Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus': biography, years of life, photo

Patriarch Alexy II, whose biography is the subject of our article, lived a long and, I think, happy life. His activities left a deep mark not only in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also in the souls of many people. This is probably why, after the death of the priest, the people could not believe and come to terms with his departure, and a version still circulates in society that Patriarch Alexy II was killed. This man managed to do so many good deeds in his life that the importance of this personality does not decrease over the years.

Origin

Patriarch Alexy II, whose biography is connected with the Russian Orthodox Church for several generations, was born on February 23, 1929 in a very unusual family in the city of Tallinn. The ancestor of the future priest during the reign of Catherine the Second converted to Orthodoxy with the name Fedor Vasilyevich. He was a general, an outstanding public figure and commander. From this hero of the War of 1812 came the Russian family of Riedigers.

The grandfather of the future patriarch was able to take his family out of St. Petersburg to Estonia during the hot times of the revolution. Alexy's father studied at the prestigious Imperial School of Law, but completed his studies in Estonia. Then he worked as a forensic investigator in Tallinn and married the daughter of a colonel in the tsarist army. An Orthodox atmosphere reigned in the family; Alexy's parents were members of the progressive movement RSHD (Russian Student Christian Movement). They participated in religious debates, visited monasteries, and went to church services. When Alexy was very young, his father began studying at pastoral courses, where he met Father John, who later became the boy’s confessor.

The family had a tradition of spending the summer holidays on pilgrimages to various monasteries. It was then that Alexy fell in love with the Pukhtitsa monastery for the rest of his life. In 1940, Father Alexy was ordained a deacon. Since 1942, he served in the Kazan Church of Tallinn and for 20 years helped people find God.

Alexy Moskovsky goes to the Horde to treat Khansha Taidula for an eye disease

By 1357, rumors about the outstanding merits of the Russian metropolitan reached the Horde, and Khansha Taidul, who was suffering from an eye disease, invited him, hoping for a cure. Through the prayers of the saint, the ruler received healing and freed the Church from Horde exactions. In gratitude for this, the saint was granted land in the Moscow Kremlin, where there was an inn for Horde ambassadors. Here Alexy founded the Chudov Monastery.

In Moscow by that time, Metropolitan Alexy enjoyed enormous influence and was actually a co-ruler of the state. It was at his initiative that in the 60s of the 14th century the construction of the white stone Kremlin, which until then had been wooden, began. In addition to Spaso-Andronikov, the saint blessed the founding of the famous Chudov and Simonov monasteries in Moscow, as well as the Vvedensky Vladychny Monastery in Serpukhov, and contributed to the introduction of the practice of communal monasteries, which in this era were founded in different parts of the country by the disciples of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Childhood

From early childhood, the future Patriarch of Moscow Alexy was immersed in an atmosphere of religiosity, which was for him the main spiritual principle in his formation. At the age of 6, he began helping in church services. The boy's parents and confessor raised him in the spirit of Christian values; he grew up as a kind, obedient child. Times were difficult; at the beginning of World War II, the family was threatened with deportation to Siberia for their German origin. The Ridigers had to hide. During the war, my father took Alyosha with him to visit prisoners in camps for persons being transferred to Germany.

Essays

• “Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov) as a dogmatist” (PhD essay. Typescript).
• Speech at the naming of Bishop of Tallinn JMP. 1961, No. 10, p. 10.
• Speech at the Conference of the Soviet Public of the Estonian SSR. JMP. 1962, no. 6.
• Speech at the opening of theological interviews with the delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany “Arnoldshain-II” on October 21, 1982. JMP. 1983, No. 12, p. 41.
• “Russian Orthodox Church and Peace Foundation” ZhMP. 1964, no. 6.
• "A trip to Denmark." JMP. 1964, no. 6 and 7.
• “Meetings of the commission “Faith and Church Order in Aarhus” ZhMP. 1964, no. 10.
• Towards an assessment of the past activities of the Conference of European Churches and the tasks ahead” ZhMP. 1964, no. 11.
• "International Conference for Peace and Cooperation in New Delhi." JMP. 1965, no. 1.
• “Meetings of the commission of the RSC “Vera” and church structure in Aarhus.” JMP. 1965, no. 6.
• Welcome address from the Chairman of the Educational Committee on behalf of the theological academies and seminaries of the Russian Orthodox Church Theological Seminary in Kottayamo on the day of its 150th anniversary. JMP. 1966, No. 2, p. 3.
• "In memory of the Bishop of the Methodist Church, Dr. F. Sigg." JMP. 1966, No. 2, p. 53-55.
• Report at the solemn act on April 23, 1966, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Lviv Council and the liquidation of the union. JMP. 1966, No. 6, p. 9-15.
• Report at a meeting of the KMK commission for the study of ecumenical problems. Bucharest, May 1966
• Christianity in the USSR. "Moscow News" 29/X-1966
• "Shepherd's Jubilee" JMP. 1968, No. 11, p. 31-32.
• "Conference of the Soviet Peace Fund" (April 1, 1969). JMP. 1969, No. 5, p. 40-42.
• “Speech at the 1st meeting of the 1st working group of the Conference of Representatives of All Religions in the USSR, July 2, 1969. JMP. 1969, No. 9, p. 48-49.
• Interview with M. Alexy with a German radio correspondent on October 27, 1970. ZhMP. 1970, No. 12, p. 6-7.
• “At the high post of Patriarchal Locum Tenens” ZhMP. 1971, No. 2, p. 6-11.
• Answer to a question from an APN correspondent. JMP. 1971, No. 5, p. 3-5.
• “On the peacemaking activities of the Russian Orthodox Church” (Co-report at the Local Council on May 31, 1971) JMP. 1971, no. 7, p. 45-62.
• "Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church", ed. 1972, p. 80.
• Word at the presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on behalf of the Local Council to His Holiness Patriarch Pimen. JMP. 1971, No. 9, p. 22; "Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church", ed. 1972, p. 264.
• “An important milestone on the path to European security” ZhMP. 1971, No. 9, p. 44-45.
• “In the name of a common cause” (to the 10th anniversary of the Soviet Peace Fund). JMP. 1971, No. 12, p. 49-50.
• Word on the day of the first anniversary of the patriarchal service of Patriarch Pimen. JMP. 1972, no. 7, p. 7-9.
• Speech at a prayer service on the opening day of the meeting of the Presidium of the CEC in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra on April 18, 1972. JMP. 1972, no. 7, p. 50-52.
• Speech to His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia David V after his enthronement in the Mtskheta Cathedral on July 2, 1972. JMP. 1972, No. 8, p. 49-51.
• Speech at the reception on the occasion of the enthronement of His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia David V, July 2, 1972. JMP. 1972, No. 8, p. 51-62.
• Speech at the presentation of the bishop's staff to Bishop Simon (Novikov) of Ryazan on October 14, 1972. ZhMP. 1972, No. 12, p. 9-11.
• Speech at the presentation of the bishop's staff to Bishop Damaskin (Bodry) of Tambov on October 18, 1972. ZhMP. 1972, No. 12, p. 14-16.
• Christian view of the environmental problem” ZhMP. 1974, No. 3, p. 43-48; No. 4, p. 35-39.
• Interview with M. Alexy to a correspondent of All-Union Radio on November 6, 1974. ZhMP. 1975, No. 1, p. 46-47.
• Speech at the plenum of the Soviet Committee for European Security and Cooperation 18 February. 1975 ZhMP. 1975, No. 4, p. 52.
• A word of congratulations on the day of Holy Easter by Patriarch Pimen, May 5, 1975. ZhMP. 1975, No. 7, p. 16-17.
• Speech to Canon Raymond Goor after presenting him with the International Lenin Prize “For Strengthening Peace Between Nations” in the Sverdlovsk Hall of the Kremlin on November 26, 1975. ZhMP. 1976, 12, p. 38.
• Speech at the founding conference of the Rodina society on December 15, 1975 ZhMP. 1976, no. 2, p. 39.
• Speech at the presentation of the staff to Bishop Seraphim (Gachkovsky) of Alma-Ata. JMP. 1976, no. 3, p. 12.
• The significance of the Local Council of 1971 ZhMP. 1976, no. 8, p. 7.
• Interview with All-Union Radio June 18, 1976 ZhMP. 1976, no. 8, p. 36.
• “The fifth anniversary of the Patriarchal enthronement” ZhMP. 1976, no. 8, p. 6.
• Speech at the plenum of the Soviet Peace Committee, August 17, 1976. JMP. 1976, No. 11, p. 36.
• Speech at the discussion group of the World Forum of Peace Forces on January 15, 1977. JMP. 1977, No. 4, p. 35.
• Interview with All-Union Radio February 26, 1977 ZhMP. 1977, no. 5, p. 7.
• Speech at the tomb of His Beatitude Patriarch Justinian of Romania on March 31, 1977. JMP. No. 6, p. 34.
• Statement on the draft of a new Constitution of the USSR. JMP. 1977, No. 10, p. 5.
• Sermon on the day of the celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God on the day of the 300th anniversary of the Smolensk Assumption Cathedral, August 10, 1977. JMP. 1977, No. 10, p. 26.
• “Humanism and care for people” Newspaper “Voice of the Motherland”. 1977. No. 38 (Sept.).
• Speech at a meeting of the Council of the Rodina Society, September 29, 1977 ZhMP. 1977, No. 12, p. 34.
• Speech at the presentation of the staff to Bishop Ambrose (Shchurov) of Ivanovo and Kineshma on October 18, 1977. ZhMP. 1978, No. 1, p. 34.
• Word at the tomb of His Holiness and Beatitude Patriarch of All Georgia David V in the Zion Cathedral on November 10, 1977. JMP. 1978, no. 3, p. 45.
• Archbishop Alfred Tooming (obituary). JMP. 1978, No. 4, p. 61.
• Speech at the All-Union Conference of the Soviet Peace Fund. JMP. 1978, no. 7, p. 43.
• A word before the funeral prayer for the late Pope John Paul I in the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral. JMP. 1978, No. 12, p. 59.
• Eighth anniversary of the Patriarchal enthronement, word from Metropolitan Alexy. JMP. 1979, no. 8, p. 14.
• “Come and See” is about religious life in the USSR and the training of clergy. Newspaper "Voice of the Motherland". 1979. No. 33 (2177) (Aug.).
• Name-name of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, word of Metropolitan Alexy. JMP. 1979, No. 11, p. 10.
• "In service to the world." Newspaper "Neye Zeitung". 1979. No. 269, 14.11.
• Interview with Kodumaa (Motherland) newspaper (in Estonian), No. 50, December 12, 1979.
• “In the power of the Holy Spirit - service to the world”: Report at the VIII General Assembly of the CEC, Crete, Greece, October 18-25, 1979. JMP. 1980, No. 1, p. 54; No. 2, p. 62; No. 3, p. 57.
• Speech at a meeting of the Soviet public dedicated to the day of action against the deployment of medium-range missiles in Western Europe. JMP. 1980, No. 2, p. 41.
• Greetings on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the newspaper “Voice of the Motherland.” "Voice of the Motherland". 1980. No. 14 (2210) (April)
• In the service of peace - a conversation recorded on the eve of the 1980 Olympics, Neues Zeit newspaper, GDR, July 19, 1980, p. 5.
• Word on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the Patriarchal enthronement. JMP. 1980, no. 8, p. 7.
• Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Patriarch Pimen, opening remarks. JMP. 1980, no. 9, p. 16.
• The legacy of the Conference on Security and Disarmament of Europe is important for the world. Aamulehti newspaper, Finland, October 29, 1980.
• Word at the presentation of the staff to Bishop Athanasius (Kudyuk) September 1 1980 JMP. 1980, No. 11, p. eleven.
• Word before the memorial service in the St. John the Epiphany Church in the village of Kurkino, Tula bishopric, in connection with the 600th anniversary of the Kulikovo Victory. JMP. 1980, No. 12, p. 13.
• Word at the opening ceremony at the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Kulikovo Victory. JMP. 1980, No. 12, p. 15.
• A message to the readers of the magazine “Our Life” for the holiday of the Nativity of Christ. "Our Life" ed. Russian Cultural-Democratic Union of Finland No. 1(241), 1981, p. 6.
• “For a peaceful Europe,” interview with the newspaper “Voice of the Motherland.” “Voice of the Motherland”, No. 11 (2259) March, 1980, p. 13.
• On the eve of the meeting in Legumkloster. (interview).
• Word on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Patriarchal enthronement at the Epiphany Cathedral on June 3, 1981. JMP. 1981, No. 8, p. 7.
• Speech at the Second All-Union Conference of the Rodina Society on May 27, 1981. JMP. 1981, No. 9, p. 48.
• Congratulations from the readers of the newspaper “Voice of the Motherland” on May 1 and Victory Day. “Voice of the Motherland”, No. 19, May 1982, p. 10.
• “Save the sacred gift of life” (article). “Voice of the Motherland” No. 23, June, 1982, p. eleven.
• Annotation to the records released for the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo. Moscow, 1981
• Speech at a reception in honor of the delegation of the Council of Evangelical Churches of Germany (FRG) on June 24, 1982. JMP. 1982, no. 9, p. 61.
• A message to the readers of the magazine “Our Life” for the Nativity of Christ and the New Year. “Our Life”, No. 6, 1982, p. 35.
• Speech to His Holiness Patriarch Pimen on his name day in the Pimenovsky Church in Moscow, September 9. 1982 JMP. 1982, No. 12, p. 36.
• Word at the presentation of the staff to Bishop Alexander (Timofeev) of Dmitrov. Intercession Church MDA October 14, 1982 JMP. 1982, No. 12, p. 40.
• A word to the participants of the “Peace March-82” in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra on July 24, 1982 ZhMP. 1982, No. 12, p. 104.
• "Stop the nuclear arms race, prevent war." Izvestia newspaper April 30 1983, p. 4. Kodumaa newspaper, May 11, 1983, p. 7 (in Estonian).
• "Choice in favor of life." Newspaper "Moscow News", 1983, No. 20, May 19, p. 6.
• Speech at the presentation of the diploma of Doctor of Theology honoris causa on November 12, 1983 in Prague. JMP. 1983, no. 4, p. 46.
• Report “Philokalia in Russian ascetic thought.” JMP. 1983, no. 4, p. 46.
• “For the sake of life, we must act together.” “Novaya Gazeta”, May 21, 1983, No. 119.
• "A Call to Christians of the World." Consultative meeting of representatives of the Churches of Europe in Moscow. Newspaper “Voice of the Motherland”, June 1983, No. 24, p. 12.
• “For saving the sacred gift of life” Magazine “Fatherland”, No. 5, p. 29.
• Interview “End the arms race.” Magazine "Soviet Country", June, 1983
• Speech at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral on the day of celebrating the 12th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen. JMP. 1983, no. 8, p. 16-17
• Word at the ecumenical service at the opening of the CEC Consultation “Dynamics of Hope: Trust, Disarmament, Peace”, May 26, 1983, Moscow. JMP. 1983, no. 8, p. 66.
• “The Danilovsky Monastery is being restored” (interview). Newspaper "Moscow News", No. 45, November 6, 1983, p. eleven.
• Sermon on the day of celebration of the Icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin. JMP. 1983, No. 10, p. 24.
• Word on the name day of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, September 9. 1983 JMP. 1983, No. 11, p. 7.
• Article "Life and Peace". Uppsala World Christian Conference. JMP. 1983, No. 11, p. 36-39.
• A message for the Nativity of Christ and the New Year to the readers of the magazine “Our Life”. “Our Life”, 1983, No. 6, p. 3-4.
• "Essays on the history of Orthodoxy in Estonia." 806 pp. (Doctoral dissertation) (typescript).
• Speech at the Soviet-French colloquium “The problem of disarmament and the strengthening of peace” on January 24, 1984. JMP. 1984, No. 4, p. 38.
• Speech at the All-Union Conference of the Soviet Peace Fund in the House of Unions, January 31, 1984. JMP. 1984, no. 5, p. 54.
• Speech at a meeting of the Council of the Rodina Society on February 16, 1984. ZHMP. 1984, no. 7, p. 51.
• Speech at the presentation of the staff to Bishop Eusebius (Savin) of Alma-Ata on April 1, 1984 at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral. JMP. 1984, no. 6, p. 13.
• Sermon on the day of the 13th anniversary of the enthronement of Patriarch Pimen at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral on June 3, 1984. JMP. 1984, no. 8, p. eleven.
• Sermon on the day of the 74th anniversary of the birth of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen in the Church of the Laying of the Robe in Moscow on July 23, 1984. ZhMP. 1984, no. 9, p. 9.
• Message to the readers of the magazine “Our Life” of the Russian Cultural-Democratic Union in Finland for the Nativity of Christ and the New Year. “Our Life”, 1984, No. 6.
• Address at the opening of the Fifth Theological Conversation “Zagorsk-V”, November 13, 1984 at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. JMP. 1985, No. 4, p. 64.
• Interview with the newspaper “Uusi Suomi” “The Russian Church is preparing for its 1000th anniversary, the Metropolitan of Tallinn appeals to the spirit of Helsinki.” Uusi Suomi, June 7, 1985, p. 9.
• Interview with the newspaper “Barkauden Lahti” “Trust of churches and peoples can prevent wars” Metropolitan Alexy on Valaam. Barkauden Lahti, June 10, 1985
• Interview with the Helsinki Sanomat newspaper “The Estonian Orthodox Church believes in its future.” Helsinki Sanomat June 14, 1985, p. 20.
• Speech at the official reception in honor of the participants in the Theological Interview “Zagorsk V”, November 21, 1984. JMP. 1985, no. 5, p. 63.
• “To protect the world” for the 10th anniversary of the signing of the final Helsinki Act // Newspaper “Voice of the Motherland” No. 51, 1985.
• The difficult path of the dramatic age // NG-Religions. 1997. No. 11 (November).
• I can’t walk to Jerusalem // Kommersant-daily. 1998. No. 127.
• Messages for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ to the clergy, monastics and Orthodox believers of the Tallinn diocese, printed with parallel Estonian and Russian texts for 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 197 5, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
• Messages for the feast of Holy Easter to clergy, monastics and Orthodox believers of the Tallinn diocese, printed in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 197 6, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985

