Alexy II. Biographical information. Alexy the second

On December 5, 2008, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II reposed. For almost 20 years he was the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. On the anniversary of his departure, let us remember 7 facts about Patriarch Alexy II.

Ridiger

Patriarch Alexy II by origin was from a famous Baltic noble family. Among its representatives is Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Ridiger, statesman, general, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. The family of the grandfather of the future patriarch lived in St. Petersburg, but was forced to emigrate during the revolution. Alexy's father studied at one of the most privileged educational institutions in the capital - the Imperial School of Law. The children of hereditary nobles were raised there. But he had to complete his education in an Estonian gymnasium. Alexy II's mother, Elena Iosifovna, née Pisareva, was the daughter of a White Army colonel. He was shot by the Bolsheviks in Teriokki (Zelenogorsk). The parents of the future Patriarch got married in 1926, three years before the birth of their son.

As a boy, at the end of the 30s, Alexey visited Valaam twice - to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery on Lake Ladoga. He went there with his parents. The Patriarch has repeatedly emphasized that it was these trips that largely determined his determination in choosing the Path. For the rest of his life, he remembered his meetings with the spirit-bearing elders and inhabitants of the monastery, their openness and accessibility to every pilgrim. The Patriarch kept the letters of the Valaam elders in his personal archive. The next visit to Valaam happened half a century later. Until the end of his life, Alexy II headed the Board of Trustees for the Revival of the Transfiguration Monastery.

Epiphany water

Alyosha has been at church since childhood. His parents instilled in him a love for the church and services, although it is worth admitting that he himself showed considerable enthusiasm in his desire to join the mysteries of the church. His zeal even worried his parents. Alyosha's favorite game was to serve. However, he did not play this game, and while still a child, he did everything seriously. A happy day was the day when Alyosha was entrusted with pouring Epiphany water. This became the first obedience of the future Patriarch. He was 6 years old. Otherwise, as the Patriarch said, he was an ordinary child: he loved to play, went to kindergarten, helped his parents around the house, hoed potatoes...

Pilgrimage to Athos

The Patriarch considered Holy Mount Athos a special place for every Orthodox Christian. In 1982, Alexy made a pilgrimage there. About Athos, the Patriarch said: “Even in the most difficult years of militant atheism, the Russian people knew that their fellow Svyatogorsk residents, together with the entire Athos brotherhood, sympathized with their suffering and asked for strength and strength.”

The Patriarch’s main worldly hobby since childhood was “silent hunting.” Alexy collected mushrooms in Estonia, Russia and Switzerland. The patriarch eagerly talked about his hobby and even shared a recipe for salted saffron milk caps. It is ideal to collect saffron milk caps in dry weather and not wash them. But mushrooms are most often found in sand, so you will have to rinse with cold water, then let it all drain, if possible. But if the saffron milk caps are made from moss, then you don’t have to wash them, just wipe them with a clean cloth and that’s it. Then place them in a bucket, caps down. Definitely in rows. Salt each row. Cover everything with a clean rag, and on top with a large plate or lid and press down with pressure.

Little brothers

Alexy II treated “our smaller brothers” with great warmth. He always had pets. Mostly dogs. In childhood - terrier Johnny, Newfoundland Soldan, mongrel Tuzik. Many pets lived at the Patriarch’s dacha in Peredelkino. 5 dogs (Chizhik, Komarik, Moska, Roy, Lada), several cows and goats, chickens, cats. Alexy II talked about cows, listing: “The most important one is Belka. Then Arfa, Romashka, Zorka, Malyshka, Snezhinka. We also have calves, the goat Rose and little kids...”

Policy

In 1989, the Mercy and Health Foundation, where Alexy was a member of the board, nominated him to the People's Deputies of the USSR. And he was elected. The Patriarch recalled that period of his life with reluctance. “The parliament of those years turned into a place where people had absolutely no respect for each other. The spirit of eternal confrontation, constant struggle, nervousness reigned there... People did not want to simply listen to each other, much less speak, explain themselves in normal human language.” . The future Patriarch did not like politics. “After each meeting of the Congress of People’s Deputies, I simply became sick - that atmosphere of intolerance and hostility had a very bad effect on me,” Alexy recalled.

