the greek orthodox church of holy trinity. and i understand that you want to know some things about our church. yes, i do. students come to me and ask, following their programs that they're watching on television for telecourse, what happens to art following the roman empire and they mean the fifth century a.d.? isn't there any art for the next 500 or 400 years? does art simply pick up in the year 1000 with western romanesque architecture? and, of course, i say, "definitely not." there is such a wonderful era called byzantine art which lasted some 1,000 years. and this is the reason why we came here. so we're here. well, first of all, the church is a circular church in design. typically, this is not an orthodox architectural design. there is a church at thessalonica, greece, which is circular, goes back at least 1,500 years. most orthodox church is a rectangular or crystal formed with a dome or domes on top. but we do have a church which fits into the niche of this landscape. this is organic architecture. we took this area of t

he led a ceremony celebrating the greek orthodox church. it is the first time a leader of this church has visited damascus in decades. the cardinal urged syrian workers to pray for a peaceful end to the crisis. tens of millions of hindu have arrived for one of the biggest gatherings in the world. the festival brings programs together to bathe at the intersection of two rivers. they believed it helps to wash away their sins. around 100 million people are expected to take part in the festival over the next two months. two million people filling the streets of rio de janeiro for the start of the annual carnival. celebrations are going to be held across the country but not everyone can afford to join in on the party. >> the symbolic leader of the carnival celebrations holds up the key to the city. the key to the city. the

really not be a nice thing to do and with the i felt that i would offend him if i didn't join the orthodox church with them. his nation. look at that across here in this holy place of the what the law says to the entire family of royal mottoes was murdered in nineteen eighteen it is there and their holy remains with. those of alexei the heir apparent and his sisters. that's why this is a holy place any more they pray for us to understand. i don't have the worst husband and the wild mind children on two problematic either. things on said dreadfuls that i have to complain and weep on the time. they want is a tough place to live and i'd like the children to be more self-reliant without being dependent on other people. to set the from them the thing is that because see life as something beyond your rachel is something you can't cope with but but if you're a human being in the proper sense of the word like here on almost anything is within your powers with you but i just feel i may have become somewhat braver when i chose to rely on god's will again i had a dream that i want. to visit st petersburg th

be a nice thing to do and wish to get away i felt that i would offend him if i didn't join the orthodox church with the. fusion if the happiest i. look at that across here in this holy place is that the what the law says see the entire family of royal must as was murdered in nineteen eighteen it is there and their holy remains with. those of alexey the heir apparent and his sister as. that's why this is a holy place any more they pray for us to understand. i don't have the worst husband and the wild mind children on two problematic either. things on said dreadfuls that i have to complain and we pause a time. i want is a tough place to live and i'd like the children to be more self-reliant without being dependent on other people. to feel. good. yes but the front of the thing is that because see life as something beyond your reach or something you can't cope with but the but if you're a human being in the proper sense of the word almost anything is within your powers but. i may have become somewhat braver but chose to rely on god's will in me i had a dream that i wanted to visit st petersburg th

. >> restrengthen the ties to the eastern orthodox churches. he reached out to jews and muslims. . xvi is and will remain one of the greatest religious figures of our time. >> i cannot imagine this. a pope is elected to serve until the end of his life. it is a decision that will perhaps make room for younger generation to take office. >> for the most part, his move received strong support from the german capital. >> for more, we're joined now by our religious affairs correspondent. john, you have and our correspondent during the entire time of his role. did the news, as a surprise? >> not entirely, sabrina. 10 years ago, he said in public that he thought it was appropriate in the modern world that a pope should himself decided perhaps he is not up to the job anymore because of physical and mental considerations. at the time he was criticized because he could be suggesting that john paul ii should resign. he did not mean that at all. he is a much more modern person than the media tends to give him credit for and it really does not surprise me he has now made this decision. >> what d

on unification, a highly significant about, but the pope did not get that far with the russian orthodox church. reconciliation will have to wait. meanwhile, he tried to win back anglicans to the church. the ordination of female priests divided moderate and conservative anglicans for decades. eventually, anglicans let in female priests. some conservatives rejoined the catholic church over the issue. benedict let them join and keep some of their spiritual heritage. a momentous appointment -- the dick gave a german bishops top job last year, the job didn't it held before he became pope. now, he supports dialogue with anglicans. he will keep reconciliation on the next pope policy agenda. benedict has disappointed many who hoped for more. eight years of pope benedict xvi had not united the divided face. >> joining us now in studio is the editor-in-chief of the catholic news agency in germany. how do you think history will look back at benedict's time as pope? >> i do not think of that this will be seen as one of the strong points in his papacy. i think he had a much stronger points, like the discus