Vocation

The whole atmosphere of the Riediger family was saturated with religion, the child absorbed it from a young age. He loved and knew church services very much, and even acted them out in his games. His confessor actively supported the boy's attraction to the Orthodox faith. In 1941, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy 2 became an altar boy, helping the deacon - his father. Then he served for several years in different churches in Tallinn. Alexy's fate, in fact, was predetermined from birth; from the age of 5, he existed only in the bosom of the church.

In 1947, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy 2 entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary, he was accepted immediately into the third grade due to his high education and preparedness. In 1949 he entered the Leningrad Theological Academy. During this period, revived educational religious institutions are on the rise, this allows Alexy to receive a high-quality education. He was a very good student, all teachers noted his thoughtfulness and seriousness. He had no mental turmoil or searching; he was absolutely confident in his faith and his destiny.

Funeral service and funeral

On Monday, December 8th, it was time for the funeral liturgy. 200 priests and bishops took part in it. Then Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople conducted the funeral ceremony.

On December 9, the coffin with the Vladyka was taken out into the street and a religious procession was made around the cathedral, as the deceased himself had bequeathed. At the end of the procession, the funeral procession followed the hearse to the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov. There, in the Annunciation chapel, the burial of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy took place.

Life of a priest

But A. Ridiger spends most of his studies at the academy as an external student. Metropolitan Gregory of Leningrad invited the young man to be ordained before completing his studies. He was offered several options for service, and he chose the position of rector in the Epiphany Church in the town of Jõhvi. From there he could often visit his parents and go to the academy. In 1953 he graduated from the academy, becoming a candidate of theology. In 1957 he was transferred from the difficult parish of Jõhvi to the university Tartu. Thus, the future Patriarch Alexy II, whose years of life would be associated with religious service, entered upon his path as a priest.

Difficult times fell upon him again. The Assumption Cathedral, to which Alexy was appointed, was in a deplorable state, the authorities did not support church initiatives, I had to work a lot, talk with people, attend services, go to services. The novice priest decided to seek help from Patriarch Alexy the First, who assisted in the repairs and blessed the namesake. In 1958, Alexy became archpriest and dean of the Tartu-Viljandi district. In 1959, the priest’s mother died, and this prompted him to accept monasticism. He had thought about such an act before, but now he was finally confirmed in his intention.

Alexy Moskovsky is actively involved in the unification of Russian lands

The Metropolitan actively participated in the foreign policy activities of the Moscow Principality, which consisted of attempts to unite Russian lands to fight the Horde yoke. Thus, he was one of the initiators of the union of Moscow with Veliky Novgorod. Under him, for the first time, contracts and agreements between princes began to be sealed with the metropolitan seal. He also put his stamp on other important documents - in particular, those that determined the internal life of the principality.

As a metropolitan residence, the saint chose Cherkizovo near Moscow with the wooden Elias Church - the closest village to it was Izmailovo. However, whether the latter existed at that time is not known for certain.

The Bishop's Path

In 1961, the future Patriarch Alexy II (his photo could increasingly be seen in reviews of foreign delegations’ trips to Russia) received a new appointment. He becomes the Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, and is also temporarily entrusted with managing the Riga diocese. The Russian Orthodox Church was in dire need of young, educated personnel, especially since it was once again experiencing a round of new persecution in Russia. The ordination, at the request of Alexy, is held in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn. Immediately the young bishop receives a call from the authorities. In his parish it is planned to close several churches due to “unprofitability”, and the beloved Pyukhitsky monastery will be turned into a rest home for miners. Urgent and strong measures were needed.

Alexy organizes several visits of large foreign delegations to his parish and to the monastery, as a result, publications about him appear in the Western press, within a year representatives of almost all the world's religious organizations came here, the authorities had to surrender, and the question of closing the monastery was no longer raised. Thanks to the efforts of Alexy, the Pyuchitsky Monastery became a place for visits and communication between representatives of all European churches.

Alexy served in the Tallinn parish for a quarter of a century. During this time, he significantly strengthened the Orthodox Church here and published a large amount of literature, including in Estonian. Through his efforts, many churches in the region were preserved, including the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, in which Father Alexy served for a long time, who died in 1962, and the Kazan Church in Tallinn. But the propaganda and efforts of the authorities were doing their job: the number of believers was steadily declining, so that functioning churches remained in the villages; the archimandrite paid for their maintenance from church funds.

In 1969, Alexy was entrusted with additional service as Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod.

Alexy II died like a saint - kneeling before icons

The XV Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church “rested in God” - “fell asleep in God”, on December 5 - in the bright Nativity Fast, the day after one of the main Orthodox holidays - the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. He missed his 80th birthday by only two months.

In recent years, His Holiness has been very ill. His heart was failing (the Patriarch suffered from ischemia and suffered several heart attacks), and he was overcome by problems with blood pressure. And two months before his death, his condition was critical: he experienced clinical death and cardiac arrest.

Despite all this, the news of his death came as a complete surprise to people. For four days, while the patriarch’s body was in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, lines of many kilometers lined up day and night. People, not holding back their sobs, went to bow to the great shepherd for the last time.

Everyone was sure that the holy man had left the earth. Indeed, it is difficult to overestimate what the patriarch did during the years of his reign. Thousands of restored monasteries and churches, dozens of farmsteads were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The last minutes of the patriarch's life and death were kept in the strictest confidence. A year after the death of His Holiness, we managed to lift this curtain.

FAITHFUL FILARETA

The day before, Alexy II served the Divine Liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. Then he came to Peredelkino - his favorite residence, where he lived for the last 13 years, since 1995. This is where he considered his home.

Two hectares of land for construction were allocated three years earlier. Over time, the territory was increased to 30 hectares. At the request of the patriarch, Gazprom allocated money for construction and improvement. The residence was called the “Orthodox Heritage Center.”

On the day of his death, his devoted housekeeper, Abbess Philareta, was the first to feel something was wrong. Mother had been managing the household affairs of His Holiness for more than 40 years; she was sent to manage the household from the Pukhtitsky Assumption Convent, so beloved by the patriarch. During the Khrushchev rule, they tried to close it, and it owed its salvation precisely to the intercession of Alexy II, who was then the Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia.

She had about 12 other nuns as assistants. And they were in awe of her - they understood not at a glance, but at a glance.

Gradually, from a simple housekeeper, she became the most devoted friend, adviser, and guardian angel for His Holiness. He trusted her endlessly.

As one of the most striking examples of how much Alexy II valued his assistant, this is the case.

“When I and the rector of the patriarchal estate in Peredelkino, Archimandrite Vladimir Zorin, brought the master plan of the residence to His Holiness for approval, he immediately called Mother Filareta,” says one of the developers of the patriarchal estate in Peredelkino, Alexander Bugaevsky. — He asks her: do you like the project? She looked carefully and approved. The patriarch says: “Well, if you like it, mother, then I do too.” And only after that he gave his blessing for the start of construction.

THIS IS HOW THE SAINTS DIE

Alexy II got up after dark. I prayed, washed my face and at 8 o’clock went down to the hall for breakfast. Philaret’s mother almost always served the same meal: rolled oats, fried eggs (when there was no fasting), tea. There was always a coffee pot on the table. His Holiness loved to cheer himself up with a cup of strong coffee, if his blood pressure allowed.

The clock struck ten, the patriarch did not come down. The alarmed mother knocked on the bedroom door. There was no answer. Filareta sent for a worker and ordered to immediately break down the door. His Holiness always locked himself at night.

Alexy II was found in the bedroom, he was kneeling with his head bowed. His heart stopped beating for about an hour.

There was not a single free space on the walls of his bedroom - just one continuous iconostasis. They became mute witnesses to the death of the saint.

As a source in the prosecutor’s office told a KP correspondent, information about the death of Alexy II was not announced for several hours.

The frightened nun tried to provide first aid to the patriarch.

“I laid the body on the floor and put a pillow under my head,” says the investigator. “And since the body was moved from its place and we established its original position, this delayed the inquiry process.

After the death of the patriarch, Filaret's mother was heartbroken. She practically did not sleep for 40 days. She prayed and cried incessantly.

“The head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate, Vladimir Vigilyansky, tried to console her,” recalls an eyewitness to the events. “He told her not to kill herself like that, the patriarch is a saint and will go straight to heaven.” She answered him: “He was a good man!”

The fact that the patriarch died on his knees began to be considered in his circle as a special sign of being chosen. Many canonized saints, such as Dmitry of Rostov and Seraphim of Sarov, passed away this way.

NEW PATRIARCH, NEW ORDER

As it should be according to the church charter, after the death of the patriarch, the residence passes to the newly elected first hierarch. It is he who decides what to do with the farm of his predecessor.

As people who knew him well and sincerely loved him say about Alexy II, “the saint had a big heart and treated God’s dumb creatures with love,” the animals felt this and “reciprocated him with mutual love.”

One of the workers at the residence told me a case of how the patriarch saved a kitten that had climbed a tree, was afraid to get down and was meowing pitifully. Alexy II asked Archimandrite Vladimir to go to the road and try to find a car with a tower, although where would it come from there? Father Vladimir did not argue, he went obediently. The patriarch remained near the tree to insure the poor furry fellow if he decided to jump down. Literally a few minutes later, the archimandrite returned on the aerial platform.

“I prayed and found it,” he reported.

The kitten became the patriarch's latest pet.

After the death of His Holiness, a dozen beloved cows, calves and horses in the barnyard were orphaned. Three dogs - Pekingese Pusha, pug Kesha and toy poodle Tusya. The patriarch treated the latter with special warmth. In January 2005, it was presented by children from Beslan. The guys handed Alexy II Tusk from hand to hand during a personal meeting. The patriarch’s beloved red cat and the canary, which was also given to the saint by children - orphan girls from the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, were orphaned. In addition, Alexy II had peacocks, swans and a goat.

“The animals suffered for the first time after the death of His Holiness,” said one of the nuns who lived at the residence at that time. “You can’t say it any other way.” Now there are none of the former animals left there.

According to mother, all the “ungulates” were transported to the Borisoglebsky convent in Anosino, near Moscow. The new Patriarch Kirill instructed the rector of the patriarchal farmstead located there, Archimandrite Spiridon (Ivanov), to overhaul the cowshed and buy modern milking machines so that the cows would feel comfortable. The abbess of the monastery, nun Varakhila (Buchelnikova), visits them daily.

All the pets of the late patriarch were taken in by Mother Philareta. After the forties, she moved from the Peredelkino residence to Moscow to the Mother of God Nativity Convent and lives there to this day. The housekeeping of the current Patriarch Kirill is handled by the new housekeeper, Mother Jonah.

