The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church gathers for an urgent session in Moscow after the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, has died.

“We are waiting for the information from the Holy Synod”, priest Mikhail Prokopenko, head of the Moscow Patriarchy press-service, told journalists.

In line with the Church regulations, the Synod should officially announce about the death of the Patriarchy.

Besides, by the Orthodox regulations, after a Patriarchy dies, the Church is headed by a bishop who is the oldest by chirotony (ordination). At present, namely Kyiv Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) is the oldest by chirotony.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, has died, on Friday. He was 79.

Born Alexei Ridiger, Alexy II made his ecclesiastical career at a time when the church was controlled by Soviet authorities before forging an alliance with the new Russian state under presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, AFP reported.