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Russian Orthodox Church leader finally finds out what the afterlife is like.

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  • Russian Orthodox Church leader finally finds out what the afterlife is like.

    However, he's not gonna tell:

    Head of Russian Orthodox Church dies aged 79
    Tributes to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Aleksy II, have been flooding in from around the world. The 79 year-old died at his home near Moscow on Friday morning following several years of illness.

    Aleksy the Second will be remembered as the first Patriarch of a new Russia.

    He led the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church after Soviet repressions and united it with foreign congregations following a 90 year split after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

    The son of a priest, Aleksey Ridiger was born in Tallinn, Estonia, on February, 23, 1929.

    Before enrolling in a theological seminary, the future patriarch served as an altar boy and subdeaconed in his father’s parish.
    AFP Photo / Alexander Nemenov. Click to
    enlarge

    Ordained in 1950, he returned to Estonia and was later appointed Bishop of Tallinn and all Estonia.

    For more than 25 years he worked in a conference of European churches, a body set up at the height of the Cold War to promote dialogue and friendship with other churches around the continent.

    During the 1980s, Aleksy did much to rehabilitate church relations with the Soviet state.

    For decades the church had been brutally repressed in the Soviet Union, which promoted an atheist society.

    From 50,000 active churches in tsarist times, there were only 7000 left after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.

    But with the introduction of the policy of Glasnost, or Openness, late in the 1980s, new political and social freedoms marked a revival.

    A ban on religious imagery on television was lifted, meaning citizens were able to watch church services for the very first time.

    And some confiscated church property was returned by the government.

    In 1988, Russia marked a thousand years since its conversion to Christianity

    It was the first time in Soviet history that the government supported church celebrations.
    AFP Photo / Mikhail Klinetyev. Click to
    enlarge

    Just two years later Aleksy was formally installed as Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.

    While the Soviet Union was falling apart, Aleksy dedicated himself to keeping the church together.

    He travelled widely, visiting more than 100 dioceses as Patriarch and encouraged congregations to come back to the fold.

    A noted academic, he had hundreds of articles published in both religious and secular press worldwide. He placed great emphasis on the education of the clergy, overseeing the building of new theological schools and colleges.

    And at the end of 2006 there were more than 27,000 active parishes throughout the old territory of the Soviet Union.

    He also remained active internationally, presiding over the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia in May 2007.

    The two churches had separated in the early 1920s.

    But relationships with other faiths proved more difficult.

    Aleksy refused to meet with Vatican Popes, accusing the Catholic Church of aggressive missionary policies in both Russia and traditionally Orthodox former Soviet republics.

    However, he did pay the first official visit to France.

    Aleksy spoke at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe saying that human rights are often used to undermine Christian morality.

    At home, Aleksy was criticised for the church’s quest for dominance over other religions and interference in secular life.

    Aleksy was a prominent and highly public figure, and all Russian Presidents in modern history have sought his blessing for the post.

    In times of harsh economic reforms and shifts in public values, Aleksy stood firm as a beacon of morality and faith.




    I'd love to tell more about him, but here we do not say bad things about the dead.
    Graffiti in a public toilet
    Do not require skill or wit
    Among the **** we all are poets
    Among the poets we are ****.

  • #2
    Damn, he's not talking either. Seems like all the dead remain very quiet. Think that's a clue?
    No matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
    "I played it [Civilization] for three months and then realised I hadn't done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD." Iain Banks, author

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    • #3
      Re: Russian Orthodox Church leader finally finds out what the afterlife is like.

      Originally posted by onodera
      I'd love to tell more about him, but here we do not say bad things about the dead.
      Go ahead. He won't mind.
      "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow
      "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

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      • #4
        Yes, do tell. All I can find on him online is that he was seen as too buddy-buddy with the Kremlin and hated Catholicism, and I thought excessive ties to the state and xenophobia were both longstanding traditions of the Russian Church. It sounds like he could have been much worse.
        1011 1100
        Pyrebound--a free online serial fantasy novel

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        • #5
          Well, condolences, may he rest in peace etc,
          but he was a not very merry person, trying to limit religious freedom in Russia to gain more power for his own organisation and doing many little un-merry things, like saying that hopefully the talks with catholics will be easier now after death of John Paul II.
          "I realise I hold the key to freedom,
          I cannot let my life be ruled by threads" The Web Frogs
          Middle East!