The only one who remained in the residence after the death of the patriarch was his confessor, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov). This year, on October 8, he turned 90 years old. The elder is very weak and rarely leaves his cell.

“The residence in Peredelkino will grow and develop,” says Alexander Bugaevsky. “It will become one of the largest scientific, theological, museum and spiritual centers in the country. Patriarch Kirill gave me a written blessing, according to which I will continue to work on its improvement. Now a baptismal church, a parish school, and a chapel are being built on the territory of the residence.

As the Patriarchate said, the memoirs and correspondence, which were initially planned to be published on the anniversary of the death of Alexy II, have been sealed and gathering dust on the shelves of the archive.

Church and social life

Alexy always traveled a lot to his parishes with divine services in order to hold conversations with believers and strengthen their spirit. At the same time, the future patriarch devoted an enormous amount of time to social work. From the very beginning of his diocesan service, he did not remain aloof from the life of the entire Orthodox Church. In 1961, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, whose photo can be seen in the article, was a member of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the assembly of the World Council of Churches. He participates in the work of such prestigious organizations as the Conference of European Churches, in which he worked for more than 25 years, eventually becoming chairman of the presidium, the Rhodes Pan-Orthodox Conference, peacekeeping organizations, in particular the Soviet Peace Foundation, the Foundation of Slavic Literature and Slavic Cultures. Since 1961, he served as deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1964 he became the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and fulfilled these duties for 22 years.

In 1989, Alexy was elected people's deputy of the USSR and dealt with issues of preserving national cultural values, language, and protecting historical heritage.

Russian Orthodox Church

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Childhood years (1929 - late 30s)

His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II is the fifteenth Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since the establishment of the Patriarchate in Rus' (1589). Patriarch Alexy (in the world - Alexey Mikhailovich Ridiger) was born on February 23, 1929 in the city of Tallinn (Estonia) into a deeply religious family.

Patriarch Alexy's father, Mikhail Alexandrovich Ridiger (+1962), a native of St. Petersburg, came from an old St. Petersburg family, whose representatives served in the glorious field of military and public service (among them Adjutant General Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Ridiger - hero of the Patriotic War of 1812).

Mikhail Alexandrovich studied at the School of Law and graduated from high school in exile in Estonia. The mother of His Holiness the Patriarch is Elena Iosifovna Pisareva (+1959), a native of Revel (Tallinn). In pre-war Europe, the life of the Russian emigration was low-income, but material poverty did not prevent the flourishing of cultural life.

The emigrant youth were distinguished by a high spiritual spirit. A huge role belonged to the Orthodox Church. The activity of the Church in the life of the Russian diaspora was greater than ever before in Russia.

The religious community in the Russian diaspora has created an invaluable experience for Russia in the churching of various forms of cultural activity and social service. The Russian Student Christian Movement (RSCM) was active among young people. The movement had as its main goal the unification of believing youth to serve the Orthodox Church, set as its task the training of defenders of the Church and faith, and asserted the inseparability of genuine Russian culture from Orthodoxy.

In Estonia the Movement operated on a large scale. As part of his activities, parish life actively developed. Russian Orthodox people willingly participated in the activities of the Movement. Among them was the father of the future His Holiness Patriarch.

From a young age, Mikhail Alexandrovich aspired to priestly service, but only after completing theological courses in Revel in 1940 was he ordained a deacon and then a priest. For 16 years he was rector of the Tallinn Nativity of the Virgin Mary Kazan Church, was a member, and later chairman of the diocesan council.

The spirit of Russian Orthodox churchliness reigned in the family of the future High Hierarch, when life is inseparable from the temple of God and the family is truly a home church. For Alyosha Ridiger there was no question about choosing a path in life.

His first conscious steps took place in church, when, as a six-year-old boy, he performed his first obedience - pouring baptismal water. Even then he knew for sure that he would only become a priest. At the age of eight or nine, he knew the Liturgy by heart and his favorite game was “to serve.”

The parents were embarrassed by this and even turned to the Valaam elders about this, but they were told that if everything was done seriously by the boy, then there was no need to interfere. Most of the Russians living in Estonia at that time were not essentially emigrants. Being natives of this region, they found themselves abroad without leaving their homeland.

The uniqueness of Russian emigration in Estonia was largely determined by the compact residence of Russians in the east of the country. Russian exiles scattered all over the world sought to visit here. By the grace of God, they found here a “corner of Russia”, containing a great Russian shrine - the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, which, being at that time outside the USSR, was inaccessible to the godless authorities.

Making annual pilgrimages to the Pukhtitsa Holy Dormition Women's Monastery and the Pskov-Pechersk Holy Dormition Monastery, the parents of the future Patriarch took the boy with them.

At the end of the 1930s, together with their son, they made two pilgrimage trips to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga. The boy remembered for the rest of his life his meetings with the inhabitants of the monastery - the spirit-bearing elders Schema-Abbot John (Alekseev, +1958), Hieroschemamonk Ephraim (Khrobostov, +1947) and especially with the monk Iuvian (Krasnoperov, +1957), with whom correspondence began and who accepted the boy into my heart.

Here is a small fragment from his letter to Alyosha Ridiger: “Dear in the Lord, dear Alyoshenka! I sincerely thank you, my dear, for your greetings on the Nativity of Christ and the New Year, as well as for your good wishes. May the Lord God save you for all these spiritual gifts. <…>

If the Lord would vouchsafe all of you to come to us for Easter, it would increase our Easter joy. Let us hope that the Lord, in His great mercy, will do this. We also remember all of you with love: for us you are like our own, kindred in spirit. Sorry, dear Alyoshenka! Be healthy! May the Lord bless you! In your pure childish prayer, remember me, the unworthy. M. Iuvian, who sincerely loves you in the Lord.”

Thus, at the very beginning of his conscious life, the future High Hierarch touched with his soul the pure spring of Russian holiness - the “wonderful island of Valaam.”

Through the monk Iuvian, a spiritual thread connects our Patriarch with the Guardian Angel of Russia - Saint John of Kronstadt. It was with the blessing of this great lamp of the Russian land that Father Iuvian became a Valaam monk, and of course he told his dear boy Alyosha about the great shepherd.

This connection was recalled half a century later - the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990, which elected His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, glorified Righteous John of Kronstadt as a saint.

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Youth. Study, beginning of ministry (late 30s - late 50s)

The path that the saints of the Russian land traversed for centuries - the path of pastoral service, originating from a church-going childhood in Christ - was banned under Soviet rule.

God's Providence for our current Primate structured his life from birth in such a way that life in Soviet Russia was preceded by childhood and adolescence in old Russia (as far as this was possible then), and the young, but mature and courageous warrior of Christ met Soviet reality.

From early childhood, Alexey Ridiger served in the church. His spiritual father was Archpriest John of the Epiphany, later Bishop of Tallinn and Estonian Isidore (+1949). From the age of fifteen, Alexy was a subdeacon with Archbishop Pavel of Tallinn and Estonia (Dmitrovsky; +1946), and then with Bishop Isidore. He studied at a Russian secondary school in Tallinn.

His Holiness the Patriarch recalls that he always had an “A” in the Law of God. His family was his fortress and support both when choosing his path and throughout his priestly service. Not only ties of kinship, but also ties of spiritual friendship connected him with his parents; they shared all their experiences with each other...

In 1936, the Tallinn Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, whose parishioners were the parents of the future High Hierarch, was transferred to the Estonian parish. The history of this temple is long-suffering: immediately after the proclamation of the Estonian Republic in 1918, a campaign to liquidate the cathedral began - money was collected “for the demolition of churches with Russian golden onions and booths of Russian Gods” (Orthodox chapels) even in children’s schools.

But the public, Russian and international, as well as the Red Cross, opposed the destruction of the cathedral. Then a new wave arose: to demolish the domes of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, erect a spire and create a “pantheon of Estonian independence” there. Illustrations were published in an architectural magazine: a view of the city without “Russian onions”, but with the “pantheon of Estonian independence”.

These illustrations were preserved by the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy and at one time were useful for saving the cathedral, when the authorities of Soviet Estonia intended to convert the temple into a planetarium (the demonstration of the intentions of the bourgeois authorities regarding the use of the cathedral discouraged the Soviet rulers).

In 1936, the gilding was removed from the domes. In this form the cathedral existed until the war. In 1945, Subdeacon Alexy was instructed to prepare for the opening of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city of Tallinn for the resumption of divine services there (the cathedral was closed during the wartime occupation).

From May 1945 to October 1946 he was an altar boy and sacristan of the cathedral. Since 1946 he served as a psalm-reader in the Simeonovskaya, and since 1947 - in the Kazan churches of Tallinn. In 1946, Alexy Ridiger passed the exams at the St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Theological Seminary, but was not accepted because he was not yet eighteen years old at that time.

The following year, 1947, he was immediately enrolled in the 3rd year of the seminary, which he graduated with first class in 1949. While in his first year at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, on April 15, 1950, he was ordained a deacon, and on April 17, 1950, a priest and appointed rector of the Church of the Epiphany in the city of Johvi, Tallinn diocese.

For more than three years he combined serving as a parish priest with correspondence studies at the academy. In 1953, Father Alexy graduated from the Theological Academy in the first category and was awarded the degree of candidate of theology for his course essay “Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow as a dogmatist.”

On July 15, 1957, Father Alexy was appointed rector of the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Tartu (Yuryev) and for a year combined service in two churches. He served in Tartu for four years.

Tartu is a university city, quiet in the summer and lively in the winter when students arrive. His Holiness the Patriarch retained a good memory of the old Yuryev university intelligentsia, who actively participated in church life. It was a living connection with old Russia. On August 17, 1958, Father Alexy was elevated to the rank of archpriest.

In 1959, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the mother of His Holiness the Patriarch died. She had a difficult cross in her life - to be the wife and mother of a priest in an atheistic state. Prayer was a reliable refuge and consolation - every day Elena Iosifovna read the akathist before the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of all who mourn.” The funeral service for Mother Elena Iosifovna was held in Tartu, and she was buried in Tallinn, at the Alexander Nevsky Cemetery - the resting place of several generations of her ancestors. Father and son were left alone.

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Episcopal ministry

On March 3, 1961, in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archpriest Alexy Ridiger took monastic vows. Soon, by a resolution of the Holy Synod of August 14, 1961, Hieromonk Alexy was determined to become the Bishop of Tallinn and Estonian with the assignment of temporary management of the Riga diocese.

On August 21, 1961, Hieromonk Alexy was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. On September 3, 1961, Archimandrite Alexy (Ridiger) was consecrated as Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, temporarily governing the Riga diocese.

It was a difficult time - the height of Khrushchev's persecutions. The Soviet leader, trying to revive the revolutionary spirit of the twenties, demanded the literal implementation of the anti-religious legislation of 1929. It seemed that pre-war times had returned with their “five-year plan of godlessness.” True, the new persecution of Orthodoxy was not bloody - ministers of the Church and Orthodox laity were not exterminated, as before, but newspapers, radio and television spewed streams of blasphemy and slander against the faith and the Church, and the authorities and the “public” poisoned and persecuted Christians. There were massive closures of churches throughout the country. The already small number of religious educational institutions has sharply decreased.

In February 1960, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, in his speech at the conference of the Soviet public for disarmament, addressed millions of Orthodox Christians over the heads of those gathered in the Kremlin. Calling on them to be steadfast in the face of new persecutions, His Holiness the Patriarch said: “In this position of the Church there is much comfort for its faithful members, for what can all the efforts of the human mind mean against Christianity, if its two thousand-year history speaks for itself, if hostile against Christ Himself foresaw his attacks and made a promise to the steadfastness of the Church, saying that “the gates of hell will not prevail against Her!”

In those difficult years for the Russian Church, the older generation of bishops who began their ministry in pre-revolutionary Russia left this world - confessors who went through Solovki and the hellish circles of the Gulag, archpastors who went into exile abroad and returned to their homeland after the war... They were replaced by a galaxy of young people bishops, among whom was Bishop Alexy of Tallinn. These bishops, who did not see the Russian Church in power and glory, chose the path of serving the persecuted Church, which was under the yoke of a godless state. The authorities invented more and more new ways of economic and police pressure on the Church, but the faithfulness of the Orthodox to Christ’s commandment became an insurmountable strength for it: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

On November 14, 1961, Bishop Alexy was appointed deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Already at the very beginning of his episcopal service, the young bishop was faced with the decision of the local authorities to close and transfer the Pyukhtitsa Assumption Monastery to a rest home. However, he managed to convince the Soviet authorities that it was impossible for the bishop to begin his ministry by closing the monastery. At the beginning of 1962, already being the deputy chairman of the DECR, Bishop Alexy brought a delegation of the Evangelical Church of Germany to the monastery. At that time, his father was lying with a heart attack, but the bishop had to accompany foreign guests - after all, it was about saving the monastery. Soon, rave reviews about the Pukhtitsa Monastery appeared in the Neue Zeit newspaper. Then there was another delegation, a third, a fourth, a fifth... And the question of closing the monastery was dropped.

Recalling those years, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy says: “God alone knows how much each of the clergy who remained in Soviet Russia, and did not go abroad, had to endure... I had the opportunity to begin my church service at a time when people were no longer shot for their faith, but how much we had to endure while defending the interests of the Church will be judged by God and history.” During the 25 years of Bishop Alexy’s episcopal service in Estonia, with God’s help, he managed to defend a lot. But then the enemy was known - he was alone. And the Church had ways of internally opposing him.

Having ascended the Patriarchal throne, His Holiness was faced with a completely different situation: the Church in the modern complex world, with its social, political and national problems, found itself with many new enemies. On June 23, 1964, Bishop Alexy was elevated to the rank of archbishop and at the end of 1964 he was appointed Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate and became a permanent member of the Holy Synod.

His Holiness the Patriarch recalls: “For nine years I was close to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, whose personality left a deep imprint on my soul. At that time, I held the post of Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, and His Holiness the Patriarch completely trusted me with the resolution of many internal issues. He suffered the most difficult trials: revolution, persecution, repression, then, under Khrushchev, new administrative persecution and the closure of churches. The modesty of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, his nobility, high spirituality - all this had a huge influence on me. The last service he performed shortly before his death was in 1970 on Candlemas.

After his departure, in the Patriarchal residence in Chisty Lane, the Gospel remained, revealed in the words: “Now do You let Thy servant go, O Master, according to Thy word in peace...”.”

