Orthodox nuns walk to prayer in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) - Thousands of Russian Orthodox Christian pilgrims reached the center of Ukraine's capital on Wednesday, finishing a procession to the city's most revered monastery after their march was disrupted a day earlier.
The procession by Ukrainian adherents of Russian Orthodoxy was prevented from entering Kiev on Tuesday after Ukraine's interior minister said grenades had been planted along the route. The faithful completed their journey in buses Wednesday.
Ukrainian nationalists had blocked the procession from entering the city on Monday, pelting marchers with eggs and denouncing them as "agents of Moscow." The Russian Orthodox Church dubbed the march a "procession of peace" and was keen to portray it as a peace-making effort.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine, which share linguistic and cultural ties dating back hundreds of years, soured in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and began supporting rebel separatists fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine. The conflict, which has claimed more than 9,400 lives, was not fought along religious lines, however.
Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are divided between one church that is part of the Russian Orthodox Church and a splinter church under a Ukrainian leader who Moscow does not recognize.
Kiev was the capital of the ancient Slavic state of Kievan Rus, which at one point included areas that later became known as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Kievan Prince Vladimir performed a symbolic baptism of his then-pagan country in Kiev in 988.
Moscow Patriarchate's spokesman Vladimir Legoyda told The Associated Press on Wednesday that at least 30,000 pilgrims had gathered for a prayer at St. Vladimir Hill in Kiev, which is believed to be the original baptism site.
Legoyda said the church is "very happy and sends its thanks to the Lord" for the fact that the procession was allowed to march peacefully and reach the hill and the Pechersk Monastery.
"It's a clear confirmation of the fact that the Moscow Patriarchate's Ukrainian Orthodox Church is strongest and possibly the only peace-making force in Ukraine amid the civil conflict," Legoyda said.
Unlike nationalists, senior Ukrainian politicians have refrained from openly opposing the march. Many Ukrainian officials are believed to be Russian Orthodox Church parishioners.
Orthodox clergymen in golden clothes pray in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken on Monday, July 25, 2016, Ukrainian clergymen and national guards, right, walk to the city Boryspil, Ukraine. Ukraineâs interior minister on Tuesday, July 26 bent to the pressure of nationalists and ordered police to bar a major religious procession from entering the capital, Kiev, after police found ammunition planted along the planned route. Ukrainian nationalists have previously threatened to attack the procession if it enters Kiev. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
The Associated Press
Orthodox believers and clergymen participate in a procession downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. The processions are in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
The Associated Press
Orthodox believers and clergymen march to prayer in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
The Associated Press
Orthodox believers and clergymen participate in a procession in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
The Associated Press
Orthodox clergyman kisses the relics at a prayer ceremony in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Associated Press
The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, Onufriy, center, and clergymen pray in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in observance of the holiday marking the adoption of Christianity by what is now Russia and Ukraine in the 10th century. They are to commemorate the day at the hillside monument in central Kiev to Saint Volodymyr, the prince who enacted the adoption of Christianity. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Associated Press