The Russian Orthodox Church (another official name: the Moscow Patriarchate) is the largest Orthodox Church in the world. It has dioceses and parishes in Russia, Ukraine, Bielorussia, Moldova and many other countries. Since 1990 it has been led by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia. In the Russian Orthodox Church today there are 130 dioceses, about 20.000 parishes, and more than 500 monasteries. The pastoral service is carried out by 150 bishops, 17.500 priests and 2.300 deacons. There are 5 theological academies, 26 seminaries, and 29 pre-seminaries. There are also two Orthodox universities, a Theological Institute, a women's pre-seminary, and 28 icon-painting schools. The total number of theological students, both women and men, is more than 6.000. The external contacts of the Russian Orthodox Church are supervised by the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Since 1989 this Department has been chaired by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. For further information contact the official web-site of the Russian Orthodox Church: www.russian-orthodox-church.org.ru