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In the rank of metropolitan (February 25, 1968 - June 10, 1990)

On February 25, 1968, Archbishop Alexy was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.

From March 10, 1970 to September 1, 1986, he exercised general management of the Pension Committee, whose task was to provide pensions for the clergy and other persons working in church organizations, as well as their widows and orphans. On June 18, 1971, in consideration of the diligent work of holding the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971, Metropolitan Alexy was awarded the right to wear the second panagia.

Metropolitan Alexy performed responsible functions as a member of the Commission for the preparation and conduct of the celebration of the 50th anniversary (1968) and 60th anniversary (1978) of the restoration of the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church; member of the Commission of the Holy Synod for the preparation of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971, as well as chairman of the procedural and organizational group, chairman of the secretariat of the Local Council; since December 23, 1980, he has been the deputy chairman of the Commission for the preparation and conduct of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' and the chairman of the organizational group of this commission, and since September 1986 - the theological group.

On May 25, 1983, he was appointed chairman of the Responsible Commission to develop measures for the reception of the buildings of the Danilov Monastery ensemble, the organization and implementation of all restoration and construction work to create the Spiritual and Administrative Center of the Russian Orthodox Church on its territory. He remained in this position until his appointment to the St. Petersburg (at that time Leningrad) department.

In 1984, Bishop Alexy was awarded the title of Doctor of Theology. The three-volume work “Essays on the History of Orthodoxy in Estonia” was submitted to him for the degree of Master of Theology, but the Academic Council of the LDA unanimously decided that since “the dissertation in terms of depth of research and volume of material significantly exceeds the traditional criteria for master’s work” and “on the eve of 1000 anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', this work can form a special chapter in the study of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church,” then the author deserves a higher academic degree than the one for which he submitted it.

“The dissertation is a comprehensive work on the history of Orthodoxy in Estonia, it contains a wealth of church historical material, the presentation and analysis of events meet the high criteria for doctoral dissertations,” was the conclusion of the Council. On April 12, 1984, the solemn act of presenting the doctoral cross to Metropolitan Alexy of Tallinn and Estonia took place.

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At the Leningrad department

On June 29, 1986, Vladyka Alexy was appointed Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod with instructions to manage the Tallinn diocese. Thus began another era in his life.

The reign of the new bishop became a turning point for the church life of the northern capital. At first, he was faced with complete disregard for the Church by the city authorities; he was not even allowed to pay a visit to the chairman of the Leningrad City Council - the commissioner of the Council for Religious Affairs harshly stated: “This has never happened in Leningrad and cannot happen.” But a year later, this same chairman, when meeting with Metropolitan Alexy, said: “The doors of the Leningrad Council are open for you day and night.” Soon, representatives of the authorities themselves began to come to receive the ruling bishop - this is how the Soviet stereotype was broken. Since January 24, 1990, Bishop Alexy has been a member of the board of the Soviet Charity and Health Foundation; since February 8, 1990 - member of the presidium of the Leningrad Cultural Foundation.

From the Charity and Health Foundation in 1989 he was elected people's deputy of the USSR. During his administration of the St. Petersburg diocese, Vladyka Alexy managed to do a lot: the chapel of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg at the Smolensk cemetery and the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka were restored and consecrated.

During the tenure of His Holiness the Patriarch as Metropolitan of Leningrad, the canonization of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg took place, shrines, temples and monasteries began to be returned to the Church, in particular, the holy relics of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Venerable Zosima, Savvaty and Herman of Solovetsky were returned.

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International activities

During all the years of his episcopal service, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy took an active part in the activities of many international organizations and conferences.

As part of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, he participated in the work of the III Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New Delhi (1961); elected member of the Central Committee of the WCC (1961-1968); was president of the World Conference on Church and Society (Geneva, Switzerland, 1966); member of the “Faith and Order” commission of the WCC (1964-1968).

As the head of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, he participated in theological interviews with the delegation of the Evangelical Church in Germany “Arnoldshain-II” (Germany, 1962), in theological interviews with the delegation of the Union of Evangelical Churches in the GDR “Zagorsk-V” (Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1984 ), in theological interviews with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in Leningrad and the Pükhtitsa Monastery (1989).

For more than a quarter of a century, Archbishop and Metropolitan Alexy devoted his works to the activities of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Since 1964, he has been one of the presidents (members of the presidium) of the CEC; At subsequent general assemblies he was re-elected president. Since 1971, Metropolitan Alexy has been vice-chairman of the Presidium and Advisory Committee of the CEC. On March 26, 1987, he was elected chairman of the Presidium and Advisory Committee of the CEC. At the VIII General Assembly of the CEC in Crete in 1979, Metropolitan Alexy was the main speaker on the topic “In the power of the Holy Spirit - to serve the world.” Since 1972, Metropolitan Alexy has been a member of the Joint Committee of the CEC and the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe (SECE) of the Roman Catholic Church. On May 15-21, 1989 in Basel, Switzerland, Metropolitan Alexy co-chaired the 1st European Ecumenical Assembly on the theme “Peace and Justice”, organized by CEC and SECE. In September 1992, at the X General Assembly of the CEC, the term of office of Patriarch Alexy II as chairman of the CEC expired. His Holiness spoke at the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz (Austria) in 1997.

Metropolitan Alexy was the initiator and chairman of four seminars of the Churches of the Soviet Union - members of the CEC and Churches supporting cooperation with this regional Christian organization. Seminars were held at the Assumption Pyukhtitsa Convent in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1989.

Metropolitan Alexy took an active part in the work of international and domestic peacekeeping public organizations. Since 1963 - member of the board of the Soviet Peace Foundation, participant in the founding meeting of the Rodina society, at which he was elected a member of the society’s council on December 15, 1975; re-elected on May 27, 1981 and December 10, 1987.

On October 24, 1980, at the V All-Union Conference of the Society of Soviet-Indian Friendship, he was elected vice-president of this Society.

On March 11, 1989, he was elected a member of the board of the Foundation of Slavic Literature and Slavic Cultures.

Delegate to the World Christian Conference “Life and Peace” (April 20-24, 1983, Uppsala, Sweden). Elected at this conference one of its presidents.

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Patriarchal ministry (June 10, 1990 - December 5, 2008)

It was up to the future High Hierarch in his Patriarchal service to revive church life on an all-Russian scale.

On May 3, 1990, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen reposed in the Lord. An extraordinary Local Council was convened to elect a new Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. On June 7, 1990, the bell of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra announced the election of the fifteenth All-Russian Patriarch. The enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy took place on June 10, 1990 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow.

The return of the Church to broad public service is largely the merit of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. Truly providential events followed one after another: the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, their solemn transfer to Diveevo, when, according to the prediction of the saint, Easter was sung in the middle of summer; the discovery of the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod and their return to Belgorod, the discovery of the relics of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and their solemn transfer to the Great Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery, the discovery in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra of the relics of St. Philaret of Moscow and St. Maxim the Greek, the discovery of the incorruptible relics of St. Alexander of Svir.

These miraculous discoveries indicate that a new, amazing period has begun in the life of our Church, and testify to God’s blessing on the ministry of Patriarch Alexy II.

As a co-chairman, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy joined the Russian Organizing Committee for preparations for the meeting of the third millennium and the celebration of the two thousandth anniversary of Christianity (1998-2000). On the initiative and with the participation of His Holiness the Patriarch, an interfaith conference “Christian faith and human enmity” was held (Moscow, 1994). His Holiness the Patriarch presided over the conference of the Christian Interfaith Advisory Committee “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Christianity on the threshold of the third millennium" (1999); Interreligious Peacemaking Forum (Moscow, 2000).

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy was the chairman of the Patriarchal Synodal Biblical Commission, the editor-in-chief of the “Orthodox Encyclopedia” and the chairman of the Supervisory and Church Scientific Councils for the publication of the “Orthodox Encyclopedia”, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Charitable Foundation for Reconciliation and Concord, and headed the Board of Trustees of the National Military Fund.

During the years of his episcopal service in the rank of Metropolitan and Patriarch, Alexy II visited many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and countries of the world, and took part in many church events. Several hundred of his articles, speeches and works on theological, church-historical, peacemaking and other topics have been published in the church and secular press in Russia and abroad. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy headed the Councils of Bishops in 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2008, and invariably presided over meetings of the Holy Synod.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy paid great attention to the training of clergy for the Russian Orthodox Church, the religious education of the laity and the spiritual and moral education of the younger generation. For this purpose, with the blessing of His Holiness, theological seminaries, theological schools, and parochial schools are being opened; structures are being created for the development of religious education and catechesis. In 1995, the organization of church life made it possible to approach the reconstruction of the missionary structure.

His Holiness paid great attention to establishing new relationships in Russia between the state and the Church. At the same time, he firmly adhered to the principle of separation between the mission of the Church and the functions of the state, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. At the same time, he believed that the soul-saving service of the Church and the service of the state to society require mutually free interaction between church, state and public institutions.

After many years of persecution and restrictions, the Church was restored to the opportunity to carry out not only catechetical, religious, educational and educational activities in society, but also to carry out charity towards the poor and the ministry of mercy in hospitals, nursing homes and places of detention.

The pastoral approach of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy relieved the tension between the institutions of the state system for the preservation of cultural monuments and the Church, which was caused by unjustified fears, narrow corporate or personal interests. His Holiness signed a number of joint documents with the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the management of individual museum complexes located on the territory of ecclesiastical, historical and spiritually significant monasteries, which resolve these problems and give the monasteries new life.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy called for close cooperation between representatives of all areas of secular and church culture. He constantly reminded of the need to revive morality and spiritual culture, to overcome artificial barriers between secular and religious culture, secular science and religion.

A number of joint documents signed by His Holiness laid the foundation for the development of cooperation of the Church with health care and social security systems, the Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, justice authorities, cultural institutions and other government agencies. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, a harmonious church system of caring for military personnel and law enforcement officers has been created.

During the political, social and economic reforms, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II constantly spoke about the priority of moral goals over all others, about the advantage of serving the good of society and the individual in political and economic activities.

Continuing the tradition of Christian peacemaking service, during the socio-political crisis in Russia in the fall of 1993, fraught with the threat of civil war, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II took upon himself the mission of pacifying political passions, inviting the parties to the conflict to negotiations and mediating on these negotiations

The Patriarch came up with many peacemaking initiatives in connection with conflicts in the Balkans, the Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation, military operations in Moldova, events in the North Caucasus, the situation in the Middle East, the military operation against Iraq, the military conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008, and so on. Further.

During the Patriarchal ministry, a large number of new dioceses were formed. Thus, many centers of spiritual and church-administrative leadership arose, located closer to the parishes and contributing to the revitalization of church life in remote regions.

As the ruling bishop of the city of Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II paid a lot of attention to the revival and development of intra-diocesan and parish life. These works in many ways became a model for the organization of diocesan and parish life in other places. Along with the tireless internal church structure, in which he constantly called for more active and responsible participation of all members of the Church without exception on a truly conciliar basis, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church paid great attention to the issues of fraternal interaction of all Orthodox Churches for the joint witnessing of the Truth of Christ to the world.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy considered cooperation between various Christian denominations for the sake of the needs of the modern world as a Christian duty and the path to fulfilling Christ’s commandment of unity. Peace and harmony in society, for which Patriarch Alexy tirelessly called, necessarily included benevolent mutual understanding and cooperation between adherents of different religions and worldviews.

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Photo album in memory of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy

Yearbook "Primate 2005"

Yearbook "Primate 2006"

Yearbook "Primate 2007"

Patriarchal throne

In 1990, Pimen died, and the Local Council met to elect a new head of the Russian Church, and there was no better candidate than Alexy. The Patriarch of All Rus' was enthroned on June 10, 1990 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. In his speech to the flock, he said that he sees his main goal as strengthening the spiritual role of the church. He believed that it was necessary to increase the number of churches, including work in places of detention, in order to give people spiritual support on the path of correction. The upcoming social changes in society had to be used by the church to strengthen its position, and Alexy understood this well.

For some time, the patriarch continued to serve as bishop of the Leningrad and Tallinn diocese. In 1999, he took over the management of the Japanese Orthodox Church. During his service, the Patriarch traveled a lot to parishes, performed services, and contributed to the construction of cathedrals. Over the years, he visited 88 dioceses, consecrated 168 churches, and received thousands of confessions.

Religion

Modernity is surprising. We even know much more about the death of Buddha than about the death of Alexy 2nd, Patriarch of All Rus'. But before Buddha, like before the stars, we are separated by great times and distances. And the Primate, our contemporary, died in the epicenter of a civilization oversaturated with CCTV cameras and metropolitan people. But he gave his soul to God in such an unusual way that to this day the public speculates who sent him to the next world - illness or a hired killer. But first things first.

The future Patriarch Alexy (Alexey Mikhailovich Ridiger) was born in 1929 in Estonia. His father was a priest, a descendant of German nobles who converted to Orthodoxy.

Since childhood, the young man himself dreamed of becoming a priest. He survived the war in Tallinn. After the war, Alexey went to study at the Theological Academy in Leningrad.

In 1950 he became a deacon, and then his career in the church developed rapidly. Already in 1968 he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.

During perestroika, Metropolitan Alexy was elected people's deputy of the USSR. He voted for the abolition of the CPSU monopoly, for the publication of the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and called for independence for the Baltic countries.

He did not support the State Emergency Committee and called for the removal of Lenin's mausoleum from Red Square. At the same time, Alexy was not a fan of the West and its values.

Patriarch Pimen died in 1990. Not only Alexy, but also Metropolitan of Kiev Philaret claimed his place. Having lost the vote of the Local Council, he returned to Ukraine and created a schismatic church there, which was recognized by Constantinople in 2022.

Alexy II was the head of the Russian church during the difficult 1990s. For his modesty, he enjoyed the respect and love of Russians. Under him, the main temple of the Russian Church, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, was restored in Moscow. It was the patriarch who approved the installation of a monument to Tsar-Liberator Alexander II on his territory.

Shortly before his death, in August 2008, the patriarch refused to support the war with Georgia and did not include Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. These lands remained under the church authority of the Georgian Patriarch Ilia II.

In 2007, under Alexy, the unification of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, a foreign Russian church that broke away from Moscow after the 1917 revolution, took place. He repeatedly expressed his distrust of the conclusion from the US military department about the authenticity of the “remains” of the Royal Family.

