Russian Church to open more new churches abroad .

RIA Novosti

The Russian Orthodox Church will continue opening churches for believers outside the country, its head said Monday.

«For our compatriots abroad, a church is a live connection with their motherland and their church, and it makes their lives easier,» Patriarch Alexy II told journalists. «New churches are being opened everywhere, because increasing numbers of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians are going abroad.»

There are currently more than 280 Russian churches in 42 countries outside the former Soviet Union.