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (1990-2008)

Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (fifteenth in ten centuries of the existence of Orthodoxy in Rus'), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). Doctor of Theology, author of about 200 works on theological, church-historical, and peacemaking topics. Member of a number of Russian and foreign academies. He was awarded high state and church awards, laureate of the international Dove of Peace award for his tireless peacekeeping activities. Died in December 2008.

Patriarch Alexy II (in the world - Alexey Mikhailovich Ridiger) was born in Tallinn (Estonia), on February 23, 1929, into a family of deeply religious people (his father, Mikhail Alexandrovich Ridiger, dreamed of becoming a priest all his life, but was ordained a deacon only in 1940 ), . From childhood he served in the church (Archpriest John of the Epiphany, later Bishop Isidore of Tallinn and Estonia, became his spiritual father and mentor), and from the age of 15 he was a subdeacon with Archbishop Paul of Tallinn and Estonia, and then with Bishop Isidore.

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

In 1947, Ridiger was immediately enrolled in the third year of the seminary. He graduated from it in 1949 (according to some sources, with honors) and entered the Leningrad Theological Academy. While in his first year at the 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. He combined the service of a parish priest with correspondence studies. 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 (then the city of Yuryev) and for a year combined service in two churches (he served in Tartu until 1961). On August 17, 1958, Father Alexy was elevated to the rank of archpriest.

In March 1961, in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archpriest Alexei 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.

Already at the very beginning of his episcopal service - in 1962 - Bishop Alexy managed to defend the Pyukhtitsa Assumption Monastery, which the authorities intended to close and transfer to a rest home: the bishop managed to organize a visit to the monastery by delegations from the Evangelical Church of Germany. Soon, rave reviews about the monastery appeared in the German press (Newspaper Neue Zeit), and the question of its closure was dropped.

On June 23, 1964, Bishop Alexy was elevated to the rank of archbishop, and at the end of the same year he was appointed manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and became a permanent member of the Holy Synod (according to other sources, Alexy was appointed manager of affairs in 1968).

In 1968, the Metropolitan was included in the Commission for the preparation and celebration of the 50th anniversary, in 1978 - the 60th anniversary of the restoration of the patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church; In addition, in 1971, as a member of the commission of the Holy Synod, he was involved in preparing the local council of the Russian Orthodox Church, and also headed the procedural and organizational group and the secretariat of the local council. In 1980, he was appointed deputy chairman of the commission for preparing and holding the celebration of the millennium of the baptism of Rus' and chairman of the organizational group of this commission.

On May 25, 1983, the Metropolitan of Tallinn was appointed chairman of the 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 in the monastery and the creation on its territory of the Spiritual and Administrative Center of the Russian Orthodox Church. He remained in this position until his appointment to the St. Petersburg (at that time Leningrad) department.

In 1984, Metropolitan 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 Leningrad Theological Academy 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 “in On the eve of the millennium 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.

In 1986, Father Alexy became Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, but the management of the Tallinn and Estonian diocese was also entrusted to him.

On May 3, 1990, Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Rus' died, and an extraordinary local council was convened to elect a new Patriarch. On June 7, 1990, the council elected Metropolitan Alexy Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (fifteenth in ten centuries of Orthodoxy in Rus'; in a secret vote, 166 out of 317 church hierarchs voted for Alexy). On June 10, the enthronement of the newly elected Patriarch took place at the Epiphany Cathedral.

The media credit Alexy II with the return of the church to broad public service. As a co-chairman, the Patriarch 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 Alexy II, the interfaith conference “Christian Faith and Human Enmity” was held (Moscow, 1994). The Patriarch also chaired 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); and at the Interreligious Peacemaking Forum (Moscow, 2000), .

During his years of service as Metropolitan and Patriarch, Alexy II visited many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and countries around 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 were published in the church and secular press in Russia and abroad. Patriarch Alexy headed the bishops' councils in 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000 and 2004, and presided over meetings of the Holy Synod.

A series of joint documents signed by Alexy II laid the foundation for the development of cooperation between the church and the health and social security systems, the Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, justice authorities, cultural institutions and other government agencies. With the blessing of Alexy II, a system of spiritual guidance for priests of military personnel and law enforcement officers was created.

