Sergius

Sergius (born Jan. 23, 1867, Arzamas, Novgorod region, Russia—died May 15, 1944, Moscow) was a theologian and patriarch of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox church who, by his leadership in rallying the church membership in a united effort with the Soviet government to repel the German invasion of 1941, obtained substantial advantages for the church in the postwar period. The son of an Orthodox priest, Ivan Stragorodsky became a monk after his theological studies, taking...