“The Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t recognize those decisions and won’t fulfill them,” Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev said in Belarus after a meeting of the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

There's even been an attempt to force this church, which has ties to Moscow, to change its name to the Russian Orthodox Church, just to make it clear. But courts have ruled against this.

Russian Orthodox Christmas is typically celebrated by attending church services and enjoying a big family meal, the Independent reported. Google Translate was used to translate the statement from ...