I would love to gift him a few years of vacation time at a prison resort in Crimea. While we are at it, can we deport that lump occupying our WH to join him?

Thanks.

So he at least got that

And I think Trump just lifted sanctions on one of Putins billionaire pals, that's a nice stocking stuffer to add to the big Syrian gift

Plus Trump just installed a Putin apologist as US Sec of Defense, so that gives Putin the military green light ...

maybe Trump will let Putin take over Ukraine as a New Years gift

were Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome (some would argue for Ethiopia but this area was on the fringe of the Roman Empire). Those ancient cities always struggled to place themselves above the other Bishops in Late Antiquity. Prior to the rise of Islam, all of these Sees were somewhat subservient to the Roman Emperor as he was the final arbiter of any dispute. With the collapse of the Roman administration in the west, Rome found itself surrounded by hostile German kings who practiced a different version of Christianity (under Arius) or pagans. The Popes in Rome eventually aligned themselves with Charlemagne but set precedent by crowning the Holy Roman Emperor thus establishing Rome in its current prominent role within the Catholic faith. Alexandria and much of the Levant fell to Islam in the 7th century and operated under their own guise eventually becoming a minority faith (Coptic Church). The Orthodox faith along with the remnants of the Roman Empire centered in Constantinople would survive the initial Islamic surge and eventually convert the Slavs and areas that would become Russia. When Muhammet II captured Constantinople and disposed of the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, Russia would claim to be the "New Rome" even though the Bishop of Constantinople has carried on to this day (Bishop Bartholomew I who is still considered first among equals in the Orthodox faith).

The Russian Orthodox Church lingered through the Communist rule and was reinstituted when the USSR broke up. Putin has been a strong supporter of the Orthodox church seeking to use it for state support (much like the old Roman emperors did). Bartholomew may be the last Pope to sit in Constantinople due to harsh treatment by the Turkish government. Bartholomew's somewhat close relationship with the Catholic Popes (there was talk of reconciliation with the west) has probably not helped him in the eyes of the other Orthodox Bishops and is probably helping the Russians lay claim to the mantle of Orthodox leadership if Bartholomew is truly the last Bishop of Constantinople. I'm not surprised Ukraine is trying to break itself from Russia since the Orthodox faith has historically been more decentralized than either the Roman Catholic or Coptic churches.

the people in power through most of its history. They helped to keep the czars in power all those years, but when the communists came along they went underground, more or less. After the fall of communism in Russia they once again aligned themselves with the elite and powerful. The Russian Orthodox Church is not a people's church, which I think is why the Ukrainians chose to separate themselves from them. Good luck to the Ukrainians, and I hope they're able to create a church that cares more about their common members rather than the rich and powerful in their ranks. i hope they have a church that can stay out of politics and won't get involved in the power plays of the ruling class.

but the ancient Christian churches have for the most part always been part of the elite if not the only elite. They can be a mixed bag, at times representing civilization in the face of barbarism and other times surpassing the will of the people in the name of "order". Like most institutions, it's only as "good" as the people who run it.

Excellent historic background!

an angle gets their wings.

Asshole!