Russian Patriarch celebrates birthday

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill the First, celebrates his 65th birthday on Sunday, RIA Novosti reports.
The celebrations are being attended by Georgian Patriarch Ilya II, Archbishop Savva of Warsaw and All Poland, Archbishop Christophor of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and representatives of the Romanian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches.
The Muslim spiritual leader of the Caucasus, Allahshukyur Pasha-zade, is also taking part in the event.
Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) was elected the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009 after the death of the first post-Soviet Patriarch, Alexei the Second.