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| Russian Orthodox Church head dies | Russian Orthodox Church head dies |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexiy II, has died, Church officials say. | The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexiy II, has died, Church officials say. |
| The patriarch died on Friday morning, aged 79, the Church told the BBC. | The patriarch died on Friday morning, aged 79, the Church told the BBC. |
| They did not give a reason for his death at his residence outside Moscow, but he had been sick for some time. No date has been set yet for the funeral. | They did not give a reason for his death at his residence outside Moscow, but he had been sick for some time. No date has been set yet for the funeral. |
| Alexiy II was credited with helping restore the moral authority of the Russian Orthodox Church after decades of repression under communism. | Alexiy II was credited with helping restore the moral authority of the Russian Orthodox Church after decades of repression under communism. |
| However, relations with the Roman Catholic Church remained frosty and he repeatedly refused to meet the late Pope John Paul II, or his successor, Benedict XVI. | However, relations with the Roman Catholic Church remained frosty and he repeatedly refused to meet the late Pope John Paul II, or his successor, Benedict XVI. |
| The Russian Orthodox Church counts nearly 70% of Russia's population - about 100 million people - among its members. | |
| The BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says he was a hugely revered figure. | |
| Alexiy II became its head in 1990, shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union. | |
| He brought the scattered branches of the Russian Orthodox church back under the control of the Moscow Patriarchate. | He brought the scattered branches of the Russian Orthodox church back under the control of the Moscow Patriarchate. |
| Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said he was shocked by the death. "I respected him deeply," he said. | Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said he was shocked by the death. "I respected him deeply," he said. |
| Born Alexei Rediger to a Russian Orthodox family living in Estonia in 1929, the future patriarch rose swiftly through the ranks of the Church after studying theology in St Petersburg. | |
| By the age of 32 he was a bishop, by 35 he was an archbishop. | |
| He served as the Moscow Patriarchate's chief administrator and the deputy head of the Church's external affairs department before being elected as its head. |