the orthodox church has a lot of influence. it was clear there would be repercussions. >> they were treated like hardened criminals. they were charged with hooliganism, motivated by religious hatred. each was sentenced to two years in prison camp. they became icons for the anti- putin protest movement. katya change lawyers and was released on a suspended sentence. that is something she puts down to international pressure. >> what happened to us was not in vain. we attracted the attention of people all over the world, showing them how bad things are in russia regarding artistic freedom, the legal system, and human rights. katya has watched this internet video over and over. she says she is in touch with her friends in the camp and knows how much tougher things are for them. >> i read the metro. i do not hide. to date, i've never been attacked by radicals. most of the people that lead on that they recognize me show a positive reaction towards me. >> her former lawyers say she could not deal with authorities who were trying to --

menice orthodox church want to build a sanctuary along with three other buildings on san miguel road.h leaders were granted an extension for further environmental reviews. the church project has been in the works now for more than a decade. >> the bay area's you tube is now considered a hit maker in the music business. billboard announced today it will consider how many hits the song has and factor that into the hot 100 chart. billboard also considers radio air play, digital sales, on demand audio streams and online radio streaming. >>> a piece of steel gurder from the new york twin towers has a new home. it was brought to the remember them memorial to honor and remember those who were lost on september 11th. one oakland firefighters there today had gone to new york in the days after 9/11 to help crews find victims in the pile of rubble. >> we just wish we could have done more. but it was a very significant event and i think all of us members were proud to be part of it and to go back there and try to help. >> a formal dedication for that memorial which is just down the block from the

barbara's greek orthodox church, where the priest is doing the rituals to prepare for the worship service to come. this used to be a synagogue. st. barbara's thrived after its founding in 1926. now only a few greek families still live in the parish, although many come back to worship here on holidays. a few blocks away, the new york chinese alliance church has become one of the establishment congregations. there's a traditional protestant service upstairs in mandarin, and an english service led by the youth downstairs. a few blocks beyond that, lamb's church illustrates even more changes. the evangelical congregation is holding worship in three languages, english, spanish, and a simultaneous translation into mandarin. pastor gabriel salguero, who is president of the national latino evangelical coalition, says religion is often an underestimated part of the city's life. >> faith leaders are thought leaders just like wall street and the government. we are one section that influences thought and the direction of the city. >> reporter: the final sunday stop is where it all began, the historic

all the people in the running would be quite orthodox leading the orthodox catholic church, so i reallyon't think that he's going to get very involved in -- >> you are so pessimistic here. i want to go to e.j. now because there's two good things that can happen. i'm a progressive on catholic issues and all kinds of issues. you are, too, e.j. i think melinda is, too. one, we get a guy like scola who turns out to be more liberal than the pope thinks, and second, some way out candidate we never heard of perhaps from italy -- that's where the liberals come from -- comes forth and offers himself up, and we pull a big surprise because scola can't put it together. >> let's stipulate we would probably pick a nun. >> i spent a lot of time last week with my late aunt agnes' friends in the convent. i would rather they pick the next pope. >> i think it would be a good thing. >> they are good people, and they have good values, and they believe in a vow of poverty, and they live by it, and they're good people. >> here is the problem with the scola theory. it's not 100% clear to me he is the benedict

putting the church on an orthodox path. he opposed homosexuality and female priests. l wounds, apologizing to victims of sexual abuse. but his church shielded accused priests and hid crimes from authorities. >> they've got to come to terms with the priest scandal. they have to be more candid and honest about it. >> reporter: he filled stadiums but he was always a bookworm, more comfortable writing. many are now calling for a more dynamic pope. thanks to the first papal retirement in six centuries, cardinals might be willing to choose a younger successor. >> the cardinals are going to have to weigh experience and the need for a certain level of energy. >> reporter: what looked like a divine sign, lightning hitting st. paul's cathedral. benedict won't choose his successor, but his hand-picked cardinals will. they're expected to continue the conservative traditions of a man whose most important legacy as pope might have been his final act. rob, diana? >> abc's nick schifrin at the vatican for us this morning. like so many other american catholics, new york's cardinal timo

. >> reporter: but the german pope never slowed down, putting the church on an orthodox path. he opposed homosexuality and female priests. he tried to heal wounds, apologizing to victims of sexual abuse. >> they have to come to terms with the priest scandal. they have to be more candid and honest about it. >> reporter: benedict filled stadiums. but he was always a bookworm, more comfortable writing. many are calling for a more dynamic pope. and thanks to the first papal retirement in six centuries, cardinals might be willing to choose a young ur successor. >> the cardinals have to weigh experience and the need for a certain level of energy. >> reporter: and last night, what looked like a divine sign, lightning hitting st. peters ka reed ral. and the papers are out. this one says amen. benedict won't choose his successor. but he hand-picked cardinals who will. and his most memorable act might have been his last. rob? diana? >> nick schifrin at the vatican. thank you. >>> we'll get into who the front-runners are and what happens to a pope in retirement, coming up on "gma." >>> i

