Authors /
Sophia Kishkovsky
Sophia Kishkovsky writes for Ecumenical News International.
Ukraine crisis may split Russian Orthodox Church
As soon as troops massed on Ukraine’s border and well before Russian president Vladimir Putin declared that Crimea had rejoined Russia, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church called for pr...
Russian band punished for ‘religious hatred’
A Moscow court has found three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after a guerrilla performance in Moscow’s main cathedral in Februar...
Russian patriarch calls priests who opposed prayer service 'traitors'
Moscow (ENInews)--Patriarch Kirill I called clergy who opposed the holding of mass prayer meeting held in Moscow on April 22 "traitors in cassocks," in a sign of continuing division within the Russ...
Putin's election rekindles Orthodox Church debate
Vladimir Putin's election to a third term as Russian president has
spurred debates about civil society and church-state relations within...
Russian Orthodox join election fraud protests
After a week of mounting protest over alleged fraud in Russia's
parliamentary election, the Russian Orthodox Church has called for...
Orthodox leaders smooth path to proposed summit meeting
Moscow, September 2 (ENInews)--The patriarchs of three ancient Orthodox
Christian churches met from 1-2 September in Istanbul to discuss the...
Orthodox Patriarch calls for reconciliation of Russia and Georgia
Moscow, July 29 (ENINews)--Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox
Church has called on his Russian Orthodox counterpart to reconcile Russia and...
Russian pro-lifers to launch women's health clinics that don't provide abortions
Moscow, July 1 (ENINews)--A Russian pro-life organization is about to
launch a network of clinics offering pre- and post-natal care while excluding...
Orthodox churches object to national identity cards
Moscow, April 26 (ENInews)--The Russian and Greek Orthodox churches are
objecting to plans in both countries to introduce electronic national...
Russian Jehovah's Witness exonerated of extremism charges
Moscow, April 14 (ENInews)--A Jehovah's Witness on trial in Siberia was found innocent on 14 April of charges of "inciting religious hatred and enmity," in a case that was being watched as a ...
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Pope, Russian president vow to strengthen relationship
Rome, February 17 (ENInews)--In their first meeting after the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Russia, Pope Benedict XVI and President Dimitry Medvedev expressed t...
Russian Orthodox Clergy May Run for Office
Moscow, February 8 (ENInews)--The Russian Orthodox Church has ruled that hierarchs (church leaders) and clergy can run for office in exceptional cases when their presence is needed to fight "forces...
Russian Patriarch denounces Moscow airport bombing
Moscow, January 25 (ENInews)–Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I denounced a terrorist attack at Moscow’s busiest airport as "the horrifying scowl of sin, and a barbaric distortion of h...
Russian Orthodox leader chides faithful over sloppy dress
(RNS) A top official of the Russian Orthodox Church has called for
an official dress code to encourage propriety after previously...
Chechen leader campaigns on bride kidnaps, supports headscarves
Moscow, November 8 (ENInews)--Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov has launched a campaign to end the practice of kidnapping brides in the restive southern Russian region, while also saying he favours ...