On December 4, he served the Liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin and a prayer service in the Donskoy Monastery, then went by car to Peredelkino. According to those around me, I felt great. His participation in the Russian People's Council was planned for December 5.

But in the 80th year of his life, Patriarch Alexy II was killed in his residence on the night of December 5th.

The doors of the patriarch's chambers were broken into at 8.30, after which the body of Alexy II was found in the bathroom. Everything was covered in blood, and there were even handprints on the walls.

TV presenter and blogger Stas Sadalsky in an interview with the Sobesednik newspaper said:

“It’s crazy to me: they killed His Holiness - and they are silent! I want to know the truth about how Alexy’s earthly life actually ended. Familiar priests and the police told me that the patriarch was found with his head broken in three places, that his gaze was fixed on the door.”

This was perceived as a scandal when applied to the patriarch. In this regard, a version was spread about the death of the Patriarch as a result of an accident. Later, the official version was a heart attack.

By the way, there was an accident. The patriarch's car and his driver actually got into an accident: a KAMAZ flew towards them in the classic way. The driver died.

Some will write in the comments: “Another nonsense from the author.” But let's look at the situation again and from a slightly different angle. Questions arise.

Why is there still no medical report on the death of Patriarch Alexy II? Why isn't it being done? We don't even know the exact time of death; All we know is that the guards broke down the door to the patriarch’s chambers at 8:30 am on December 5th. But excuse me: when did death occur: December 4th or 5th? After all, this is fundamentally important to know. Why have the films of the external and internal surveillance cameras of the patriarch’s chambers not been made public yet? Where are they? If the cameras were turned off, then this means that the crime was carefully planned and prepared in advance. Where did the nun on duty, who was constantly with him, day and night, disappear? She disappeared without a trace on December 5, 2008, and to this day no one has information about her whereabouts. Patriarch Alexy II attended the funeral service with his face covered. Very convenient to hide signs of violent death. Why did Kirill Gundyaev behave so strangely and speak wildly about the deceased in a television interview on December 6? On live television he allowed himself to make open hateful statements about the deceased. “It happens that sometimes the Lord gives the Church some kind of test for some time, when at its head there is an elderly person and practically no longer capable of governing. This is a very difficult time for the Church. His Holiness the Patriarch left, protecting our Church from this difficult time.”

For the first time in the history of Orthodoxy, the successor of the Primate, Metropolitan Kirill, spoke joyfully about the death of the head of the Orthodox Church, with undisguised satisfaction. The new patriarch had no doubt that death was not an irreparable loss, but a great success for all Orthodox Christianity.

This interview shocked the Russian people with its unprecedented cynicism, “rational” approach to the death of a person and, in essence, was the self-confession and self-exposure of the killer.

The famous ancient Roman lawyer Cassian Longinus Ravilla, while investigating the case, recommended looking for someone who might benefit from the crime.

Obviously, the one who was impudently rushing to the patriarchal white doll, no matter what, was interested in the death of the patriarch.

On December 9, 2008, more than 100 thousand people came to say goodbye to the patriarch at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. No state mourning was declared.

Public position

Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', from an early age was distinguished by a strong social position. He saw his mission not simply in serving God, but in promoting Orthodoxy. He was convinced that all Christians should unite in educational activities. Alexy believed that the church should cooperate with the authorities, although he himself experienced a lot of persecution from the Soviet regime, but after perestroika he sought to establish good relations with the country's leadership in order to jointly solve many state problems.

Of course, the patriarch always stood up for the disadvantaged, he did a lot of charity work and helped ensure that his parishioners also provided help to those in need. At the same time, Alexy repeatedly spoke out against people with non-traditional sexual orientation and warmly thanked the mayor of Moscow for banning the gay pride parade, calling homosexuality a vice that destroys the traditional norms of humanity.

ALEXI I

After the stabilization of state-church relations in 1943, the number of operating churches began to grow: in 1944, 208 churches were opened, in 1945 - 510. By the beginning. 1946 total number of Orthodox. churches, together with previously operating and newly opened ones, amounted to 10,547, including: in Ukraine - 6007, in the RSFSR - 2816, in Belarus - 621, in Moldova - 582, in the Baltic states - 343; in 1958 there were already 13,414 churches operating. There was a sharp increase in the number of worshipers in churches. Old dioceses were revived and new ones were established, by the beginning. In 1958, there were 73 dioceses in the Russian Orthodox Church. The number of bishops is from 61 people. in 1946 it increased to 73 - in 1958. In total, in 1945-1971. 129 episcopal consecrations were performed, of which 59 were headed by the Patriarch. The number of parish clergy also increased: from 9254 people. in 1946 to 12288 - to the beginning. 1958 In 1948, to provide for the clergy and other church workers who were retired due to old age and illness, the Synod established a Pension Committee, its funds were made up of pension contributions from the dioceses. The financial position of the Church improved: in 1948, the turnover of church funds amounted to 180 million rubles, in 1957 - 667 million rubles.

Patriarchal service in the Cathedral of the Epiphany. 1946 Moscow Patriarchal service in the Cathedral of the Epiphany. 1946 Moscow

On July 16, 1947, at the request of A., the relics of the holy Vilna martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius were transferred from the museum storage to the Patriarchal Epiphany Cathedral, and in the same year, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, they were transferred to Vilnius. In 1947, the 800th anniversary of Moscow was solemnly celebrated. In commemoration of this date, also at the request of A., from the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin on the day of the church celebration of the anniversary - October 18. The relics of St. were transferred to the Epiphany Cathedral. Moskovsky Alexy. In the next decade, at the request of the Patriarch and the ruling bishops in the Orthodox Church. In some cases, holy relics, miraculous icons and other shrines were returned from the museum storerooms.

The restoration of monastic life began. Through the efforts of A. TSL was transferred to the Church. On the Easter days of 1946, after a 25-year break, services were resumed there, and the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. A. himself drew up a charter for the brethren of the monastery, and he cared about the organization of the monastery until his death. At the same time, restoration work began in the monastery, which continued throughout the Patriarchate of A. The total number of mon-rays in 1946 reached 75, by the beginning. In 1958 there were 69 of them.

In 1946, on the feast of the Annunciation, A. addressed a message to the rectors of Moscow churches about the basics of performing divine services. He sharply condemned “the performance of church hymns in the shrill tone of secular romances or passionate operatic arias,” drawing attention to the fact that the “concerts” characteristic of that time were very far from the “congregational prayer of the people of God” that should be offered in the church. And in subsequent times, issues of liturgical regulations and church singing were always important for A.

The restoration of religious educational institutions, which began during the period of Locum Tenens A., continued. Contemporaries noted the special love and attention of His Holiness the Patriarch to theological schools. All of A.'s addresses to students were serious theological teachings - not of an abstract nature, but addressed to the most pressing spiritual problems, which was characteristic of St. Filaret (Drozdova). An example of theology in teaching is A.’s speech in the LDA on December 6. 1949, on the day of memory of St. blgv. book Alexander Nevsky: “The Orthodox people are tired of searching for true good spiritual shepherds. We believe that there are many of them even now, but not nearly as many as the Orthodox Russian people would like and how many of them are needed for the good and prosperity of our Orthodox Church. Therefore, praying here together with those who will eventually be shepherds, who are now preparing to be shepherds, the Russian people look at them with special love as the future hope of the Church, as future shepherds, alien to the temptation that in recent times has been like a hurricane , broke into our Church and to which, unfortunately, many, many pastors were involved. The Orthodox Russian people very subtly know how to recognize and appreciate a true shepherd. He is not seduced or misled by the precious stones that shine on the mitres and crosses of many today's priests; he wants to see the radiance of the shepherd's soul, he wants to see the shepherd - a man of high spiritual merit; the Russian people want to see a shepherd-father who attaches his love to the needs of his flock; he goes to the priest and expects to hear from him the word of salvation: how to save his soul, how to direct his life in order to attract the grace of the Lord, how to overcome life’s difficulties, how to cope with his sorrows, illnesses, how to protect himself from the falls of sin. This is what he wants to receive from the shepherd. He does not believe the loud words of another pastor-preacher, words in which the voice of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers is not heard, but in which the earthly words of earthly artists of words are abundantly scattered. The speeches of such preachers do not penetrate the heart of a Russian Orthodox person. He seeks from the shepherd an explanation of the word of God, waits for him to show him in his sermon the path along which he should go; and then his heart opens to such a shepherd” (quoted from: NKS. M., 1997. T. 1. P. 719-720). At the request of the Patriarch to the beginning. In 1958, 2 DA and 8 DS were opened and operated in the Soviet Union.

In 1942, after a 24-year break, the publication of church literature was resumed. The 2nd edition was published in the Patriarchate of A. Bible (1956, 1968), New Testament (1956), Typicon (1954), 2nd ed. Prayer Book (1955, 1970), Trebnik (1956), Service Book (1958), General Menaion (1962), Festive Menaion (1970), Octoechos (1962-1964, 2 hours), Book of Hours (1964), Psalter followed (1954) , annual liturgical instructions (1948-1957). Published: the monthly organ of the Russian Orthodox Church - ZhMP (since 1943), the yearbook BT (since 1959), the magazines "Orthodox Bulletin" (in Ukrainian, Kiev, since 1946), "Bulletin of the East Asian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate" (Harbin, since 1947) , “Bulletin of the Orthodox Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate in Czechoslovakia” (Prague, 1948-1951), “Bulletin of the Russian Western European Patriarchal Exarchate” (in Russian and French, Paris, since 1950), “Bulletin of Orthodoxy” (Rotterdam, since 1951 ), “Stimme der Orthodoxie” (Voice of Orthodoxy, in German, Berlin, since 1952). “Egyházy krónika” (Church Chronicle, in Hungarian, Budapest, since 1953). 4 volumes of “Words, Speeches, Messages, Appeals” by A. (1948-1963), books were published: “The Russian Orthodox Church and the Great Patriotic War” (1943), “The Spiritual Heritage of Patriarch Sergius” (1947), “Acts of the Conference of Heads and representatives of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches" (2 volumes, in Russian and French, 1949), "The Russian Orthodox Church: Structure, position, activity" (1958), "Words and Speeches" by Met. Krutitsky and Kolomensky Nikolai (4 volumes, 1947-1957), etc.

The years of the Patriarchate of Armenia became a time of persistent efforts by the hierarchy to heal internal and external schisms in the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1943, after the election of Metropolitan. Sergius as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', the collapse of renovationist communities began, renovationist bishops and parishes with their priests returned to the Patriarchal Church. In 1944-1945 this process has become irreversible. Only his cathedral remained under the jurisdiction of the renovationist “Metropolitan” A. Vvedensky - the Church of St. Pimen the Great in Moscow. In the summer of 1945, Vvedensky turned to His Holiness the Patriarch with a request to accept him into the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church with the rank of presbyter, as he was before the schism he caused. A. suggested that Vvedensky return to the Orthodox Church. The Church has the dignity of a layman, Vvedensky refused this. After the death of Vvedensky on August 8. 1946 Renovationism ceased to exist.

Many of those who separated from the Moscow Patriarchate after the publication of the “Declaration” of 1927 returned under the omophorion of His Holiness the Patriarch. In particular, Bishop. Afanasy (Sakharov), who had especially high authority among the surviving “non-rememberers,” i.e., bishops and priests who did not raise the name of the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan during divine services. Sergius. The election of A. Patriarch at the Local Council and the collapse of renovationism showed the groundlessness of the oppositionists’ fears that the end result of the activities of Metropolitan. Sergius will replace the Patriarchal administration with a synodal one and an alliance with the renovationists. A.'s spiritual authority and ability to unite the clergy and believers around himself in extremely difficult conditions convinced that there was no other path for the Church except that laid out by the Patriarchate. In the post-war years, only a few of the former “non-rememberers” remained in separation from the Church. small underground communities that called themselves “true Orthodox Christians”, ch. arr. in the Voronezh and Tambov dioceses, in the North. Caucasus and Kazakhstan, as well as individual clergy. Among those remaining in the opposition, a spirit of sectarian isolation prevailed.

Of particular importance in the 40s. had the ordering of internal church life in the territories annexed to the USSR in 1939-1940, as well as in the occupied territories. troops in the territories - in the Baltic states, Moldova, Western. Ukraine, Western Belarus. In March 1945, A. was entrusted to the archbishop. Pskovsky and Porkhovsky Grigory (Chukov) removal of schism, in a cut from August. 1941 there were members of the Synod of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church and a group of est. and Russian parishes with their clergy, who declared themselves a second time during it. occupation under the jurisdiction of the K-Polish Patriarchate. March 6, Archbishop. Gregory, in the St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn, accepted the repentance of those in schism and restored the church unity of the Estonian diocese.

Soon after his election to the Patriarchal throne, A. turned to the shepherds and flock of the Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church who lived in the west. regions of Ukraine with a call to return to the Mother - the Russian Church. In 3 zp. regions of Ukraine - Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil (historical Galicia), included in November. 1939 to the Soviet Union, most of the population belonged to the Greek Catholics. Churches. The Galicians, for the most part, have been within the Catholic borders for centuries. state, preserved, passing on from generation to generation, love for our great-grandfather Russia and for the Mother - the Russian Church. Throughout his life, Archpriest was an ardent supporter of Orthodoxy. Gabriel Kostelnik, a gifted shepherd, an excellent preacher and theologian. In May 1945, Prot. Gabriel Kostelnik, rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Lvov, created an initiative group for the reunification of Greek Catholics. Churches with the Russian Orthodox Church. His first assistants were the vicar general of the Przemysl diocese, Fr. Mikhail Melnik and the dean of the Gusyatinsky deanery (deanery) of the Stanislav diocese, St. Anthony Pelvetsky. The activities of the initiative group were supported by the Patriarch and government bodies. authorities. March 8 and 9, 1946 in the Cathedral of St. Yura (George), a Council of the Uniate Church was held in Lvov (see Lvov Council), which decided to “cancel the decisions of the Brest Council of 1596, abolish the union... and return to our fatherly holy Orthodox faith.” 5 Apr. 1946 A. received in Moscow a delegation of participants in the Council headed by Archpriest. Gabriel Kostelnik, whom he elevated to the rank of protopresbyter. His Holiness the Patriarch served with the arriving clergy at the Patriarchal Epiphany Cathedral. Aug 28 1949 in Uzhgorod there was a reunification with the Mother - the Russian Orthodox Church of the Uniates of Transcarpathia. In 1945-1949 more than 3 thousand Uniate parishes in Ukraine returned to the fold of St. Orthodoxy.

