كنيسة القديسين اسحق وجاورجيوس للروم الارثوذكس في قطر

The Patriarchate of Russia

His Holiness Alexei II

In 988, the Duke Vladimir and Duchess Olga invited some clergymen from Constantinople to baptize the Russian people on the river bank of Dnepr in Kiev, Ukraine, and the first baptized person was the Duke himself. Therefore, the church was established in Russia. Initially, it was a metropolis under the rule of the Patriarchate in Constantinople until 1589 when it was recognized as Patriarchate of Russia. The Patriarch of Russia became the fifth among the heads of Orthodox Churches, following the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and receiving the title Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. In 1700, after the death of the tenth Patriarch of Russia, King Peter I established a new system of ruling the Church of Russia and introduced synodic system, meaning the rule of bishops without the Patriarch as a head. On 18^th November 1917, the pan-Russian Church Synod re-established the old system of ruling the Church of Russia with its old seat in Moscow by appointing St. Tihon the Patriarch. St. Tihon guided the Church of Russia until 1925 when he was arrested and ended his life as a martyr. His successors were the Patriarch Sergios from 8^th September 1943 to 15^th May 1944, Alexios I (1945-1970), Pimen (1971-1989), and now His Beatitude the Patriarch Alexios II, appointed on 7^th June 1990. Today, the Patriarchate of Russia has 150 bishops and 242 monasteries.