Russian Orthodox Church opens Facebook account

The Facebook account was launched by the church's information department.

"It is not a personal page of Patriarch Kirill. It is an official information resource of the Moscow patriarchate maintained by the Synod information department," said Deacon Alexander Volkov, deputy chief spokesman for the patriarch.

The account, however, would not make it possible to contact the church leader personally, he said.

The Facebook account offers rare photos of Kirill, including some from his younger years.

The partriarch's press service already has a separate Facebook account and LiveJournal includes a web page on Patriarch Kirill. In 2010, the Russian Orthodox Church opened its own YouTube channel.
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