After the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War, the authority of the Soviet state and the Russian Church in the international arena was unusually high. The consequence of this was the reunification of many Orthodox Christians. dioceses and parishes of Russia. diaspora with the Russian Church. Concern for the restoration of church unity in Russia. the diaspora was one of the main tasks of the Patriarch throughout his First Hierarchal ministry. Aug 10 1945 His Holiness the Patriarch addressed a message to the archpastors and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR), calling on them to return to the saving bosom of the Mother Church. With the blessing of A. Aug. 24 - Sept. 5. 1945 Meetings of Metropolitan took place in Paris. Nikolai Krutitsky with Metropolitan, who has been under the jurisdiction of the K-Polish Patriarch since 1931. Eulogius (Georgievsky). Metropolitan Eulogius, who headed a church district with 75 parishes in France and other Western countries. Europe and North Africa, returned to the bosom of the Mother Church. At the same time, the same decision was made by Metropolitan, who was in Paris. Seraphim (Lukyanov), who at that time headed the Western European diocese of the ROCOR, which included 30 parishes. Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at its meeting on September 7. 1945 according to the report of Metropolitan. Nicholas approved these reunions.

In July 1945, the hierarch of the ROCOR, Metropolitan. Harbin Meletius (Zborovsky), archbishop. Demetrius (Voznesensky) of Hailar and Bishop. Yuvenaly (Killin) of Tsitsikar sent a telegram to A. with a request to accept them into his Primate care. 26 Oct - 14 Nov Bishop was in Harbin. Rostov and Taganrog Eleutherius (Vorontsov), who reunited the hierarchs with the Russian Orthodox Church. The archbishop was also reunited. Kamchatka Nestor (Anisimov), who was not part of the ROCOR episcopate, but was not in communion with the Patriarchal Church. During the same period, Archbishop returned from ROCOR to the fence of the Mother Church. Chinese and Beijing Victor (Svyatin), head of the 20th Russian Spiritual Mission in China, and with him the composition of this mission.

In the 1st half. Oct. In 1945, with the blessing of A., a church delegation consisting of Protopr. Nikolai Kolchitsky, rector of the Epiphany Cathedral and manager of the affairs of St. Synod, and the dean of Moscow, Archpriest. Theodore of Kazan. They reunited with the Russian Orthodox Church the parishes of Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden and Leipzig, which were previously part of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. These acts were crowned with prayer by the archbishop. Alexander (Nemolovsky) of Brussels and Belgium, already reunited by his immediate senior hierarch, Metropolitan. Eulogiem in Paris in Aug. the same year.

In the 2nd half. 1945 The Patriarch sent Archbishop to the USA. Yaroslavl and Rostov Alexy (Sergeev) with instructions to begin a discussion with the Archbishop of San Francisco, Metropolitan. throughout America and Canada, Theophilus (Pashkovsky), who headed the Metropolitan District in America, the question of renewing the canonical connection with the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Although this meeting was not successful, like the subsequent one, in July 1947, a visit to the Metropolitan District on behalf of A. Metropolitan. Leningrad and Novgorod Grigory (Chukov), yet these visits and meetings were not in vain. Gradually, the process of negotiations became more and more constructive and ultimately led to the signing by His Holiness the Patriarch of the tomos on the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America on April 10. 1970 This event occurred a week before the death of the Primate of the Russian Church.

On Nov. In 1948, the government of the State of Israel, proclaimed in May of the same year, transferred into the possession of the Russian Orthodox Church part of the real estate of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, from the 20s. under the jurisdiction of the ROCOR. A. sent Archimandrite to Jerusalem to accept the mission’s property. Leonid (Lobachev), appointed head of the mission, and Moscow prot. Vladimir Elkhovsky, appointed member of the mission. The mission's possessions, located in territory controlled by Jordan, remained under the control of the ROCOR.

Patriarchal service in the Cathedral of the Epiphany. 60s XX century Moscow

Patriarchal service in the Cathedral of the Epiphany. 60s XX century Moscow

4 Apr. 1946 at the suggestion of A. Priest. The Synod established the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), whose tasks were to communicate with the highest church authorities with the institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church outside the USSR, to maintain and develop fraternal relations with local Churches and non-Orthodox Churches and religions. associations, connections with non-Christian figures. religions on issues of interest, relationships with interchrists. and interstate org-tions. Metropolitan became the DECR chairman. Nikolai (Yarushevich), on June 21, 1960, Nikodim (Rotov) was appointed to this post, and was soon consecrated Bishop of Podolsk.

During the second period of the Patriarchate of A., after the start in 1958 of Adm. and economic repression by the state, the situation of the Church became extremely difficult: the number of churches in 1958-1964. decreased by almost half: from 13,324 to 7,873, and the number of serving priests and deacons decreased accordingly: by 1961, only 8,252 priests and 809 deacons remained. The number of theological educational institutions decreased from 10 to 5 (5 seminaries: Stavropol, Saratov, Kiev, Lutsk, Zhirovitsk were closed), and enrollment in theological seminaries decreased. Churches were closed across the country under various pretexts. In the Kirov diocese, out of 75 Orthodox. the parishes that existed in 1959 remained by 1964 only 35; 7 wooden churches were dismantled, one stone church in the cathedral city was blown up, in the remaining 32 liturgical books and icons were burned, the churches themselves were destroyed to the ground. In the Moscow diocese in 1959-1963. More than half of the churches were closed. Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova were especially hard hit. In the Dnepropetrovsk diocese in 1959 there were 285 parishes, and by 1961 only 49 remained. In Kyiv, St. Andrew's Cathedral was taken away from the Church.

The number of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church decreased, and many dioceses began to be governed by bishops who occupied neighboring sees. This fate befell the Novgorod, Ulyanovsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy, and Donetsk dioceses. Number of mon-rays in 1958-1964 decreased from 69 to 16, the number of monastics decreased from 3 thousand to approximately 1.5 thousand. A particularly severe blow for the Church was the closure in 1963 of the ancient shrine of Rus' - the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The Lavra was temporarily closed for repairs, but restoration did not begin; the temples and caves found themselves in a dangerous state just after the cessation of services there and the departure of the monks. An attempt was made to close the Pochaev Dormition Lavra, but the inhabitants, led by the rector, Archimandrite. Sebastian managed to defend it.

The decision taken under government pressure had a negative impact on church life. authorities at the Council of Bishops on July 18-19, 1961, the decision to amend Section IV of the “Regulations on the Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church”, in accordance with which the management of the economic and financial life of the parish was to be carried out by the executive body of the parish community of believers, while the rector and other priests of the parish were entrusted only with the spiritual leadership of the parishioners (ZhMP. 1961. No. 8. pp. 9-11, 15-17). The removal of abbots and clergy from administrative and economic matters put them in a false position, made it difficult to provide spiritual care to the flock, and gave rise to conflict situations between the clergy and elders who received greater rights, the candidacies of which were often determined by local commissioners. In the summer of 1965, Archbishop. Ermogen (Golubev) of Kaluga drew up a draft petition addressed to His Holiness the Patriarch with a proposal to amend the edition of the “Regulations on the Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church”, which was adopted by the Council of Bishops. This project proposed introducing parish rectors into the parish assembly (the “twenty”) and the parish council as chairman. The document, signed in addition to the archbishop. Hermogenes still a few. bishops, was transferred to A. on June 23-24, during his stay in Odessa. However, the Patriarch, taking into account the real situation of the Church, did not consider it possible to follow the recommendations contained in the petition. The Council of Bishops in 1961 supported and accepted the recommendation of His Holiness the Patriarch to increase the number of permanent members of the Synod by 2 hierarchs.

After the cessation of direct repression, the Church felt their severe consequences for a long time: the possibilities for opening new parishes in cities, the population of which was growing rapidly, remained extremely difficult, at the same time, due to the massive outflow of the rural population to the cities, some rural parishes They lost parishioners and closed. For the 2nd half. 60s number of Orthodox parishes decreased from 7523 in 1966 to 7274 in 1971. However, the Church slowly overcame the consequences of Khrushchev’s church policies. All R. 60s The composition of the episcopate changed dramatically: the number of bishops born in the 19th century decreased. and consecrated during the pre-war and war years. They were replaced by bishops born in the twentieth century. and consecrated in the post-war years. One of A.'s closest assistants during these years was Metropolitan. Tallinn and Estonian Alexy (Ridiger) (since 1990 Patriarch Alexy II), who became in December. 1964 permanent member of the Priest. Synod and manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Church and social transformations under the patriarch

Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', began his activities in office by informing the current government of the country about the critical state of the church. He did a lot to increase the role of the church in the country’s politics; he, along with the top officials of the state, made visits to memorial and ceremonial events. Alexy did a lot to ensure that church power was concentrated in the hands of the Council of Bishops, reducing democratization in the structure of the church. At the same time, he contributed to increasing the autonomy of individual regions outside the Russian Federation.

After the death of Prince of Moscow Ivan II

After the death of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan II the Red, Alexy of Moscow took his young son Dmitry (the future Donskoy) under his wing. Having become the de facto ruler of Rus', he constantly resolved disputes among the appanage princes, trying to unite them among themselves.

Around the same time, power changed in the Horde. Janibek was killed by his own son, who demanded that the Russian princes increase the amount of tribute collected. And then Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow again went to the Horde, to Taidula. At his request, she undertook - and quite successfully - to persuade her son to change his anger to mercy.

In Moscow, the bishop was greeted with honors, and the young Prince Dmitry exclaimed:

“O lord! You have given us a peaceful life, how can we express our gratitude to you?”

Merits of the Patriarch

Alexy, Patriarch of All Rus', did a lot for the Russian Orthodox Church; first of all, thanks to him, the church returned to broad public service. It was he who contributed to the fact that today Russian churches are full of parishioners, that religion has again become a familiar element of the life of Russians. He was also able to keep the churches of states that became independent as a result of the collapse of the USSR under Russian jurisdiction. His activities as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' had a significant impact on the development of Orthodoxy and on increasing its significance in the world. Alexy was the chairman of the meconfessional committee “Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today and Forever.” In 2007, as a result of his efforts, the “Act on Canonical Communion” was signed, which meant the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Church abroad. Alexy was able to restore the widespread practice of religious processions; he contributes to the discovery of the relics of many saints, in particular Seraphim of Sarov, Maxim the Greek, Alexander Svirsky. He doubled the number of dioceses in Russia, the number of parishes almost tripled, the number of churches in Moscow increased more than 40 times; if before perestroika there were only 22 monasteries in the country, by 2008 there were already 804. The patriarch attached great importance to church education, it significantly increased the number of educational institutions at all levels in the country, and also had a positive impact on training programs, which became close to world standards.

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Horrible death

02.11.2002, Agency of Russian Information (ARI). At the beginning of the week, Russian media reported a very important message: on Monday, October 28, Patriarch of All Rus' Alexy II suffered a “heart attack.”

The Patriarch became ill during an archpastoral trip to the Astrakhan diocese. Doctors suspected a hypertensive crisis and a mini-stroke. They managed to provide him with qualified assistance, and on Tuesday, the 29th, the patient was transported to Moscow, to the Central Clinical Hospital.

Media representatives immediately connected the Patriarch’s illness with the experiences of the latest tragedy in Moscow. However, few people know what really caused the blow. To be honest, no one heard any special experiences, speeches or appeals to the people - neither the Patriarch nor his referents in these truly terrible days for Russia.

Apparently the spiritual leader did not want to participate in such a dirty business. Or maybe he deliberately “eluded himself”: God forbid he interfere with the “main thing”. This is understandable. But now our Alexy has gathered, as they say, out of duty and in connection with direct responsibilities - to serve a memorial service for those killed by the same “chiefs” on Dubrovka. It was in Astrakhan. And suddenly…

Information about what actually happened to the Patriarch at that moment came from a confidential source close to Alexy. We hope that this information will shed light on the true causes of the sudden illness.

It was not possible to serve or even begin the memorial service: the Patriarch lost consciousness and was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. It was this fact that later forced us to talk about supposedly “strong experiences” before the sudden illness. Is that true?

In fact, who among those who know the first hierarch will believe the official version? Let us remember his legendary composure. Let's remember the days when the White House was shot up. In 1993, Riediger suffered the tragedy with strange calm, if not indifference. And he always lived with other, no less dramatic events of our time with icy serenity.

This time, according to our source, the true cause of the attack was “a certain vision” that visited and shocked the Patriarch.

He confessed to several people from his inner circle what Alexy saw in the altar of the temple, immediately after the vision and several hours before his health began to deteriorate sharply. Moreover, what struck the Patriarch most of all was the supernatural fact itself, for, according to the source, Alexy, despite his high church rank, perceives religion more as a tradition and ritual than actually believes in anything.

However, he described the vision in detail. In it, a certain handsome old man unexpectedly appeared to him, with a staff, in monastic attire, calling himself Abbot Theodosius of Pechersk. As you know, this is the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, who lived in the 11th century and stood at the origins of Orthodoxy in Rus'. During his lifetime, he was revered by believers as a miracle worker, and after his death he was recognized as a saint.

Saint Theodosius stood directly in front of the patriarch. There was no anger in his bright, piercing eyes, but a cruel reproach was noticeable. Alexy conveyed verbatim what he heard from the elder abbot.

“You and many of your brothers have fallen away from God and fallen to the devil,” the saint said sternly. – And the rulers of Rus' are not rulers, but crooks. And the church condones them. And you should not stand at the right hand of Christ. Fiery torment awaits you, gnashing of teeth, endless suffering, until you come to your senses, damned ones. The mercy of our Lord is limitless, but the path to salvation through the atonement of your countless sins is too long for you. And the hour of answer is near.”

After these words, the vision disappeared, leaving Riediger completely numb, who had never experienced anything like this, moreover, he was skeptical about reports of all kinds of miracles.

Soon after that, the patriarch became ill. Those who provided first aid to him claim that the patient barely whispered: “It can’t be, it can’t be!”... The official diagnosis that was made in the hospital sounded like this: “hypertensive crisis with elements of dynamic cerebrovascular accident.”

At the moment of critical deterioration, when they were already prepared for the worst, Alexy again spoke about the vision, being in a state of extreme depression.

