On January 25, the Bishops Council of the Russian Orthodox Church opened at Christ the Savior Cathedral, where 198 hierarchs chose three candidates for the Moscow Patriarchal See. Metropolitans Kirill received the most votes, and the final election of the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia will take place on January 27 at the Local Council by secret ballot. The article also details the Council, changes in its delegations, and the history of electing Russian patriarchs.

On January 25, the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church opened in the Church of Christ the Savior Cathedral Hall, with 198 hierarchs taking part and selecting candidates for the vacant Moscow Patriarchal See. On Tuesday, January 27, the Local Council will elect the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.
The ballots contained the full list of candidates for the Patriarchal Throne. According to the charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, they may be bishops over the age of 40 who have a higher theological education and experience in governing a diocese.
On the evening of January 25, members of the Bishops’ Council elected three candidates for the Moscow Patriarchal See. The Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, received 97 votes; 32 people voted for Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, the administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk received 16 votes.
Compared with the previous Local Council in 1990, the principle for forming delegations has changed toward expanding the number of Council participants. Nineteen years ago, two representatives were elected from each diocese to participate in the Council: a cleric and a layperson, and one representative each was also elected from monasteries and theological schools.
For the current Council, three delegates are elected from each diocese — a cleric, a representative of monasticism, and a layperson. Also participating in the Council are all ruling and vicar bishops, rectors of theological educational institutions, and the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. The Patriarchal parishes in Canada, the USA, Turkmenistan, Italy, and the Scandinavian countries will elect two delegates each from the clergy and the laity.
From the Irkutsk diocese, Archbishop Vadim of Irkutsk and Angarsk and the elected delegates will take part in the Council: from the clergy - the secretary of the Irkutsk diocese, Hegumen Maximilian (Klyuev); from monasticism - a resident of the Znamensky diocesan convent in Irkutsk, Nun Evdokia (Shchegorskaya); from the laity - icon painter and parishioner of the Znamensky Cathedral in Irkutsk, Mikhail Borisovich Lutaenko.
The Local Council will open on January 27 at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The first plenary session will begin at 12:00 and, unlike the subsequent ones, will be open to the press. After the election of the Council presidium and the approval of the agenda, program, and rules of procedure, at the third plenary session, which will open at 17:30, a new Patriarch will be elected.
The Patriarchal election will be held by secret ballot, which is intended to ensure that each member of the Council votes according to conscience.
The procedure for electing the Moscow Patriarchs has changed over time. For example, the first Russian Patriarch, Job, was elected by the tsar from among three candidates proposed by the bishops. Patriarch Tikhon was elected in 1917 by lot at the Local Council. The subsequent patriarchs — Sergius, Alexy I, and Pimen — were elected by open vote, while Patriarch Alexy II was already elected by secret ballot from among three candidates proposed by the Bishops’ Council.
The enthronement of the newly elected Patriarch will take place during the liturgy on Sunday, February 1, at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.