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Elok
            Yes, do tell. All I can find on him online is that he was seen as too buddy-buddy with the Kremlin and hated Catholicism, and I thought excessive ties to the state and xenophobia were both longstanding traditions of the Russian Church. It sounds like he could have been much worse.
            Well, every church is supposed to consider itself the one true faith, so I can't blame him for attacking Catholicism.
            However, he has been dealing too much in worldly, not spiritual affairs. One famous case is the tobacco trading. Due to a loophole, the church could buy and sell tobacco products without paying any taxes, and it used that loophole to fill its coffers. He was also seen campaigning for the "right" candidates, even on the Day of Silence, the day right before the elections, when it is forbidden by the law.
            Right now there are two possible candidates to replace him. Metropolitan Cyril, the head of the External Relations, and Metropolitan Clement, the head of Internal Affairs. The former one will be even worse than Alexius, as he was behind most of the business schemes of the Church.

            Also, picture:
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            Graffiti in a public toilet
            Do not require skill or wit
            Among the **** we all are poets
            Among the poets we are ****.

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            • #7
              ...well, he could be selling indulgences, but yes, that does sound pretty shady. From what you said I was expecting something much worse, like complicity in Chechnya.
              1011 1100
              Pyrebound--a free online serial fantasy novel

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              • #8
                I do not mind him attacking catholicism, but using the russian state's help to supress other religions.
                "I realise I hold the key to freedom,
                I cannot let my life be ruled by threads" The Web Frogs
                Middle East!

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Heresson
                  I do not mind him attacking catholicism, but using the russian state's help to supress other religions.
                  The only Western religion I remember the Church oppress using the state's assistance was Baptism.
                  Graffiti in a public toilet
                  Do not require skill or wit
                  Among the **** we all are poets
                  Among the poets we are ****.

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                  • #10
                    Oh c-mon. One of the catholic bishops was forbidden return to Russia. Some orthodox monks were using army helicopter to float over Rostow or whatever and pray from there for the clearing Russia of catholics or whatever. Catholics were often not allowed to build churches, and especially churches higher than orthodox churches etc.
                    Perhaps such cases are not covered by russian newspapers, but they do exist.

                    There was the case of establishing "traditional" religions of Russia, and, as far as I remember, it was limited to 5 denominations only. I remember catholicism was not supposed to be one of them, did it make it or not I don't know.
                    "I realise I hold the key to freedom,
                    I cannot let my life be ruled by threads" The Web Frogs
                    Middle East!

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                    • #11
                      Russian church too complicit with communists. Don Camillo could kick their butts.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by onodera
                        The only Western religion I remember the Church oppress using the state's assistance was Baptism.
                        The Baptists? Why them specifically? The Catholics I get, what with their history in Eastern Europe, but are the Baptists just unusually active compared to other Protestants, or do Russians regard them as a cult, or what?
                        1011 1100
                        Pyrebound--a free online serial fantasy novel

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                        • #13
                          You know about GW Bush and You ask?

                          Bush is a Baptist, right?
                          "I realise I hold the key to freedom,
                          I cannot let my life be ruled by threads" The Web Frogs
                          Middle East!

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                          • #14
                            Wiki says he's a Methodist...and a Texan...hey, waiiiit a minute. Sloww?
                            1011 1100
                            Pyrebound--a free online serial fantasy novel

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Elok


                              The Baptists? Why them specifically? The Catholics I get, what with their history in Eastern Europe, but are the Baptists just unusually active compared to other Protestants, or do Russians regard them as a cult, or what?
                              AFAIR, Baptists could (or still can) immigrate into the US with much less hassle than regular people. Also, for some reason, they refused to join the Army. Who needs such people?
                              Graffiti in a public toilet
                              Do not require skill or wit
                              Among the **** we all are poets
                              Among the poets we are ****.

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