The Interfax-Religion website reports that Ukraine's new president, Viktor Yanukovich, received a blessing from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia today (February 25, 2010), at the Kiev Laura of the Caves, ahead of the official inauguration ceremony.
"May God bless you in your accession to power," the Patriarch told the president-elect. Following the blessing, Patriarch Kirill gave Yanukovich an image of the Savior as a present.
Some Ukrainians had feared that activists in support of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church would hold a protest rally during the prayer ceremony to show their support for the independent Kiev Patriarch -- rather than the Russian Patriarch -- celebrating the pre-inauguration service; however, there was no protest.
More than 50 policemen guarded the entrance and adjacent area to the Laura of the Caves, in an effort to ensure that the ceremony would be peaceful.
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