Shadows and Symbols would like to express our condolences to our friends in the Russian Orthodox community on the occassion of the death of Patriarch Alexei II. Spritual leader to about 100 million people, Alexei II died at his Moscow home on Friday, December 5, at the age of 79.

Alexei II was elected patriarch in June 1990, and presided over the Russian Orthodox Church during many imortant events in the history of Russia: the aborted coup of the Soviet Union in the summer 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of that year, the turbulent years of Boris Yeltsin, and the rise of Vladimir Putin to the presidency of the Russian Federation in January 2000.

The patriarch’s legacy upon the Russian Orthodox Church is profound. For example, there were only 18 Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia and Ukraine at the time of his election. Today, there are 700. Alexei II will also be remembered for playing a key role in reuniting the Russian Orthodox Church inside of Russia with the Russian Orthodox Church in exile (the Church Abroad) in 2007.

Please see the story at Religion News for more details:

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/russian_orthodox_leader_alexy_ii_dies_at_79/