Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over a revival of the Russian Orthodox Church after the collapse of the Soviet Union, died today in Moscow, aged 79.

The patriarch died after a long illness at his residence outside Moscow at about 10 a.m. local time, the Moscow Patriarchate’s press service said on its Web site.

“We’re all deeply grieved by his passing. This is also a grave loss for me personally,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in New Delhi during a visit to the Indian capital. “We will always remember his spiritual assistance, wisdom and limitless devotion to his country and his people.”

Born Alexei Ridiger in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1929, Alexy II entered the priesthood in 1950 and became the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in 1990. He helped to restore the Russian Orthodox Church’s social and political influence after decades of repression under Soviet rule. His efforts were symbolized by the reconstruction of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, which had been razed in 1931 under dictator Josef Stalin.

“The Russian Orthodox Church holds a special kind of authority in society, and this makes it a useful source of authority for the state,” said Masha Lipman, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.

‘National Identity’

“It’s one of the three main institutions that enjoy people’s trust, along with the top government leadership and the army,” Lipman said by telephone. “There is an abstract respect for the church as an institution, not as a moral guide. For many Russians, Orthodoxy is part of the national identity.”

Alexy II repeatedly denied accusations that he was an agent of the Soviet KGB, including one by journalist Yevgenia Albats in her 1994 book “The State Within a State.”

The church’s Holy Synod will convene tomorrow to organize the patriarch’s funeral service and burial, and to select an acting successor, the Moscow Patriarchate’s press service said. The funeral will take place at Christ the Savior Cathedral, a church official said by telephone, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

“Alexy II was a good, reliable partner for the state,” Lipman said. “The succession is very important. It’s is a very important and privileged position.”

‘Profound Sadness’

About three-fourths of the Russia’s 142 million people identify themselves as Orthodox, though for many the affiliation is cultural more than religious, according to a survey published by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion in October 2007.

Many in Russia had anticipated a meeting between Alexy II and the head of the Roman Catholic Church, as part of a reconciliation between the two main branches of Christianity. The Vatican expressed “profound sadness” at his passing.

“I recall my many meetings with His Holiness, who always made a point of expressing his goodwill towards the Holy Father and his desire to strengthen collaboration with the Catholic Church,” said Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

“His personal commitment to improving relations with the Catholic Church, in spite of the difficulties and tensions which from time to time have emerged, has never been in doubt,” Kasper said in a statement on the Vatican’s Web site.

Last year, Alexy II and Metropolitan Laurus, the New York- based leader of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, reunited the two churches, ending an 80-year split over how they dealt with the atheist Bolsheviks.

The Church Outside Russia was established when supporters of the last emperor, Nicholas II, fled the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. It split from Moscow a decade later because of “its enslavement by the godless Soviet state.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Torrey Clark in Moscow at tclark8@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 5, 2008 08:18 EST