He was born in the town of Bogorodsk near Moscow. In 1925, Pimen Izverkov became a monk at Bogoyavlensky Monastery in Moscow. He also spent years in various Russian monasteries and cathedrals in Murom, Odessa and Pskov. In 1954, Pimen became head of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra. On November 14, 1961 he was appointed Metropolitan of Leningrad and Ladoga. After the death of Patriarch Alexei I Metropolitan Pimen was elected Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and all of Russia in 1971.