. >> the pope never slows down putting the church on orthodox path and opposed sexuality and female priestwound. apologizing to victims of sexual abuse. but his church shielded accused priest and hid crimes from authorities. >> come to terms with the priest scandal. they have to be more candid and honest about it. >>reporter: the church is 2000 plus-year-old institution that hasn't changed very much. and society is leaving the church way behind. benedict fills stadium but always a book worm. more comfortable writing. many now calling for more dynamic pope. thanks inform the first papal retirement in 6 century. cardinal might be willing to choose a younger successor. >> cardinal have to weigh experience. and the need for a certain level of energy. >> tonight what looks like a divine sign. lightning. st. peter's cathedral. >> benedict won't choose successor but hand pick cardinal who will. they expect to have the act might have been his final one for the pope. this is abc news reporting from vatican city back to you. >> okay nick thanks very much. as mentioned the pope apologized to the vict

what the church wanted and what other conservative groups, orthodox jewish groups, for example, and others opposed to contraception, they're opposed to the day after, they just said remove the mandate. and it just seems like team obama will not remove the mandate. >> i think once again we've seen ideology seep into public policy. he just ran a whole campaign trying to appeal to women, on contraception, and now he's going to go back on -- no. they're going to keep pushing that. look, he has a little problem with the second amendment. apparently his administration has a problem with parts of the first amendment. the constitution's over 100 years old the democrats keep saying. so maybe there are certain parts of it they just don't quite get. and they seem to have a problem, particularly the far left progressive, often atheist base of the democratic party just don't get it, just don't understand why people have religious objections. >> i just want to ask -- >> every government program mushrooms. the original idea of health care was if you had a catastrophic illness it would step in and help yo

for example, the evangelical church wants to minister in the local o orphanage, so they have to ask for permission from the orthodox priest or from the mayor, who says you have to have a signed permission from the local orthodox priest. that's how it works in russia today. in other countries, in uzbekistan and pergastan, you cannot bring bibles or literature, you cannot share your faith outside of your home. but in the case of uzbekistan, you cannot even share your faith were you your children. you cannot pray. any meeting, more than three people, it is considered a violation against the law, and that's why people suffer, and that's why people get imprisoned and so on. >> wendy: let me ask you, what can can the global church do to support or brothers and sisters in the former soviet union right now? >> we would like to ask all world believers to continue supporting us with prayer, and, of course, financially. that's our hope and that's our mission. >> wendy: and, of course, jesus is our hope. thank you, sergei, our prayers are with you. >> thank you so much, wendy. >> wendy: you can learn more about the work of rus

orthodox, and armenian christians. the turkish government has made concessions to christian minorities, such as returning property confiscated a long time ago. churches, for example. that has given armenians in turkey in fresh confidence boost, but their situation remains difficult. ankara still refuses to recognize the genocide of armenians under ottoman rule 100 years ago. officially, there are some 60,000 armenians in turkey, but the numbers could be rising. in some parts of turkey, descendants of armenians are now rediscovering their identity. >> home to a population of more than 1 million, the city is situated on the turkey -- turkish/i iraqi border. it is the unofficial capital of turkey. but it was not always. between the many minuets that make up the skyline are a few church towers. 100 years ago, it was mainly inhabited by armenians. these days, most of the church as they build are mere ruins. for this insurance salesman, these ruins are symbolic. as far as the authorities are concerned, he is turkish, and yet, he identifies as armenian. he is a descendant of survivors of the armenian massacre almost 100 years ago. >> how does a rundown, des

orthodox, and armenian christians. the turkish government has made concessions to christian minorities, such as returning property confiscated a long time ago. churches, for example. that has given armenians in turkey in fresh confidence boost, but their situation remains difficult. ankara still refuses to recognize the genocide of armenians under ottoman rule 100 years ago. officially, there are some 60,000 armenians in turkey, but the numbers could be rising. in some parts of turkey, descendants of armenians are now rediscovering their identity. >> home to a population of more than 1 million, the city is situated on the turkey -- turkish/i iraqi border. it is the unofficial capital of turkey. but it was not always. between the many minuets that make up the skyline are a few church towers. 100 years ago, it was mainly inhabited by armenians. these days, most of the church as they build are mere ruins. for this insurance salesman, these ruins are symbolic. as far as the authorities are concerned, he is turkish, and yet, he identifies as armenian. he is a descendant of survivors of the armenian massacre almost 100 years ago. >> how does a rundown, des