(Moscow, Friday, Dec 5, 2008) The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness, Patriarch Alexei II, has fallen asleep in the Lord.  The church said the 79-year-old died at his residence outside Moscow on Friday. It did not give the cause of death, but the patriach had suffered from a heart ailment - and was known to be seriously ill earlier this year.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church will be convened in Moscow on Saturday, December 6, 2008, to appoint a Locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne and to determine the time and place of Patriarch Aleksy's burial. This information will be posted on the OCA web site at www.oca.org as it becomes available.

May the memory of His Holiness, Patriarch Aleksy II of Moscow and All Rus be eternal!