According to the source, later, having come to his senses a little and perked up, the Patriarch stated that “most likely he was hallucinating.” However, the fact that he had previously told several people about the appearance of Theodosius clearly indicated that the confused Alexy was trying to find support in a moment of deep spiritual stupor, if not horror. For the first time in his life, he was plunged into such a state by the formidable words of Saint Theodosius.

According to the source: “the patriarch will never dare to tell anyone else about the vision. However, the words that it was Theodosius of Pechersk, a half-forgotten saint of the Russian Orthodox Church and other details, as well as the shock that the Patriarch experienced, indicate that such a fact existed.”

Let us pay attention to the fact that the saint spoke about the Church’s “indulgence” in the sins of the modern rulers of Rus', whom he calls “creepers.” In other words, we are talking about the close connection between state and church authorities in Russia. Let us also note that the very fate of Riediger is mystically connected with the current political system. He was elevated to the rank of Patriarch at the end of perestroika, when the outlines of modern absurd Russia were already taking shape, when the main “subversive” Boris Yeltsin was already fully declaring his claims to supreme power.

The patriarch lived with the regime, rose with its approval, and in its most shaky moments acted as its support. This is exactly what happened, for example, in the early autumn of 1993, when power seemed to be hanging on by a thread. Isn’t the patriarch’s current illness connected with another shaky period for Putin’s political system? After all, the Patriarch is only her obedient cog.

It seems that the connection between church and state is indeed mystical in nature, but is it from God?!

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Why does he die like this?

One of the reasons: In November 1991, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, during his visit to the United States, visited the New York synagogue, presented the rabbis with a certain gift and gave a speech to them:

"Your prophets are our prophets." Speech by Patriarch Alexy II, delivered in New York at a meeting with rabbis (11/13/1991) “Your prophets are our prophets.” Speech by Patriarch Alexy II, delivered in New York at a meeting with rabbis (11/13/1991)

Dear brothers, shalom to you in the name of the God of love and peace! God. our fathers, who revealed Himself to His saint Moses in the Burning Bush, in the flame of a burning thorn bush, and said: “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” He is the Real God and Father of all, and we are all brothers, for we are all children of his Old Testament at Sinai, which in the New Testament, as we Christians believe, is renewed by Christ. These two covenants are two stages of the same theanthropic religion, two moments of the same theanthropic process. In this process of establishing the Covenant of God with man, Israel became the chosen people of God, to whom the laws and prophets were entrusted. And through him, the incarnate Son of God received His “humanity” from the Most Pure Virgin Mary. “This blood relationship is not interrupted and does not cease even after the Nativity of Christ... And therefore we, Christians, must feel and experience this relationship as a touch to the incomprehensible mystery of God’s vision.” This was expressed very well by the outstanding hierarch and theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nikanor (Brovkovich) of Kherson and Odessa in a sermon delivered in Odessa more than a hundred years ago.

The main idea of ​​this sermon is the close relationship between the Old Testament and New Testament religions. The unity of Judaism and Christianity has a real basis of spiritual and natural kinship and positive religious processes. We are united with the Jews, without renouncing Christianity, not in spite of Christianity, but in the name and power of Christianity, and the Jews are united with us not in spite of Judaism, but in the name and power of true Judaism. We are separated from the Jews because we are not yet fully Christians, and the Jews are separated from us because they are “not fully Jews.” For the fullness of Christianity also includes Judaism, and the fullness of Judaism is Christianity.

Archbishop Nikolai (Ziorov) addressed the Jews in the same spirit at the beginning of our century. “The Jewish people are close to us in faith. Your law is our law, your prophets are our prophets. The Ten Commandments of Moses bind Christians as well as Jews. We wish to live with you always in peace and harmony, so that there are no misunderstandings, enmity and hatred between us.”

Unfortunately, today, in difficult times for our society, anti-Semitic sentiments appear quite often in our lives. These sentiments, widespread among extreme extremists, right-wing chauvinist groups, have a breeding ground; a general crisis, the growth of national isolation... The task of the Russian Church is to help our people overcome the threat of isolation, ethnic hostility, and narrowly egoistic national chauvinism. In this difficult, but difficult task for all of us, we hope for the understanding and help of our Jewish brothers and sisters. By joint efforts we will build a new society - democratic, free, open, from which no one would ever want to leave and where Jews would live confidently and calmly, in an atmosphere of friendship, creative cooperation and brotherhood of the children of one God - the Father of all, the God of your fathers and ours .

On the iconostasis of our Russian church in Jerusalem are inscribed the words of the psalmist: “Ask peace for Jerusalem.” This is now what we all need - both yours and our people, and other nations, for just as our God is one Father of all people, so the world - Sholom - is from Him, one and indivisible for all HIS children.

Moscow news. 26.1.1992

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What prompted the Patriarch and the DECR officials developing church policy to take this step? One can only guess about this. To be fair, we should not forget what time it was – 1991.

After Russia gained independence from itself in June 1991, the catastrophic collapse of a great power, long in the making, occurred in August 1991. The general collapse, the disintegration of all state structures that had previously seemed unshakable was so rapid that it caused a complete loss of orientation among the masses of people.

What happened, in the words of Boris Yeltsin, was a “Russian-American revolution” or “a revolution with the face of Rostropovich.” Millions of Russian people suddenly found themselves foreigners in the “near abroad.” The economy of the crumbling country lay in paralysis, and a general plunder was looming. In Moscow, the “triumph of the winners” was cynically disgusting. Seized by a democratic frenzy, crowds of thousands of people were deafened by street rock concerts “on the ruins of the empire” and the loud speeches of the then “fathers of democracy” now hidden in the corners: Rutsky and Khasbulatov, Popov and Burbulis, the omnipresent Judaizer Gleb Yakunin. The Patriarch had to participate in the hours-long theatrical funeral of the three killed in street riots, whom Gorbachev, “liberated” from the Crimean dacha, were the last in Soviet history to posthumously honor with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The smell of possible repression was clearly felt in the air. On television they shouted so often about the inadmissibility of “witch hunts” that it seemed like an incitement. Gleb Yakunin and his comrades organized a search among the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church for “KGB agents,” preparing a “democratic revolution” in the church. “Specialists on democracy, fascism and Orthodoxy” with non-Russian names and faces held “forums” and “round tables” where the spirit of political denunciation reigned. The “feast of the winners” was approaching - Hanukkah celebrations in the Kremlin, held with defiant rejoicing and dancing. Hasidim who arrived from abroad rushed to the Central State Library, trying to seize the ancient Jewish religious manuscripts located there. Behind everything one could feel the hand of a behind-the-scenes director, who, in an atmosphere of general chaos, was also preparing a pogrom of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Perhaps the Patriarch, as a politician, saw in his speech to the American rabbis a certain “political move” aimed at “saving the Church.” The readiness to “save the Church” at any cost, disbelief in the truth that it is not people who save the Church, but the Church who saves people is the legacy of the infamous 1927 declaration “on joys.” But the speech before the rabbis, which is not even heretical in nature, but downright apostate, cannot be compared with the “declaration” of Metropolitan. Sergius, because the “declaration” only obsequiously proclaims political loyalty to the atheistic state, but at the same time emphasizes loyalty to the Orthodox faith.

It is possible that the Patriarch, who himself had been actively involved in the “ecumenical” and “peacemaking” movements for decades, viewed this speech as another “super-ecumenical contact.” The practice of participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in ecumenism showed that heretical speeches addressed to partners in “dialogues”, with which they had to pay for trips abroad and participation in international “forums”, did not reach the ears of Orthodox Christians at home, but were intended “for export”, for external use. consumption. Apparently, this time too the publicity of the planned speech before the rabbis in Russia was not expected. But the most eloquent excerpts from the speech were published in two newspapers at once: on January 26, 1992 in Moscow News under the title “Your prophets are our prophets” and in No. 1(65) for 1992 of the Jewish Newspaper under the even more flashy headline “ We must be one with the Jews." The very nature of these publications clearly shows that a planned provocation took place, that the Patriarch was “framed.” And in this regard, the role of the “referents” who prepared the speech is especially unseemly. Rumor attributes the authorship of the sensational speech to Protopresbyter Vitaly Borovoy, who actively worked in the World Council of Churches, and now holds senior positions in the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and is surrounded by the Patriarch. This protopresbyter is also known for the fact that in the spring of 1995, at a special colloquium in Moscow dedicated to the XXX anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, he put forward a formula as bright as a poisonous mushroom, which, apparently, will decorate new textbooks of ecumenical theology: we are faithful to ecumenism because we are faithful to Christ. Even such a “leftist” newspaper as “Russian Thought” called his report sensational. Indeed, ecumenical lies have never yet been preached in such a brazen and shameless form.

Alexy even has a personal cross with a magendavid - a sign of the Jews who crucified our Lord!

rules of St. Apostle

62. If anyone from the clergy, fearing a man, a Jew, or a Greek, or a heretic, renounces the name of Christ: let him be rejected from the church.

65. If anyone from the clergy or layman enters a Jewish or heretical synagogue to pray: let him be expelled from the sacred rank and excommunicated from church communion.

70. If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or in general from the list of clergy, fasts with the Jews, or celebrates with them, or accepts from them the gifts of their holidays, such as unleavened bread or something similar: let him be cast out. If he is a layman, let him be excommunicated.

Rule 11 of the 6th Ecumenical Council reads:

None of those belonging to the sacred rank, or of the laity, should at all eat unleavened bread given by the Jews, or enter into fellowship with them, or call on them when sick, and accept medicine from them, or wash with them in baths. If anyone dares to do this, then let the cleric be deposed, and the layman be excommunicated.

Metropolitan Kirill receives a golden apple from the Rabbi of New York

On May 9, immediately after the night IAF airstrikes in Syria, Netanyahu hosts a Victory Parade.

servants of the Antichrist

Awards

Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', was awarded several times for his services by both secular and ecclesiastical authorities. He had more than 40 orders and medals of the Russian Orthodox Church, including such honorable ones as the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called with a diamond star, the Order of Grand Duke Vladimir, the Order of St. Alexis, the Medal of Dmitry of Thessalonica, the Order of Gregory the Victorious from the Georgian Orthodox Church.

The Russian government has also repeatedly noted the high merits of the patriarch with awards, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Alexy was twice awarded the state prize for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian work, and had certificates and gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation.

Alexy also had many awards from foreign countries, prizes, badges of honor and medals from public organizations.

In addition, he was an honorary citizen of more than 10 cities and was an honorary doctor of 4 universities around the world.

ALEXI II

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.

ALEXI II (Ridiger Alexey Mikhailovich) (23.2.1929, Tallinn - 5.12.2008, Moscow), Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (1990). Born into a Russian emigrant family. Son of a priest. From the age of 6 he served in the temple. He studied at the Leningrad Theological Seminary (1947–49) and the Academy (1949–53), where he was ordained in 1950 as a deacon, then as a priest. Appointed rector of the Epiphany Church in the city of Jõhvi in ​​Estonia. He combined parish ministry with studies at the academy. Candidate of Theology (1953). Rector of the Assumption Cathedral in Tartu (1957), archpriest (1958), dean of the Tartu-Viljandi district of the Tallinn diocese (since 1959). On March 3, 1961, in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, he took monastic vows with the name Alexy. Ordained Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia (September 3, 1961). Archbishop (23.6.1964). He combined the leadership of the diocese with the positions of: deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (from 11/14/1961), manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate (12/22/1964–7/29/1986) and a permanent member of the Synod, chairman of the Educational Committee (5/7/1965–10/16/1986). Metropolitan (2/25/1968). During the old age of Patriarch Alexy I, and later, during the serious illness of Patriarch Pimen, the burden of making independent decisions regarding church administration fell on A., as the manager of affairs.

In the 1960s–70s. A. gained authority in international church circles. In 1961, at the 3rd Assembly of the WCC in New Delhi, A. was elected a member of the Central Committee of the WCC. Took part in various interchurch, ecumenical, peacemaking forums; headed the delegations of the Russian Orthodox Church; participated in theological conferences, interviews, and dialogues. President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) (since 1964), Chairman of the Presidium and Advisory Committee of the CEC (since 1987).

Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod (29.7.1986) with retention of control of the Tallinn diocese. Achieved the return of the former Russian Orthodox Church. Ioannovsky Mon. Nar. dep. USSR (since 1989). Member Committee on International Peace Prize (since 1989).

At the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 7, 1990, he was elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' by secret ballot. Enthroned on June 10, 1990 in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. The primate ministry of A. II was marked by the normalization of relations with the state authorities of the USSR, and then the Russian Federation. During the August crisis of 1991 and the October crisis of 1993, A. II invariably acted as a peacemaker. In October 1993, negotiations between representatives of the warring parties took place in the Danilov Monastery under the chairmanship of A. II. The most important event of the patriarchate of A. II was the restoration of canonical communion between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (2007).

During the patriarchate of A. II there was a revival of church life: the number of parishes increased from 6,800 to 29,141 (2008); monasteries - from 18 to 769 (2008); theological schools - 30 times, approaching 100, more than 11,000 Sunday schools have been opened, approx. 500 Orthodox youth centers (2008). The symbol of the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church during this period was the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, carried out under his leadership.

More than 500 church-historical and theological works of A. II were published in the church and secular press in the USSR, Russia, and abroad. A serious scientific contribution to church history was the study “Essays on the History of Orthodoxy in Estonia,” for which A. II was awarded the degree of Doctor of Church History in 1984. In 2000–2008, editor-in-chief of the Orthodox Encyclopedia.

Awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian work (2006), the highest orders of the Russian Orthodox Church, other local Orthodox churches, as well as the highest state awards, including the 2nd Order of Merit for the Fatherland (1997) and 1st (2004) degrees, St. Andrew the First-Called (1999), etc., state awards of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Moldova, Estonia. The Synodal Library of the Russian Orthodox Church has been named after A. II since 2008.

He was buried in the Elokhovsky Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow.

Care and memory

On December 5, 2008, sad news spread around the world: Patriarch Alexy 2 died. The cause of death was heart failure. The patriarch had serious heart problems for several years; he even had an elevator built in his residence to take him to the second floor to help him avoid unnecessary stress. However, versions of the murder of the patriarch almost immediately appeared in the media.

But there was no evidence for these suspicions, so everything remained at the level of rumors. The people simply could not believe that such a person was gone, and therefore tried to find someone to blame for their misfortune. The Patriarch was buried in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and buried in the Epiphany Church.

