Whole World Is Watching, as a Schism Emerges Between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Churches
As the first land war in eight decades grinds through Ukraine, the prominent role of pontiff and patriarch, set against ghosts of empire and grievance, is once again headline news.
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In a schism redolent of the Middle Ages, some of the most august religious leaders in the world are beginning to take sides in the bloody factions of realpolitik and war. The involvement of the princes of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches in Russia’s war on Ukraine augurs a new, spiritual dimension to a conflict now more than a month old.
Two men who have risen to the pinnacle of global faiths — Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ and Primate of Moscow, Kirill; and the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis — have found themselves on opposing sides of the conflict.
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