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Article: The Russian Orthodox, KGB, and Vatican: Patriarch Alexis report reveals old dilemmas.
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- May 27, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In October 1968 a young Russian Orthodox bishop found himself in Rome. Since he had left Moscow for business connected with the World Council of Churches rather than the Vatican, his instructions were to take no initiatives but to wait and see what happened.
His orders came from the Council for Religious Affairs, which worked in close liaison with the KGB. His code name in the KGB records was "Drozdov" ("Blackbird"). His real name was Alexis, bishop of Tallin, Estonia, since 1961. In 1964, at age 35, he became chancellor of the Russian Orthodox Church.
He was a young man with a future: In 1990 he was elected patriach of Moscow and of all Russia. After ...