Alexius II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, has died this morning in his residence outside Moscow after a long illness. The news was released by Father Vladimir Vigilyanskiy, Spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchy, to Interfax agency. The Patriarch died at about 11a.m. (Moscow time). He was born in Tallinn to the family of an Orthodox priest on 23 February 1929. He graduated at the Leningrad seminary in 1949, was ordained a deacon in 1950 (and then a priest and a monk) and got a degree at Leningrad Theological Academy in 1953. On 14 August 1961, he was appointed Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia. On 23 June 1964, he was elected Archbishop, and on 25 February 1968, at the age of 39, Metropolitan. After the death of Patriarch Pimen I in 1990, Alexius succeeded him as Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Russia. Alexius II always had a strong connection with Pope Benedict XVI, the fruit of a long history of dialogue between the two Churches. But the long-awaited and wished meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch has never taken place. Last October, there was the last exchange of letters on the occasion of the visit of Archbishop of Naples Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe to Moscow, who gave the Patriarch an autograph letter of Benedict XVI. (continued)