During the period of socio-political crisis in Russia in the fall of 1993, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' assumed the mission of a peacemaker, inviting the parties to the conflict to negotiations and mediating in these negotiations. The Patriarch also came up with 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, and the military operation against Iraq.

The Patriarch 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 his blessing, theological seminaries, theological schools, and parochial schools were opened; structures were created for the development of religious education and catechesis, and in 1995 the organization of church life made it possible to approach the reconstruction of the missionary structure.

Alexy II also 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.

Discussion of the candidacy of the future successor to the Patriarch began back in 2003, when the health of Alexy II worsened. The most likely candidate for this post was then called Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

On December 5, 2008, Alexy II died at his residence in Peredelkino. On December 9, in accordance with the will he left, he was buried in Moscow, in the Annunciation chapel of the Epiphany Cathedral.

Alexy II, the author of about 200 works on theological, church-historical, peacemaking and other topics, was mentioned in the media as a doctor of theology, a full member of the Russian Academy of Education, an honorary member of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Theological Academies, the Cretan Orthodox Academy. He was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree, the Order of Peter the Great, the public Order of Minin and Pozharsky “Let us exalt Russia” for his great personal contribution to the strengthening of the Russian state, the revival of the spiritual strength of the Fatherland; laureate of the international award "Dove of Peace" for tireless peacekeeping activities in order to achieve peace and harmony between peoples.

In June 2005, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church awarded Alexy II the Order of Glory and Honor - in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the primate's labors "for the good of the Church and the Fatherland." In December 2005, Alexy II was awarded the “Person of the Year 2005” award, established by the Russian Biographical Institute, at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In July 2006, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' was awarded the highest award of Muslims of the Caucasus - the Order of Sheikh-ul-Islam [

Peace and harmony in society, which Patriarch Alexy tirelessly calls for, necessarily include benevolent mutual understanding and cooperation between adherents of different religions and worldviews.

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, studied at the School of Law, graduated from high school in exile in Estonia, in 1940 he graduated from three-year theological courses in Tallinn and was 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 mother of His Holiness the Patriarch is Elena Iosifovna Pisareva (+1959), a native of Revel (Tallinn).

Every year, making a pilgrimage to the Pyukhtitsa Holy Dormition Convent and the Pskov-Pechersk Holy Dormition Monastery, the parents took their son with them. At the end of the 30s, the parents and their son made two pilgrimage trips to the Holy Transfiguration Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga, which largely determined the spiritual life path of the future Patriarch. From early childhood, Alexey Ridiger served in the church under the leadership of his spiritual father, Archpriest John of the Epiphany, later Bishop of Tallinn and Estonian Isidore (+1949); from 1944 to 1947 he was a senior subdeacon with Archbishop Pavel of Tallinn and Estonia (Dmitrovsky; +1946), and then with Bishop Isidore. He studied at a Russian secondary school in Tallinn. 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 Simeonovskaya, and since 1947 - in the Kazan Church in Tallinn.

In 1947 he entered the St. Petersburg (at that time Leningrad) Theological Seminary, from which he graduated first class in 1949. While in his first year at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Alexei Ridiger was ordained a deacon on April 15, 1950, and a priest on April 17, 1950 and appointed rector of the Epiphany Church in the city of Johvi in the Tallinn diocese. In 1953, Father Alexy graduated from the Theological Academy with first class qualifications and was awarded the degree of candidate of theology.

On July 15, 1957, Father Alexy was appointed rector of the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Tartu and dean of the Tartu district. On August 17, 1958, he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. On March 30, 1959, he was appointed dean of the united Tartu-Viljandi deanery of the Tallinn diocese. On March 3, 1961, in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, he was tonsured a monk. On August 14, 1961, Hieromonk Alexy was appointed Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia 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, in the Tallinn Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Archimandrite Alexy was consecrated as Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia.

On November 14, 1961, Bishop Alexy was appointed deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. On June 23, 1964, Bishop Alexy was elevated to the rank of archbishop. On December 22, 1964, Archbishop Alexy was appointed manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and became a permanent member of the Holy Synod. He served as business manager until July 20, 1986. On May 7, 1965, Archbishop Alexy was appointed chairman of the Educational Committee. Released from this position, at his personal request, on October 16, 1986. From October 17, 1963 to 1979, Archbishop Alexy was a member of the Commission of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of Christian unity and inter-church relations.

