At the age of 81, the older brother of Patriarch Kirill, Archpriest Nikolai Gundyaev, has passed away, according to the Russian Orthodox Church website.
St. Petersburg has become a serious long-term illness.
The farewell ceremony will take place on January 2 at the Nikolskoye Alexander Nevsky Lavra Cemetery.
The older brother of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was born in 1940 in Leningrad. In 1963 he graduated from the Leningrad Theological Seminary, in 1967 & mdash; Leningrad Theological Academy with a doctorate in theology. & Nbsp;
From 1986 to 1987 the priest was Rector of the Theological Academy and Seminary of Leningrad (LDA). In 2014, Gundyaev was awarded the title of Honorary Rector of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of St. Petersburg.
Previously, the sudden death of former priest Timofei Podobedov, who baptized the daughter of Philip Kirkorov, was reported.