(21 Jan 2003)
1. Exteriors of Kremlin
2. Putin enters Yekatine Hall, Kremlin
3. Putin shakes hands with Bulgarian President
4. Cutaway journalists
5. Wideshot Russian Bulgarian bilat at the Kremlin
6. Exteriors of Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow
7. Wide of Patriarch Alexey II and Bulgarian President in the Cathedral
8. Emblem of the International Orthodox Nation Foundation.
9. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Russian Patriarch Alexey II:
"This award was established in course of many years under the aegis of the International Orthodox Nations Foundation to be awarded to those who have distinguished themselves in religious, state, and social spheres."
10. Audience and church officials
11. Bulgarian President receiving award from Moscow's Patriarch Alexey II
12. Orthodox choir
13. Patriarch Alexey II and Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov
14. Bulgarian President h/shakes with Alexey II
15. SOUNDBITE: (Bulgarian) President Georgi Purvanov of Bulgaria:
"The unity of the Orthodox peoples who occupy one fifth of the planet gives us the pride (courage) to hold dialogue with other religions to achieve much needed security throughout the world."
16. Reception hall at Christ the Savior Cathedral
17. Bulgarian President receiving flowers and h/shakes with Alexey II
STORYLINE:
Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Purvanov in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
President Putin noted during Tuesday's reception that Russian-Bulgarian relations were "developing fairly intensively" but that the two countries needed to change "the structure of goods turnover" between them.
During a ceremony at the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexey II praised President Georgi Parvanov as someone who could help repair the schism in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Parvanov on Tuesday was also awarded a top honour "for outstanding efforts to consolidate unity between Orthodox peoples" by the International Orthodox Nation Foundation.
"I am convinced that President Parvanov, a wise and astute politician, will help overcome the split and consolidate the Bulgarian people for building their future," Patriarch Alexy II said in Moscow after meeting with the Bulgarian leader.
Alexy praised a law passed in December by the Bulgarian parliament that consolidates the dominant role of the Orthodox Church in the Balkan country.
The bill was initiated by the ruling party as a bid to end the schism.
The law caused some controversy, particularly its requirement that all denominations except the Orthodox Church receive official court registration. Critics said it violated the Bulgarian constitution, which calls for a separation of church and state.
Parvanov was quoted by Interfax as saying that "this law may become a foundation for uniting the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and for fostering a tolerant attitude to all of the country's religious freedoms."
Like Russia, most of Bulgaria's citizens are of Orthodox heritage.
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