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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Orthodox Church will have to break eucharistical relations with Constantinople over a split with Ukraine’s Orthodox Church, Alexander Volkov, spokesman for Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, was quoted as saying by Interfax on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, the Synod meeting in Istanbul backed Ukraine’s request for an independent, “autocephalous” church and reversed the excommunication of Patriarch Filaret, who hopes to lead the independent church.