An 80-year-old woman has died after an explosion at an Orthodox Christian church in southern Ukraine which injured at least eight other people, officials say. The blast in the city of Zaporizhzhya is believed to have been caused by a homemade explosive device. It is not clear who is behind the explosion. It came towards the end of a visit to Ukraine by the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I which has attracted protests by right-wing nationalists. Thousands of Orthodox believers gathered in the Ukrainian capital to celebrate the historic ‘Baptism of old Russia’. Modern Kiev is the place where the Christianity started in this part of the world. Back in 988, Prince Vladimir took the first bunch of pagans into the Dnepr River in Ukraine and baptized them to become the Orthodox Christians. The whole Christianization process took several centuries, but Kiev is still considered to be the cradle of Orthodox Christianity in this part of Europe.

Pray: for the believers in Ukraine and against the enemy that is stirring up dissention. (Ps.64:1)

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10123640