MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Danish Ambassador to Russia discussed Friday the upcoming reburial of Emperor Alexander III's wife, interred in Copenhagen after her death 77 years ago.

Alexy II and Per Carlsen agreed that the reburial of Empress Maria Fyodorovna (birth name Dagmar) next to the remains of her husband and other members of the Romanov dynasty would be a momentous event for both nations.

The governments of Russia and Denmark agreed earlier this year that the empress' remains should be returned to St. Petersburg. They will be brought by ship September 24, 2006, and reburied two days later at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Danish Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar (1847-1928), baptized a Lutheran, took the name Maria Fyodorovna when she converted to the Orthodoxy before marrying Alexander III. Her father became King of Denmark six days after her wedding.

Despite the overthrow of the monarchy in 1917, Empress Maria did not leave Russia for her native Denmark until 1919.

Maria Fyodorovna's son - Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II - and her daughter-in-law and grandchildren were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, but until her death, she refused to acknowledge the massacre had ever taken place.