Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I has denounced a terrorist attack at Moscow’s busiest airport as "the horrifying scowl of sin, and a barbaric distortion of human nature."

A 10-day trip to the Ukraine by Patriarch Kirill I from the Russian Orthodox Church is set to include visits to a monument established to victims of the Stalin-era famine.

Metropolitan Kirill, who was recently enthroned as the 16th patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, has stressed his task as ensuring unity and preserving the faith, but is also seen as more 'political'.

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad has been elected as the new head of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church after serving a period as interim leader.