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When I ask Archpriest Father John Whiteford about Russia's top cleric, who many see as a warmonger, he assures me the Patriarch's words have been distorted.

He praised Raisi, a fellow hardline cleric, for refusing direct talks with the US while in office.

Fighting between the Druze and government-aligned factions was triggered on Tuesday after an audio clip purportedly of a Druze cleric surfaced in which he insulted Prophet Mohammad.

It was attributed to a Druze cleric, but he denied any responsibility.

Although he followed the church’s conservative doctrines on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, he shook up the conservative norms of the church when he told clerics not to be “obsessed with” those issues.