The St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine. (Bloomberg pic)KIEV: Ukrainian Orthodox Christian priests selected a 39-year-old bishop to lead their newly independent church, cementing a split from the previous Russian hierarchy in a step that’s further straining relations between the two former allies.
Priests gathered in Ukraine’s most prominent 11th century St. Sophia Cathedral early Saturday and for eight hours celebrated the liturgy and discussed the status of the new church and elected as leader the Metropolitan of Kiev and Ukraine Epifaniy, also known as Serhiy Dumenko.
The move, sanctioned in October by the Ecumenical Patriarchy in Istanbul, is the latest step …read more
Source: Free Malaysia Today
