In pictures: Russian patriarch's funeral

The funeral of Russia's first post-Communist Orthodox Church leader, Alexiy II, began in Moscow's massive Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

President Dmitry Medvedev was there to pay his respects at the coffin of the patriarch.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila held candles during the funeral ceremony.

The head of Georgia's Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, came to see off his Russian counterpart. He said he hoped the two countries could be friends again after their recent conflict.

The Russian patriarch's coffin had been on display for three days and thousands of people queued in the rain to see it.

Russian Orthodox clerics conducted ceremonies in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral on the eve of the funeral.

After Tuesday's service, a hearse took the Church leader's remains across Moscow to his burial place.

The patriarch was being interred in Moscow's smaller Cathedral of the Epiphany.

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