List of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow

The following is a list of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, spiritual heads of the Russian Orthodox Church, since 1308.

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church begins with the Christianization of Kievan Rus' at Kiev, the date of which is commonly given as 988; however, the evidence surrounding this event is contested. In 1316 the Metropolitan of Kiev changed his see to the city of Vladimir, and in 1322 moved again to Moscow. In 1589, the see was elevated to a Patriarchate. The Patriarchate was abolished by the Church reform of Peter the Great in 1721 and replaced by the Most Holy Governing Synod, and the Bishop of Moscow came to be called a Metropolitan again. The Patriarchate was restored in 1917 and suspended by the Soviet authorities in 1925. It was reintroduced for the last time in 1943, during World War II by the initiative of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.