Word: patriarchate
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...crucial instrument in winning primacy among the princes of the Rus people who inhabited much of the territory of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The consolidation and spread of Muscovy's regional power during the 14th century coincided with the Church leader's move to the principality. The patriarch's full title is Patriarch of Moscow and All of Rus, a constant reminder of how the Russian Orthodox Church's power extends beyond Russia's borders...
...Last year, pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko irked the Russian Orthodox leadership with an unsuccessful attempt to unite both patriarchates in Ukraine into one independent church, without involvement from Moscow. Kirill, too, would like to see both branches united, but not in a way that would satisfy Yushchenko - last week, the patriarch called for members of the two churches to unite under his leadership. (See pictures of a diverse group of American teens...
...West for its pursuit of material well-being, suggesting that the desire to fill "one's stomach and pocket" was a base motive for moving toward Europe - a thinly veiled criticism of Ukraine's attempts to integrate with the E.U. Many thousands turned out to cheer the patriarch on his tour of Ukraine, but comments like that one also brought hundreds into the streets in protest. Scuffles broke out in Kiev last week when a crowd of several hundred demonstrators chanted and held banners reading, "Go Away, Moscow Pope." (See pictures of Pope Benedict's fashion looks...
...than his predecessor. Alexy II, an infrequent visitor to Kiev, openly supported the Moscow-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych in his 2004 presidential race against Yushchenko. "Kirill is developing a new approach to Russian-Ukrainian spiritual unity," says Andrei Zolotov, an expert on the Russian Orthodox Church who followed the patriarch on his visit. "He's saying that he's the patriarch not just of Russia but of Rus. He's trying to position himself as a supranational leader beyond state boundaries...
...that Kirill will have trouble convincing many in Ukraine that his mission is only spiritual. "The idea that independent Ukraine must have an independent Orthodox Church is at the core of the Ukrainian national idea formed in the past decade," he says. "It's a complicating factor that the patriarch lives in Moscow and has ties with the Kremlin." For now, Kirill's Ukrainian critics have their wish: the patriarch is heading back to Moscow on Wednesday, Aug. 5. But Zolotov says there has been talk in Kirill's entourage of making the trip an annual event - so he could...