Russian Patriarch’s Visit To Kyrgyzstan Postponed Again

1/12/2011

BISHKEK — A planned visit to Kyrgyzstan by the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill I, has been postponed again, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

The Russian Orthodox Church’s Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan Diocese secretary, Archpriest Igor Dronov, told RFE/RL that the exact date of Kirill’s visit to Kyrgyzstan was not yet certain.

The visit was originally scheduled for November 24-27, but was postponed to December 2-4 for health reasons.

Patriarch Kirill, 65, was expected to visit Russian Orthodox churches in Bishkek and the northern Chui Province.

There are currently 45 functioning Russian Orthodox churches and one convent in Kyrgyzstan.

Ethnic Russians account for some 8 percent of the population and live mainly in Bishkek and the northern part of the country.

Russian is an official language in Kyrgyzstan along with Kyrgyz.

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