[NRx]

The numbers cited for murdered clergy are way off but otherwise this is a good piece. Under Stalin the number of open churches were less than 100 in the entire country with only 3 monasteries. Every single bishop in 1917 either died in prison or was murdered outright. The number of clergy and monastics "liquidated" by the NKVD is not known with any exactness but is certainly in the tens of thousands. The number of all those murdered for their faith, mostly Orthodox but also including others such as Ukrainian Greek Rite Catholics, is probably not less then 5 million. Some historians suggest twice that number.

[Ciexyz]

Heart-warming news for people of all faiths.

[Larry Lucido]

“Houses of worship aren’t built as architectural or artistic monuments – they’re there for the people,” Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, the Moscow Patriarchate’s external relations director told Rossiya-24 TV.

“And we don’t build churches to obtain impressive statistics, but because people want them. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the construction or renovation of most churches is financed by the faithful – both small people

Hmmm, a lot of focus on "people." I presume His Eminence also envisions a place for The Almighty in this endeavor. That said, he will be happy to know that a donation has been made in his name to The Human Fund - Money for People.