Patriarch Alexy I (Alexius I, , secular name Sergey Vladimirovich Simanskiy, ; – April 17, 1970) was the 13th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) between 1945 and 1970. Born in Moscow to a noble family, his father was a of the Russian Imperial Household. In 1899 he graduated from Moscow Imperial University with a law degree; was conscripted by the army and served in a grenadier regiment. In 1902 he enrolled at Moscow Theological Academy and by 1906 he had been elevated to the dignity of archimandrite and was appointed rector of the seminary at Tula.