Russia: Thousands pay respects to church leader

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- From white-bearded monks and babushka-clad women to top Kremlin officials, thousands of people turned out to pay final respects Tuesday to the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexy II.

Alexy, 79, died Friday after 18 years at the head of the church, a period during which he is credited with reviving the denomination following years of communist rule. His bier was draped in a green banner inside Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, flanked by dozens of bishops as the ceremony moved ahead.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin both attended the ceremony, along with thousands of others who packed the church.

A native of Estonia, Alexy became the head of the Russian Orthodox church in 1990. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he was dogged by allegations that he collaborated with Soviet authorities in persecution of Christians under the officially atheist state.

But he went on to preside over an extensive revival of the faith in the post-Soviet period, during which it reclaimed and restored many churches that had been converted to public use under communism.

In a statement mourning the patriarch's death last week, Medvedev called Alexy II "an outstanding religious figure and a true spiritual leader of the country and a great Russian citizen." Watch more on the funeral

The Russian leader canceled a planned trip to Italy to attend Tuesday's services, the Kremlin press office said.