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 Holy Synod Commission 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. On June 29, 1986, he was appointed Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod with instructions to manage the Tallinn diocese. On June 7, 1990, at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was elected to the Moscow Patriarchal Throne. Enthronement took place on June 10, 1990.

The activities of Metropolitan Alexy in the international field: 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, Metropolitan Alexy devoted his works to the activities of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Since 1964, Metropolitan Alexy 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 board of the society 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. Since January 24, 1990 - 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.

As a co-chairman, he 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). At the initiative and with the participation of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, 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 is an honorary member of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Theological Academies, the Cretan Orthodox Academy (Greece); Doctor of Theology of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy (1984); Doctor of Theology honoris causa from the Theological Academy in Debrecen of the Reformed Church of Hungary and the Theological Faculty of John Comenius in Prague; Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from the General Seminary of the Episcopal Church in the USA (1991); Doctor of Theology honoris causa from St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary (Academy) in the USA (1991); Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from St. Tikhon's Theological Seminary in the USA (1991). In 1992 he was elected a full member of the Russian Academy of Education. Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, Alaska, USA (1993). Laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) named after A.E. Kulakovsky “For outstanding selfless activity in consolidating the peoples of the Russian Federation” (1993). In the same year, His Holiness was awarded the title of honorary professor at Omsk State University for outstanding services in the field of culture and education. In 1993, he was awarded the title of honorary professor at Moscow State University for outstanding services in the spiritual revival of Russia.

1994: honorary doctor of philological sciences from St. Petersburg University (January 24); honorary doctor of theology from the Theological Faculty of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade (May 15). Honorary Doctor of Theology from the Tbilisi Theological Academy (Georgia, April 1996); winner of the gold medal of the University of Kosice in the Faculty of Orthodox Theology (Slovakia, May 1996); honorary member of the International Foundation for Charity and Health; Chairman of the Public Supervisory Council for the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. He was awarded the highest award of the Russian Federation - the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, many orders of Local Orthodox Churches and state orders of different countries, as well as awards from public organizations.

In 2000, His Holiness the Patriarch was elected an honorary citizen of Moscow, he is also an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, Veliky Novgorod, the Republic of Mordovia, the Republic of Kalmykia, Sergiev Posad, Dmitrov.

His Holiness was awarded the national awards “Man of the Year”, “Outstanding People of the Decade (1990-2000) who contributed to the prosperity and glorification of Russia”, “Russian National Olympus” and the honorary public title “Man of the Epoch”. In addition, His Holiness the Patriarch is a laureate of the international prize "Excellence. Good. Glory", awarded by the Russian Biographical Institute (2001), as well as the Main Prize "Person of the Year", awarded by the holding company "Top Secret" (2002).

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy is 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 heads the Board of Trustees of the National Military Fund.

During the years of his hierarchal service, Metropolitan Alexy visited many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and countries around 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 and 2000, and invariably presides over meetings of the Holy Synod. As Patriarch of All-Russia, he visited 81 dioceses, many several times - in total more than 120 trips to dioceses, the goals of which were primarily pastoral care for remote communities, strengthening church unity and the witness of the Church in society.

During his episcopal service, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy headed 83 episcopal consecrations (70 of them after his election to the All-Russian See), ordained more than 400 priests and almost as many deacons.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy pays 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 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 pays great attention to establishing new relationships in Russia between the state and the Church. At the same time, he firmly adheres 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 believes 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 removes the tension between the institutions of the state system for the preservation of cultural monuments and the Church, which is 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 calls for close cooperation between representatives of all areas of secular and church culture. He constantly reminds us 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 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 coherent church system of caring for military personnel and law enforcement officers has been created.

In the course of political, social and economic reforms, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II constantly reminds us of the priority of moral goals over all others, of 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, and so on.

During the Patriarchal service of the current Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 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 pays 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 calls 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 pays 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 considers cooperation between various Christian denominations for the sake of the needs of the modern world to be a Christian duty and the path to fulfilling Christ’s commandment of unity. Peace and harmony in society, which Patriarch Alexy tirelessly calls for, necessarily include benevolent mutual understanding and cooperation between adherents of different religions and worldviews.

