KIEV, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - The leader...
"to return Ukraine to the Mother Church." The drive has been actively backed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and other top officials against a backdrop of tensions in relations with Russia.Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who visited Ukraine last summer to attend celebrations on the 1020th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus, made no statements on whether the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate should be recognized, but said the country had the right to have a national church.
The Russian church leader and Yushchenko met on Monday in the president"s official residence. The president said he planned to discuss his plans for a national church independent of Russian Orthodoxy with the Russian patriarch.
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