SOURCE: Amala

Thousands of people in Ukraine took part on July 27 in a Moscow-backed religious march through central Kyiv to mark the 1,030th anniversary of country’s adoption of Christianity, rfelr.org reports

The participants in the procession were supporters of the branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church backed by Moscow.

According to police, some 20,000 people took part in the event, while organizers said 250,000 people attended.

Some 5,000 police officers were deployed to ensure order amid fears of possible incidents with Ukrainian nationalists.

President Petro Poroshenko, who met on July 27 with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, is expected to attend a rival religious procession backed by the breakaway Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Kyiv used to be the capital of the pagan Slavic state of Kievan Rus, which was converted to Christianity in 988 by Prince Vladimir.

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