Moscow, June 4, Interfax - The diocese of Yekaterinburg, in response to the debate concerning ways to perpetrate the memory of Boris Yeltsin in his native land, has proposed to build a church of Sts Boris and Gleb, in which people could pray for the first president of Russia.

'We should not create new occasions for splitting the nation. We should find a decision that would not aggravate the situation. I believe our proposal will not be rejected by all citizens without exception', said Boris Kosinsky, diocesan press secretary as cited by the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily on Monday.

At the same time, the initiative to rename one of the streets after Boris Yeltsin and to erect his monument has been met with a reserved response.

Sverdlovsk Regional Governor Eduard Rossel, in his turn, told journalists that during his funeral, Yeltsin's friends from his native regions asked him to build a church in his memory.

The regional leader ordered earlier that a commission be set up for perpetrating the memory of Russia's first president. The commission includes deputies of the regional legislative assembly, heads of major religious organizations, university presidents and social activists.