Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky) (1873-1965) was the second First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born in the Tambov Province of Imperial Russia and studied at Moscow Theological Academy. Between 1936-1964, he led the Russian Church Abroad through the fateful years of World War II and the re-settlement of the Russian diaspora throughout the globe. Nicholas Kotar is a freelance translator from Russian into English, and a conductor of Russian sacred choral music.