By Nastassia Astrasheuskaya and Steve Gutterman  MOSCOW, Sept 9
(Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church used a
Sunday prayer service and a state TV interview to argue that the
church he presides over is under attack from foes he said fear
its post-Soviet revival and mock and destroy its places of
worship.  Patriarch Kirill did not name punk music group Pussy
Riot but was clearly referring to the collective, three of whose
members were sentenced to jail for performing a "punk prayer" at
the altar of a Moscow cathedral during which they criticised
President Vladimir Putin.  Since the verdict on Aug. 17, which
drew sharp Western criticism that Moscow said was politically-
motivated, vandals in Russia and Ukraine have cut down a handful
of wooden crosses in support of Pussy Riot, but band members
have condemned the vandalism and said they had nothing to do
with it.  Kirill suggested "opponents" were trying to derail the
post-Soviet resurgence of Russian Orthodox Christianity, the
dominant faith since t