This is the story of Tallinn resident A. Osipov, a former professor at the Leningrad Academy.
My bishops // Science and religion 1969, No. 34.

Father George is Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia John (Alekseev). At the time of the wedding of his daughter Vera to the handsome seminarian Alyosha Ridiger, the dean of the Tallinn district.

It is worth adding that the wedding “through connections” took place on Bright Week (which is prohibited by the charter) on April 11, 1950.

The wedding itself could not save him from conscription. But without her it was impossible to become a priest. Ordination as a deacon followed on April 14, and as a priest on the 17th. It is clear that the Red Army did not need priests.

Ridiger Sr., of course, believed that Alyosha’s wedding solved many problems at once, not just the problem of conscription. A wedding to the daughter of a local dean is a “good match.”

It is also clear that the marriage soon broke up - after all, it was concluded out of convenience, and not out of love.

The act is quite characteristic: without the ability to use people for one’s own needs, and then step over them and through church rules and go over their heads, one cannot become a Soviet patriarch. Like a true aristocrat, the deceased was sincerely self-centered.

This is not a “forced act”. Someone else's fate was used here. And not only the bride, whose life he ruined with a fictitious wedding. But the parents of this girl also did not survive this tank passage through their daughter...

It’s simply amazing how accurately at this stage Alyosha Ridiger reproduced the actions of Alexy the Man of God... (Alexy the Man of God is a character in a fiction novel. And yes, an extremely selfish and cruel character).

And this could not be a mutual pre-marital, honest agreement.

If he discussed the fakeness of his marriage with his bride, why did she leave him so quickly? If Vera wanted to become a monk so much, she would not have given birth to three children from another husband.

If you didn’t discuss it, then it’s just mean.

And Alyosha himself is in no hurry to become a monk: after the divorce, he served for another 11 years (!) as a white priest (another violation of the canons, according to which a priest left without a wife must immediately go to a monastery or be banned).

And he accepts monasticism only when he is promised a bishop in addition to it (in March 1961 he was tonsured; in August he was ordained).

I believe that being a bishop is connected with divorce. No, this is not an assumption that Alyosha got divorced with the bishop in mind.

It just became clear to the attentive authorities that in front of them was a person who was not burdened with overly valuable motivation, and they could cooperate with him.

Let me remind you that he became a bishop during the Khrushchev era, when the party was openly moving towards the complete elimination of religion, and it needed helpers. This means that they needed confidence that the young bishop would not be too principled. So the divorce of 50 helped to become a bishop of 61.

The initiative for a quick and unexpected divorce most likely came not from him, but from his wife.
But I think the reason is Alyosha.

An unconverted Komsomol member can leave her priest husband. But the priest who became the priest - no. She was able to raise her children from her next marriage in the church spirit.

In order for a church woman to leave her priest-husband, such a handsome man, from a man with such excellent manners and aristocratic demeanor, she had to see in him something very hidden, very non-public and repulsive.

He was not a stupid, rude or cruel person. He was not an alcoholic or crazy, he was not a heretic or a drug addict.

He was known to the bride's family since childhood. This means that something secret could be revealed to the wife only after the wedding. And something that justifies divorce.

Now take the list of reasons for divorce approved by the Local Council of 1917-1918:

1. Falling away from Orthodoxy (the right to ask the court for a divorce belongs to the spouse who remains in Orthodoxy).

2. Adultery and unnatural vices.

3. Incapacity for marital cohabitation (if it began before marriage and is not due to old age; the case is initiated no earlier than two years from the date of marriage; if the incapacity was the result of intentional bodily injury after marriage, divorce is permitted).

4. Disease of leprosy or syphilis.

5. Unknown absence (at least three years; two years - if the missing spouse was at war or sailed on a ship).

6. Sentence of one of the spouses to punishment, coupled with deprivation of all rights of the estate.

7. Encroachment on the life and health of a spouse or children (causing serious injuries... or serious life-threatening beatings... or harm important to health).

8. Snitching, pandering and benefiting from the indecency of a spouse.

9. Entry of one of the spouses into a new marriage.

10. Incurable serious mental illness, eliminating the possibility of continuing married life.

11. Malicious abandonment of a spouse by the other spouse if it makes it impossible to continue married life.

Given the intelligence of Alexy Ridiger, it is extremely difficult to imagine severe systematic beatings of his wife during the honeymoon. What remains?

