Could the Kremlin be abandoned by the Russian Orthodox Church? When ordinary Russians began protesting against the Kremlin last year, Patriarch Kirill spoke of revolutions triggering a "blood bath". The Church tried to dissuade protesters from taking to the streets and openly supported the Kremlin. But now the wind seems to be changing...
Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill urged authorities Saturday to respond to mass anti-government protests, which alleged vote-rigging in December polls won by Vladmir Putin's party.
Officially a candidate for EU membership since last December, Montenegro hopes to be next on the list to join the bloc, just after Croatia. But five years after its independence from Serbia, the country is still seeking to free itself from Belgrade’s tutelage, including within the realm of the Orthodox Church. We also talk economy, with a report on informal work and an unusual walk through the business districts of the capital Podgorica.
This week our Observers tell us about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the UN's peacekeeping woes in the Ivory Coast, and the protection of Ethiopia’s Church forests.
After the New Year’s Eve suicide attack against a Christian Coptic church in Alexandria, François Picard’s panel argues over the roots of polarization between Christians and Muslims: is it the work of a radical fringe or is there just less room today for common ground in an Egypt where religious faith on all sides continues to rise?
After the New Year’s Eve suicide attack against a Christian Coptic church in Alexandria, François Picard’s panel argues over the roots of polarisation between Christians and Muslims: is it the work of a radical fringe or is there just less room today for common ground in an Egypt where religious faith on all sides continues to rise?
Ethiopian religious leaders called for peaceful national elections this weekend - violence after the country's last elections in 2005 claimed around 200 lives, and three grenade attacks since April have increased tensions between political parties.
Coming up in this edition: how the President of Iceland cold-shouldered plans to repay billions of euros in debt...and what that could do to the country's EU ambitions, we'll take you on a tour of one of Europe's greenest buildings and how weeks of snow, ice and freezing temperatures are sending shivers - and transport chaos - across Europe
The Russian Orthodox Church council convened Tuesday and voted in Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad as successor to the late Patriarch Alexy II, according to an election spokesman.
After the death of Patriarch Alexiy II, the Russian Orthodox Church appointed the popular archbishop Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad as acting head on Saturday.
