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Orthodox Church okays mobile tariff plan with SMS containing Russian patriarch’s quotes

All churches throughout Moscow and the neighboring regions of Vladimir, Tver and Kaluga can sign up for the mobile service

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill

© Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. The Russian Orthodox Church is aware of special mobile phone call rates for sending SMS with Patriarch Kirill’s quotes to subscribers and supports this idea, a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchy told TASS on Thursday.

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"We know that an agent of Beeline (telecommunications company) offers special tariff plans to some parishes that include daily messages with quotes by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and other services for Orthodox believers," the spokesman said, adding that the Patriarchy supports this initiative of the Blagovest mobile company.

A Blagovest spokesman told TASS that the company had asked the Patriarchy for permission to use quotes by the Russian Orthodox Church head and received a letter of approval.

"We get quotes from Vera, an Orthodox radio station," the spokesman noted.

He also said that Blagovest clients can make free calls to people on the same network across Russia.

All churches throughout Moscow and the neighboring regions of Vladimir, Tver and Kaluga can sign up for the mobile service, the spokesman said but refused to give the number of the company’s clients citing that it was classified commercial information.

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