The Russian Orthodox Church has joined the YouTube family by opening its own channel on the popular video hosting site to “bring God's word closer to lives of modern youth," Patriarch Kirill said in a video recorded for the channel.
“We planned this project a while ago,” Kirill's spokesman Alexander Volkov told The Moscow Times on Monday.
“On one hand, the channel has a huge audience, and we realize that it will be a great means to preach online. On the other, the channel will provide another source of information about the church's life for the public,” Volkov said.
The channel will present commentaries by senior clergy on important issues and events of modern life, church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said Monday, Interfax reported.
Videos produced for the channel about church life will be available with English, German and Japanese subtitles, Interfax said.
The channel has operated for three months in a low-profile test mode and has attracted 165,000 visitors during that time, the report said.
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