Browsing: Orthodox Schism

Source: Bloomberg As Ukraine’s church moves toward independence, the Russian president could lose his role of defender of the faith. By Leonid Bershidsky The Eastern Orthodox Church is closer than ever to a schism that would cast Russian President Vladimir Putin in a role similar to that of King Henry VIII when he split the Church of England from Rome in the 16th century. Russia’s ambition to be the center of the Orthodox world threatens to end in isolation. But holding back from splitting the church will mean humiliation by the Ukrainians, who have been ruthlessly terrorized by the Russian leader. On…