Russian Patriarch Blesses New Church Outside FSB Academy

2/8/2012 Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has blessed the cornerstone of a new Orthodox church outside the walls of the academy of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in western Moscow. According to a press statement by the Patriarchate, the new church is being constructed “at the initiative of the leadership and students” of the academy. The patriarch’s appearance highlights the increasingly close ties between the church and state, a relationship that has recently come under closer scrutiny and criticism from the opposition.