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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.
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.
From what you said I was expecting something much worse, like complicity in Chechnya.
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