedral, a landmark destroyed by Joseph Stalin and restored by Yeltsin. Yeltsin was also buried in a cemetery with artists, writers, and scientists, not with the other deceased leaders.

The article reports that the Russian Orthodox Church has stopped funeral of Romanov dynasty's remains of two long-lost children Czarevitch Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria that was scheduled in October 2015 due to questioning of the remains authenticity in which the service was postponed indefinitely.

The article focuses on a historic meeting between Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 12, 2016 in an efforts to reconcile the Eastern Orthodox churches with the Roman Catholic Church, and presents the views of father Federico Lombardi on the same.

The article reports on the assistance of Russian Orthodox Church clergy in Slovyansk, Ukraine to separatists.

The article discusses the impact of the apparent endorsement by Russian Orthodox leaders of the aggressiveness of the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, on Catholic-Orthodox relations.

The article focuses on disapproval statement by the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on grotesque filers to Jews in Ukraine for register in government buildings and paying tax to pro-Russian separatists and also mentions threats to Russian Orthodox Church members by Ukrainian nationalist.

The article reports on issues related to the involvement of Russian Orthodox Church to politics in the country. It mentions Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov and his view towards the argument on the church's power and potential influence on President Vladimir V. Putin. It also notes that the debates over its role and relationship with the state is induced by the conviction of the members of the punk band Pussy Riot for staging a stunt against Putin at Moscow's largest cathedral.

A topless activist bearing a threatening message on her body tried to attack Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Thursday to protest what her group says are anti-Ukrainian policies by the church and the Kremlin. The protester, a member of the Ukrainian women's rights movement Femen, managed to get within a yard of Patriarch Kirill at the airport in Kiev, but she was stopped by a security guard and a priest. The woman, identified by Femen as Yana Zhdanova, had the words ''Kill Kirill'' written on her back in large black letters. She was detained by the police. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Because of an editing error, an article on Monday about a rally in Moscow in response to Patriarch Kirill I's call for the Russian Orthodox Church to defend itself against what he has called a campaign of blasphemy misstated the number of times Vladimir V. Putin has been elected Russia's president. It is three, not two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MOSCOW -- Thousands of people thronged the square and street in front of Moscow's main cathedral on Sunday in response to Patriarch Kirill I's call for the Russian Orthodox Church to defend itself against what he has called a campaign of blasphemy, including the performance in February of a ''punk prayer'' in front of the altar by a feminist rock group. The Moscow police told the RIA Novosti news agency that nearly 65,000 people showed up on Sunday for the prayer service, which would make it the largest demonstration in the Russian capital since Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin was elected to a second term as president on March 4. Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, and church officials have become increasingly embroiled in politics since a wave of protests alleging election fraud began in December. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Moscow court ruled on Wednesday that two women accused of participating in a ''punk prayer service'' against Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin by a rock band made up of masked feminist activists in front of the altar of Christ the Savior Cathedral last month must remain in pretrial detention until April 24. The women, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, were arrested on March 3, on the eve of Russia's presidential elections, which Mr. Putin won after a wave of protests appeared to threaten his rule. They face up to seven years in prison. A video of the performance circulated on YouTube. Mr. Putin's spokesman has said that he found the performance offensive. Russian Orthodox Church leaders have said that the band's actions were blasphemous and that the women should be prosecuted, although not necessarily imprisoned. Yet some church activists have said that the case is politically motivated and have called for their immediate release. The women's lawyers said there was no proof that they participated in the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tamara Vostok and John Paul Krasting were married Saturday at SS. Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church in South River, N.J. The Rev. David F. Garretson, the church's rector, performed the ceremony. The bride, 28, and the bridegroom, 30, met at Rutgers, from which they graduated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International ARREST IN HACKING SCANDAL [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MOSCOW -- The Russian Orthodox Church continued what appeared to be an effort to get the authorities to address Russians' grievances over the political system, with Patriarch Kirill I, the church's leader, saying in a televised interview that it would be ''a very bad sign'' if the country's leaders failed to heed recent protests over perceived electoral fraud. The church, a powerful force in Russia, made a point of announcing that the patriarch would be speaking on Saturday, which is Christmas Day in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International IN RUSSIA, ORTHODOX CHURCH [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MOSCOW -- Among the thousands of Russian voices raised against the Kremlin this month after parliamentary elections widely dismissed as fraudulent, perhaps the most surprising was that of Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who defended popular protests as a ''lawful negative reaction'' to corruption. Always a reliable pillar of support for the government of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and his United Russia Party, the powerful Orthodox Church has been noticeably -- to some, shockingly -- critical of the elections. Arguably the only major national institution outside the state, the church could potentially play a significant role as the current political and social crisis unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that Russian archbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church, who tried to malign Lord Krishna and ban the Indian sacred text Bhagavad Gita, has received the scorn and fury of 885 million Hindus.