How a Red Army veteran became the 14th Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Born Sergey Izvekov, Patriarch Pimen I navigated the Soviet era as the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. From his early monastic vows and military service in the Red Army to his complex relationship with Communist authorities, his tenure defined a pivotal period of survival for Russian Christianity.

Patriarch Pimen I, born Sergey Mikhailovich Izvekov in 1910, followed a path that bridged the traditional monastic life and the realities of the Soviet state. After taking eternal monastic vows in 1927, his ecclesiastical career was interrupted by World War II, during which he was drafted into the Red Army in 1941. Following the war, he served in various roles across the church, including as an administrator in Rostov and the Pskov-Caves Monastery, before rising to the rank of Metropolitan of Leningrad and Ladoga in 1961.

His leadership as the 14th Patriarch, beginning in 1971, required delicate navigation of a state governed by an officially atheist Communist party. Pimen frequently engaged in government-sponsored peace initiatives, earning accolades such as the Order of the Red Banner of Labour and the Fighter for Peace gold medal. While these actions reflected the constraints of his era, they were part of a broader, difficult strategy to maintain the church's presence under intense political pressure.

The twilight of his leadership saw a significant shift in the church's status. In 1988, Pimen oversaw the millennium commemoration of the baptism of Rus', an event that aligned with broader political reforms and signaled a decline in state-led religious suppression. By the time of his death in 1990, the political landscape had transformed sufficiently that the Soviet government refrained from interfering in the selection of his successor, marking a quiet end to a tumultuous era.

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