Let us present only two options:

The guy, still hoping for his reorientation, conducts an experiment on himself. But he soon finds out that it’s not worth it. The wife demanded to know the reason for her husband’s ignorance - and received a frank confession. And she left.

The husband finds out that his wife is not a virgin at all, and therefore considers it his canonical duty to separate from her. There are two circumstances against this version: if this deceived husband is so jealous of the canons, then why doesn’t he immediately become a monk after this, as the canons require. In addition, during the patriarchate of Alexy himself, the requirement of premarital virginity for both spouses was in a half-forgotten state.

But there is another option:
Seminarian Alyosha asked the Lord for a long time to show him his path.
A month after the wedding, a hand touched him and placed him on his knees and in the palm of his hands.
And the Angel said to him: “Alexey, man of desires! heed the words that I tell you and stand straight on your feet; for I have been sent to you today. Hearken, Alexey: There is no will of God for you to have a family life. Go become a monk and You will become a great shepherd and under your patriarchal control Holy Rus' will be reborn!"

And Alexey was amazed: “But why did you come so late? I’m already married and happy with my young wife!”

And the Angel answered: “From the first day that you set your heart to achieve understanding and humble you before your God, your words were heard, and I would have come according to your words. But the prince of the Soviet kingdom stood against me for thirty-one days. And now "I have come to tell you what will happen to your people in the last times, since the vision refers to distant days. So, now leave your kindred!"

(see Dan 10)

And Alexey left his wife, allowing her to find a husband again and began to humbly wait for the call to the bishopric. And after eight years had come, a new messenger came to him and said: from now on you will be called “Drozdov.”

As a first-year student at the LDA, on April 11, 1950, he married Vera Georgievna Alekseeva, the daughter of the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, where the future patriarch was once an altar boy, and divorced the same year. According to the denunciation of the inspector of the Leningrad Theological Academy to the regional Commissioner of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the purpose of the marriage was to evade military service ("In L.D.A. there was a case of ordination to the priesthood in order to evade serving in the Soviet army. Ridiger A.M., born in 1929, was subject to conscription in 1950. Being the fiancé of the daughter of the archpriest of Tallinn G. Alekseev, Ridiger A. wanted to get rid of military service. Having probably learned about the conscription a few days in advance into the army, Ridiger, Archpriest Alekseev and Bishop Roman of Tallinn begged Metropolitan Gregory to agree to marry Ridiger on Tuesday of Easter week, when marriage is prohibited according to the Church Charter. Ridiger was married in the Academic Church on Tuesday of Easter week 1950, hastily promoted to deacon, then ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Roman and appointed to the Estonian parish of the village of Jyhva, Baltic railway, Narvskaya st., E 102. Inspector of the Academy L. Pariysky, November 27, 1951" - Evgeniy Sidorenko [Evgeniy Komarov]. Married to the Patriarch // "Moscow News", 05.22.01).

Komarov is the editor-in-chief of the Moscow Church Bulletin, a correspondent for the ZhMP seconded to the patriarch in 90-91. Archival address of Pariysky's denunciation:
Central State Archive of St. Petersburg, f. 9324, op. 2, no. 37.

***
zloy_monah
“In Pyukhtitsy everyone is aware of this event, and no one has ever made this a special secret before. The nuns told me about 15 years ago that he had a wife. Abbess Varvara even allocated a special place for her (his wife), near her, near choir. And when she came to Pyukhtitsa, at the service of then Metropolitan Alexy, she placed her near her. I don’t know why during his patriarchate they began to make some kind of secret out of this. Now her son (wife), but from another marriage, S . Männik essentially runs the Estonian diocese, since 93-year-old Metropolitan Korniliy doesn’t understand much anymore.”

Date of Birth: February 23, 1929 A country: Russia Biography:

Childhood years (1929 - late 30s)

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.

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.

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 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 there was no longer any support for the faith. “We were shot, 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 Your servant go, O Master, in peace, according to Your word...”.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 Harmony, 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.

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.

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.

Alexy II. Biographical information. Alexy the second

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