He was born in the village of Zaluzh'e in the Stolbtsovsky District of Minsk Voblast' in Belarus on April 13, 1946. He is the grandson of a priest. After his service in the Soviet Army in 1966-1969, Lev entered the Leningrad Spiritual Academy, graduating in 1975 and successfully defending a candidate's dissertation entitled "Decrees of the Second Vatican Council's 'Constitution on the Divine Liturgy'" («Постановление II Ватиканского Собора „Конституция о богослужении“»). He studied at the Papal Gregorian University from 1975-1978.