Patriarch Kirill's confessor, Archimandrite Eli, has died.

Confessor of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Schemandrite Ili (Nozdrin) He died at the age of 94. Optina Pustyn Monastery announced this on March 16.

"Late at night on March 15, at the age of 94, our dear father, Archimandrite Eli (Nozdrin), passed away to the Lord," the monastery's Telegram channel says.

It is noted that the monk was the confessor not only of the patriarch, but also of the brethren of Optina Pustyn.

Ilya (in the world Alexey Nozdrin) was born in 1932 in the territory of the modern Oryol region. He met the future patriarch while studying at the Leningrad Theological Academy in the 1960s. In 1966, he took vows, lived in the Pskov Caves Monastery and on Mount Athos, and in 1989 became the confessor of the newly restored Optina Desert. In 2009, he was elected confessor to Patriarch Kirill.