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On Oct. 15, the Russian Orthodox Church announced it was severing links to the Constantinople patriarchy after the Istanbul-based patriarch Bartholomew I, considered the "first among equals" of Orthodox church leaders, said he was removing its condemnation of leaders of schismatic Orthodox churches in Ukraine.
Romanian church urges unity for Orthodox churches →
The Russian Orthodox Church, furious at the move, announced it would no longer recognize the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch.
