Coordinates: 55°42′40″N 37°37′45″E / 55.71111°N 37.62917°E / 55.71111; 37.62917

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; Russian: Русская Православная Церковь, Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov') headed by the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: Московский Патриархат, Moskovskiy Patriarkhat, also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who constitute an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, in communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million estimated adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among Christian churches, the Russian Orthodox Church is second only to the Roman Catholic Church in terms of numbers of followers. Within Russia the results of a 2007 VCIOM poll indicated that about 75% of the population considered themselves Orthodox Christians. Up to 65% of ethnic Russians and a similar percentage of Belarusians and Ukrainians identify themselves as "Orthodox". According to figures released on February 2, 2010, the Church has 160 dioceses including 30,142 parishes served by 207 bishops, 28,434 priests and 3,625 deacons. There are 788 monasteries, including 386 for men and 402 for women.

Nikolay Nikolayevich Kedrov, Sr. (Russian: Николай Николаевич Кедров; 28 October 1871 – 2 February 1940) was a Russian composer of liturgical music. His setting of Otche Nash (The Lord's Prayer) is one of the best-known in the repertoire.

Kedrov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, into the family of a Russian Orthodox archpriest. His wife was Sofia Gladkaya (Kedrova) (ru: Софья Николаевна Гладкая) (1875—1965), a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre. His daughter was actress Lila Kedrova, and his son was Nikolay Kedrov, Jr.

From 1894 to 1897 he studied singing at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, becoming an operatic baritone who performed at various theaters, including the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Theatre.

In 1897 he organized a men's vocal quartet (Saint Petersburg Russian vocal quartet). Their first concert was held in 1898 at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The repertoire of the quartet included Russian folk songs, ballads, opera music, then gradually liturgical music appeared. The quartet each year successfully toured Europe, including participation in Diaghilev’s seasons. In 1913/1914 Feodor Chaliapin and the quartet recorded a musical album in London. In 1917, Kedrov became a professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.^{[citation needed]}