OBITUARIES;Patriarch Pimen, Spiritual Leader Of Russian Orthodox Church, Dies From: The Washington Post | Date: May 4, 1990| Author: David Remnick | Copyright 1990 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post.Copyright information

Patriarch Pimen, who guided the Russian Orthodox Church under four Soviet leaders and was strongly criticized both here and abroad for bowing to Kremlin pressure over the years, died today. He was 79.

Pimen was appointed primate in 1971 and was the first spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church to be educated under the Soviet system. In recent years he had been in extremely poor health and on some public occasions he was able to perform his religious duties only with the suppo...