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He was born as '''Alexey Alexei Mikhailovich Ridiger''' in Tallinn, Estonia, to the family of a [[priest]]. He graduated from Leningrad clerical seminary in 1949; was ordained [[deacon]] in 1950; graduated from Leningrad clerical academy in 1953. On August 14, 1961, he was chosen to be the [[Bishop]] of Tallinn and Estonia. On June 23, 1964, he was promoted to [[archbishop]]; and, on February 25, 1968, at the age of 39 to [[metropolitan]].<ref> Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. Alexis II, http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005644/Alexis-II 1/19/2008</ref>

From 1986 until his election as Patriarch, he was Metropolitan of Novgorod and Leningrad. After the death of [[Pimen I (Izvekov) of Moscow|Patriarch Pimen]] in 1990 Alexius Alexei was chosen to become the new Patriarch of The Russian Orthodox Church. He was chosen on the basis of his administrative experience, and was considered "intelligent, energetic, hardworking, systematic, perceptive, and businesslike."<ref>Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003),p 85.</ref> He also "had a reputation as a conciliator, "a person who could find common ground with various groups in the episcopate.""<ref>Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003),p 86.</ref> Archbishishop Chrysostom (Martyshkin) remarked "With his peaceful and tolerant disposition Patriarch Aleksi will be able to unite us all."<ref>Zhurnal Moskovskoi Patriarkhii, No. 10 (October), 1990, p.16, qouted in Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003),p 284.</ref> Patriarch Alexius Alexei II was "the first patriarch in Soviet history to be chosen without government pressure; candidates were nominated from the floor, and the election was conducted by secret ballot."<ref> Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. Alexis II, http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005644/Alexis-II 1/19/2008</ref>

:''"Defending one thing, it was necessary to give somewhere else. Were there any other organizations, or any other people among those who had to carry responsibility not only for themselves but for thousands of other fates, who in those years in the Soviet Union were not compelled to act likewise? Before those people, however, to whom the compromises, silence, forced passivity or expressions of loyalty permitted by the leaders of the church in those years caused pain, before these people, and not only before God, I ask forgiveness, understanding and prayers."''<ref>From an interview of Patriarch Alexius Alexei II, given to "Izvestia" No 137, June 10, 1991, entitled "Patriarch Alexius Alexei II: -- I Take upon Myself Responsibility for All that Happened", English translation from Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy,(Oxford: Westview Press, 1995),p 89. See also [http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco, December 31, 2007</ref>

According to Nathaniel Davis, when asked by the Russian press about claims that he was a "compliant" bishop, "Aleksi defended his record, noting that while he was bishop of Tallinn in 1961, he resisted the communist authorities' efforts to make the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city a planetarium (which, in truth, they did do elsewhere in the Baltic states) and to convert the Pyukhtitsa Dormition nunnery to a rest home for miners."<ref> Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy,(Oxford: Westview Press, 1995),p. 89f </ref> Official records show that the Tallinn diocese had a lower number of forced Church closings than was typical in the rest of the USSR during Patriarch AlexiusAlexei' s tenure as bishop there.<ref> Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy,(Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), fn. 115, p. 272 </ref>