The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Kiev

The Ukrainian president on Saturday asked the world's Orthodox spiritual leader to bless the creation of a Ukrainian church that would be independent of the powerful Moscow patriarchate.

The request to Bartholomew I of Constantinople is part of Viktor Yushchenko's drive to assert Ukraine's independence and shake off centuries of Russian influence. It is certain to anger the Russian Orthodox church, which is trying to maintain its influence over this Orthodox country of 46 million. "I believe that, as if by the gift of God, as a historical truth and justice, a national self-governing church will be established in Ukraine," Yushchenko said at the start of a prayer service.