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| Gospodnya |
Probably one of the biggest changes that
resulted from Khrushchev leaving office was the re-emergence of religious
practices. This also opened opportunities for the restoration and
reconstruction of historical places of worship, monasteries, convents, and rectories.
And Orthodox churches are among the most beautiful, both inside and out. One of
the questions that arises when visiting these sites is, ‘What is the difference
between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church?’ There are
literally hundreds of websites that talk about the differences in belief
associated with Catholicism and with Orthodoxy, some with truly heated debates
of the issues. The DifferenceBetween.net
provides a rather succinct list without assigning value to either side. There
isn’t quite as much vitriol about how the church governances are structured:
the Catholic Church is headed by the Pope in Rome, the Russian Orthodox Church
(ROC) is headed by the Patriarch in St Petersburg (Leningrad). Although the Russian
government has been accused as making the Russian Orthodoxy the ‘official
religion’, we