People almost immediately began to wonder: will Patriarch Alexy II be canonized? There is no answer yet, since canonization is a complex and long process.

The memory of the patriarch was immortalized in the names of libraries, squares, in the form of monuments, memorial plaques, and several monuments.

LiveInternetLiveInternet

On December 4 – 5, 2008, a CRIME unprecedented in cynicism, cruelty and blasphemy was committed in Moscow: a triple murder, including the Patriarch of All Rus' Alexy II

The people of Russia have every right to know the truth about how their patriarch, who headed the Church for 18 years, ended his life.

Lord Almighty.

It started bleeding on June 15, 2004 in the village. Nizhnetroitsky, Bashkortostan.

In addition to this Icon, the following are bleeding in Russia: Derzhavinskaya (May 5, 1999, Orenburg region) and Kamyshinskaya (July 5, 2010, Volgograd region) Icons of the Almighty.

The last Service of the Patriarch in the Donskoy Monastery at the shrine of St. Tikhon.

04.12.2008

BRUTAL RITUAL MURDER. Three ministers of the Church were killed: Patriarch Alexy II, his driver, Vladimir Mikhailovich Ivanovsky, and the abbess on duty, Mother Philareta Smirnova. The driver and mother disappeared on December 5, 2008. It has been impossible to get ANY information about them for 5 years now. Mother Philareta discovered Patriarch Alexy in his chambers. The picture was terrible: there was blood on the walls, icons, floor, furniture. Patriakh was lying in the bathroom on the floor in a pool of blood with three holes in his head. After this, the abbess herself disappeared without a trace.

After analyzing the facts and carefully considering all available evidence, LUCH reconstructs the picture of the crime as follows. On December 4, 2008, on the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple and on the day of the enthronement of St. Tikhon, Patriarch Alexy II served the Liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, then a prayer service at the shrine of Patriarch Tikhon in the Donskoy Monastery. The patriarch's health was satisfactory; he was treated for arrhythmia at the end of November in Munich. His important speech at the Russian People's Council was planned for December 5th.

Upon returning to Peredelkino (possibly around 6 - 7 pm) misfortune occurred: the patriarch's car was involved in an accident. According to evidence, a KAMAZ flew into oncoming traffic. This is confirmed by a high-ranking source in the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, whose testimony is referred to by Novaya Gazeta journalist Alexei Golovinsky (see the article “The Patriarch Who Multiplied His Flock,” December 8, 2008). As a result of this accident, the driver, Vladimir Mikhailovich Ivanovsky, died. The patriarch himself remained alive, and he was taken, possibly in an ambulance or a service car, to Peredelkino.

THE CRIME IS CAREFULLY HIDDEN from the people and the world community. All external and internal surveillance tapes were seized by the FSB and have not yet been discovered or made public. All witnesses who could at least know something were destroyed, eliminated, intimidated. Not a single doctor, not a single witness spoke, did not make a single official statement, except for Kirill Gundyaev. Complete SILENCE! The complete blockade in the media of any materials on the topic of the death of the patriarch, from the very first day of his death, continues to this day. Official representatives of the MP, Vigilyansky and Kuraev, either avoid answering or outright lie, changing their testimony or claiming that they were misunderstood. To say that all this is suspicious is to say nothing; it's all wild, frighteningly wild.

What exactly happened in the patriarch’s chambers after the accident is not known for certain. However, the fact remains: Alexy II was locked up in them, his telephone was turned off, he was cut off from the world and any kind of help, and then he was killed (presumably with three shots to the head). Perhaps the killers first counted on death or the death of the pacemaker battery as a result of a road accident. But since this did not happen, the murderers broke into the chambers. In the morning at 8.30, after the patriarch did not appear for breakfast, he was found already lifeless and cold. It is not known when death occurred, since everything is classified, and the medical examination and official report on the causes of death, which were always available and always published even under the CPSU regime, apparently were not carried out at all.

It is emphasized that the patriarch “did not have a panic button.” Firstly, it’s hard to believe, since he had a pacemaker, which requires round-the-clock medical supervision; secondly, the patriarch had a cell phone, and on December 4 he called and talked with all members of the Synod. Thirdly, if they couldn’t help in time, then why wasn’t a doctor called to the deceased Patriarch of All Rus' to confirm his natural death? There is no information about calling a doctor or any medical report. And this is no longer just an oversight, but a crime that speaks of a violent death that they want to hide. In exactly the same way, without any medical examination, on January 16, 2012, Metropolitan Valentin (Rusantsov) of Suzdal and Vladimir was killed in Moscow. He also had a pacemaker installed, which was turned off by a huge electric current. He was electrocuted.

One thing only seems obvious: Patriarch Alexy II was martyred and received the crown of martyrdom. But it is precisely this fact, which is testified not only by people, not only by the “actor Sadalsky”, but also by miracles, apparitions, predictions of saints - the most important fact is hidden, actively hushed up, and by whom? figures of the same Church to which the patriarch devoted his entire life. Isn’t it important for the afterlife of the soul that the people know the truth, know about what the martyr had to go through in order to atone for many of our sins? But the Patriarchate presented the death of its first hierarch as “natural death from heart failure.” Which in the case of Alexy II is not just and not only a lie, but also the greatest blasphemy, which falls heavily on all believers, on all ministers, on all members of the Church.

KIRILL BEHAVIOR INADQUATELY. He not only looked wild (his gaze wandered, his eyes rolled back, his tongue stuck out, his speech was sometimes incoherent) and behaved, but he also spoke wildly about the deceased in a television interview on December 6. Gundyaev was clearly inadequate: either drunk, or so exhausted after some orgy that he could not control his statements. It seemed that he did not understand at all where he was and what he was doing, because he allowed open hate speech towards the deceased LIVE. This interview shocked everyone with its unprecedented cynicism, “rational” approach to the death of a person and, in essence, was the self-confession and self-exposure of the killer.

The blasphemous PERFORMANCE took place on the so-called. "funeral of the patriarch" in the ХХС. It was clearly not the patriarch who lay in the coffin. The murdered patriarch had a head and legs. The body in the coffin had neither head nor legs. The hands folded on his stomach, with swollen and dislocated phalanges, with dirt under the nails and without characteristic freckles, did not belong to the patriarch. These were the hands of another person, seriously injured and most likely engaged in physical labor during his lifetime. So, these were the hands of the driver who died in an accident. That is, the funeral service was held at the KhHS for the murdered Ivanovsky, Vladimir Mikhailovich. Berl Lazar, with all his Hasidic camarilla, pointedly did not show up for the farewell ceremony. Well, who is who, he knew exactly whom the FSB agents had put in the coffin.

MURDER. MURDER. MURDER. And to this day, banditry, vandalism, violence and murder in the so-called. “churches” controlled by the FSB continue. Dozens, hundreds of clergy have been killed in Russia. They kill entire families, set houses on fire, poison them, defrock them, drive them to death, and take children into juvenile slavery. 5 nuns of the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent were killed. They killed the ROAC priest Fr. Alexia Gorina. The Primate of the ROAC, Metropolitan Valentin Rusantsov, was also killed. They killed the priest Fr. Daniil Sysoev, a zealous denouncer of heterodox wickedness. Actor Andrei Panin was killed for criticizing the patriarchy and Kirill. How many more Orthodox people will our enemies, who have climbed to the very heights of church and state power, kill? HOW LONG?!

Warning to Alexius II from St. Theodosius of Pechersk 5 years before his Death.

This happened in the Altar of the temple in Astrakhan on October 28, 2002. The Patriarch intended to serve the Memorial Service for the Victims of Dubrovka. Many archpastors, priests, and ministers were present. There are dozens of witnesses to this event. Saint Theodosius appeared directly before the patriarch, with a staff and in the schema. There was no anger in his bright, piercing eyes, but a cruel reproach was noticeable. Alexy himself conveyed verbatim what he heard from the elder abbot. “You and many of your brothers have fallen away from God and fallen to the devil. And the rulers of Rus' are not rulers, but crooks. And the Church condones them. And you should not stand at the right hand of Christ. And fiery torment awaits you, gnashing of teeth, endless suffering, until you come to your senses, you damned ones. The mercy of our Lord is limitless, but the path to salvation through the atonement of your countless sins is too long for you, and the hour of answer is near.” The Patriarch was so shocked that he was hospitalized for several days. How he changed his life after this event, what works of repentance and mercy he began to do, only God is a witness.

In any case, Alexy II openly went against the guidelines of the FSB: he did not recognize the “found” remains of the Royal Family and did not appear at the “burial” ceremony in the Peter and Paul Fortress (1998). Did not recognize the “identification” carried out at the Pentagon (2008). Throughout Russia he glorified the Feat of the Royal Martyrs and New Martyrs of Russia. He was not afraid of threats from the Godless West and remained in the position of faith when, at the PACE session in 2007, he declared to the world government: “Technological progress raises the question of human rights in a new way. And believers have something to say on issues of bioethics, electronic identification and other areas of technology development that cause concern to many people. A person must remain a person - not a commodity, not a controlled element of electronic systems, not an object for experiments, not a semi-artificial organism. That is why science and technology also cannot be separated from the moral assessment of their aspirations and their fruits.”

Phenomenon and Ferapont of Optina to pilgrims 5 years before the death of the patriarch.

On the night of April 18, 2003, in Optina Pustyn, pilgrims from Tula had an apparition. Ferapont (Pushkarev), one of the 3 martyrs who died on Easter 1993 in Optina. It was the day of the 10th anniversary of their Podvina for Russia, for the Russian people. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Feat of the Optina Martyrs, Hieroschemamonk Vasily (Roslyakov), monk Trofim (Tatarnikov) and monk Ferapont (Pushkarev). The humble monk entered the bus in which a large group of pilgrims from Tula were resting before the Early Liturgy, filling the bus with fragrance. First, he thanked us for coming on this particular day and promised to pray for everyone. Then he talked about the Church, about the situation in Russia, about what needs to be done for Salvation. He gave the example of the ascetic, schema-nun Mother Sippora, and asked to visit her cell and grave in Klykovo (12 km from Optina). “Today, handcuffs and shackles, prisons and camps have already been prepared for all believers and the Church, Solovki have been barred, and lists have been drawn up. 2 days - and the new concentration camp is ready. But the mercy of the Queen of Heaven protects Russia,” the monk consoled. At the end of the conversation, he asked us to pray more fervently for Patriarch Alexy II, since we crucify him on the Cross, he endures attacks, he is a great martyr. “Russia will shine, will have its say in the destinies of the world, and we are destined for a good life, birth and birth”...

We demand an autopsy of the so-called. “Tomb of the Patriarch” in the Epiphany Cathedral, examination and investigation.

PUTIN, WHERE IS THE PATRIARCH GOING?!

WOULDN'T IT GO WITH A RED BEARD IN YOUR FAVORITE CLOSER?

The Putin /Mendel/Gundyaev regime is a throne on the blood and bones of the Russian people.

Icon of the Putin regime.

On May 5, 1999, when Putin began to blow up Russia and the KGB seized power again, the Icon began to flow myrrh and soon the first drops of blood appeared on the face of the Savior.

Also since 2001 in the Voronezh region. the Icon of the Valaam Mother of God (Kostomarovskaya Holy Savior Monastery) is bleeding and, since 2008, the Icon of the Royal Family in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine (Church of the Royal Martyrs).

Prayer to the Miraculous Derzhavinsky Savior.

Lord Jesus Christ, on the Cross of Calvary you endured the Crucifixion and shed your venerable Blood for the salvation of the human race in unspeakable torment, and now you are pouring out abundantly from your Icon in the village of Derzhavino in the center of the Russian Empire. We pray, O All-Merciful One, to our Redeemer, with great weeping and contrition, for our sins are innumerable, and our Savior suffers, even to the point of Blood, as a reproach and condemnation for us, but also as a Sign of Mercy, a call to repentance and correction. May the stony insensibility of our hearts be softened by the contemplation of the great terrible Mystery of Divine Passion and Thy Blood, which flows abundantly from Thy Face on the Icon.

Lord Jesus Christ! The Angels could not look at the Divine Blood that flowed on Golgotha ​​without fear and trembling: the Sun knew its west and darkened at that hour when You shed Your Blood for us on the Cross, the earth’s firmament shook like the sea, unable to bear the weight of Its drops, and The curtain of the Temple was torn. Do not let us, sinners, without trembling and trembling of all our hearts, look at this great Miracle from Your Icon in the village. Derzhavin revealed in recent times. Here we, the servants of the inexorable one, cry before Your Icon: forgive us, who crucify You, our Savior, with our sins and iniquities again and again.

May this Sign be for the faithful - in anticipation of their torment in the last times and for the application of spiritual strength, for the faint-hearted - strengthening in faith, for those who have fallen away - for return, for those who do not love Thee - for the ignition of love for God and for their neighbors, for our Russian Power - for the promise of reconciliation with God and deliverance from the heterodox yoke. As You prayed to the Father on Calvary for Your tormentors, saying: “They know not what they are doing,” so have mercy on us sinners, who crucify You with our passions and lusts, but seek forgiveness before this Icon from the heart, and give the Orthodox people the courage of our fathers, to souls understanding and Salvation, to the Russian State in the sin of apostasy from the Holy Orthodox Faith, repentance, forgiveness and deliverance from troubles. May Thy mercy be upon us, Lord Lord, Thy Almighty Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Orthodox, pray to the Almighty,

may the location of the body of the murdered Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Alexy II, martyr, be revealed to the people.

May God rise again and may His enemies be scattered!

Like smoke disappears, let them disappear!

Private life

Patriarch Alexy 2, whose cause of death was not the only reason for discussing his personality, life, and actions, was of interest to many. Many rumors circulated around his relationship with the KGB; Alexy was even called the favorite of the special services. Although there was no evidence of such suspicions.

Another question that aroused interest among ordinary people was whether the priest was married. It is known that bishops cannot have wives, since they are subject to celibacy. But before becoming a monk, many priests had families, and this was not an obstacle to their church career. Patriarch Alexy II, who had a wife during his student years, never mentioned his family experience. Researchers say that this marriage with Vera Alekseeva was absolutely formal. He was needed only to prevent the authorities from conscripting A. Ridiger for military service.

Little is known about the patriarch's private life. He loved to read and always worked hard. Alexy is the author of more than 200 books on theology. He was fluent in Estonian and German and spoke a little English. He lived and died in his favorite residence in Peredelkino, where he felt comfortable and calm.