Moscow, Apr. 24, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who died on April 23 at the age of 76, was the first Russian leader since the fall of the Tsars to be a practicing member of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Yeltsin, who came to power with the fall of the Soviet regime, often visited the largest church in Russia, Christ the Savior in Moscow, as well as the churches of St. Michael the Archangel in Tropariew and Sts. Boris and Gleb in Rublowce, located hear his country residence.
In 2000, Yeltsin was an honorary guest (along with other heads of state from Orthodox countries) at Orthodox Holy Year celebrations in Bethlehem.
While he maintained close contact with Patriarch Alexei II and was generally supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, in 1996 Yeltsin vetoed legislation that the Moscow patriarchate supported, because he feared it would curb religious freedom.