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Patriarch buried: Russian leaders this week attended the funeral of Patriarch Aleksy II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a sign of the resurgence of religion in the formerly Communist country. During the seven decades of the Soviet era, the state officially encouraged atheism. But after the USSR collapsed, in 1991, Patriarch Aleksy led a revival of Orthodoxy and ultimately became close to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “His Holiness expended much effort so that thousands and thousands of churches and monasteries could be built,” said interim church leader Metropolitan Kirill, “so that spiritual life could be reborn.” Aleksy, who died last week at age 79, was buried at Christ the Savior Cathedral, a church that was razed by Josef Stalin but rebuilt in 2000.

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