Patriarch Alexy II, whose biography is the subject of our article, lived a long and, I think, happy life. His activities left a deep mark not only in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also in the souls of many people. This is probably why, after the death of the priest, the people could not believe and come to terms with his departure, and the version that Patriarch Alexy II was killed is still circulating in society. This person managed to do so many good things in his life that the value of this person does not decrease over the years.
Origin
Patriarch Alexy II, whose biography has been associated with the Russian Orthodox Church for several generations, was born on February 23, 1929 in a very unusual family in the city of Tallinn. The ancestor of the future priest during the reign of Catherine II converted to Orthodoxy with the name Fedor Vasilyevich. He was a general, an outstanding public figure and commander. From this hero of the war of 1812, the Russian family of Ridigers went.
The grandfather of the future patriarch was able to take his family out ofPetersburg to Estonia. Alexy's father studied at the prestigious Imperial School of Law, but graduated in Estonia. Then he worked as a judicial investigator in Tallinn, married the daughter of a colonel in the tsarist army. An Orthodox atmosphere reigned in the family, Alexy's parents were members of the progressive movement RSHD (Russian Student Christian Movement). They participated in religious disputes, visited monasteries, went to church services. When Alexy was very young, his father began to study at pastoral courses, where he met Father John, who later became the boy's confessor.
The family had a tradition of spending their summer holidays on pilgrimages to different monasteries. It was then that Alexy fell in love with the Pukhtitsa monastery for the rest of his life. In 1940 Father Alexy was ordained a deacon. Since 1942, he served in the Kazan Church in Tallinn and for 20 years helped people find God.
Childhood
From early childhood, the future Patriarch of Moscow Alexy was immersed in an atmosphere of religiosity, which was for him the main spiritual principle in the formation. From the age of 6 he began to help in the service in the temple. Parents and confessor raised the boy in the spirit of Christian values, he grew up as a kind, obedient child. The times were difficult, the family at the beginning of the Second World War was threatened with deportation to Siberia for German origin. The Ridigers had to go into hiding. During the war, his father took Alyosha with him on visits of captives in camps for persons displaced to Germany.
Vocation
The whole atmosphereThe Ridiger family was saturated with religion, the child absorbed it from a young age. He loved and knew church services very much, even played them in his games. His confessor actively supported the boy's attraction to the Orthodox faith. In 1941, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy 2 became an altar boy, helping the deacon, his father. Then he served for several years in various churches in Tallinn. The fate of Alexy, in fact, was a foregone conclusion from the very birth, from the age of 5 he existed only in the bosom of the church.
In 1947, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy 2 entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary, he was accepted immediately into the third grade due to his high education and preparedness. In 1949 he entered the Leningrad Theological Academy. During this period, the revived educational religious institutions are on the rise, this allows Alexy to receive a high-class education. He was a very good student, all teachers noted his thoughtfulness and seriousness. He had no spiritual turmoil and quest, he was absolutely sure of his faith and his destiny.
The life of a priest
But most of his studies at the academy A. Ridiger is an external student. Metropolitan Gregory of Leningrad offered the young man to take the rank before graduation. He was offered several options for serving, he chose the position of rector at the Epiphany Church in the town of Johvi. From there, he could often visit his parents and travel to the academy. In 1953 he graduated from the academy, becoming a candidate of theology. In 1957he is transferred from the difficult parish of Jõhvi to university Tartu. So the future Patriarch Alexy II, whose years of life will be connected with religious service, embarked on his path as a priest.
Difficult times fell on him again. The Assumption Cathedral, to which Alexy was appointed, was in a deplorable state, the authorities did not support church undertakings, they had to work very hard, talk with people, stand for services, go to church services. The novice priest decided to seek help from Patriarch Alexy the First, who assisted in the repair and blessed the namesake. In 1958, Alexy became archpriest and dean of the Tartu-Viljandi region. In 1959, the priest's mother died, and this prompted him to become a monk. He had previously contemplated such an act, and now he finally confirmed his intention.
The Way of the Bishop
In 1961, the future Patriarch Alexy II (his photo could be seen more and more often in reviews of trips of foreign delegations around Russia) received a new appointment. He becomes the bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, and is also temporarily entrusted with managing the Riga diocese. The Russian Orthodox Church was in dire need of young educated cadres, especially since it is again experiencing a round of new persecution in Russia. The consecration, at the request of Alexy, is held in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn. Immediately the young bishop receives a summons from the authorities. It is planned to close several churches in his parish due to “unprofitability”, and to give the beloved Pyukhitsky monastery into a houserecreation for miners. Urgent and strong action was needed.
Aleksy organizes several visits of large foreign delegations to his parish and monastery, as a result, publications about him appear in the Western press, representatives of almost all world religious organizations came here in a year, the authorities had to surrender, and the issue of closing the monastery is more did not rise. The Pukhitsky Monastery, thanks to the efforts of Alexy, has become a place for visits and fellowship of representatives of all European churches.
Aleksiy served in the Tallinn parish for a quarter of a century. During this time, he significantly strengthened the Orthodox Church here, published a large amount of literature, including in Estonian. Many temples of the region were preserved through his efforts, including the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, in which Father Alexy, who died in 1962, served for a long time, the Kazan Church in Tallinn. But propaganda and the efforts of the authorities did their job: the number of believers was steadily declining, so that functioning churches remained in the villages, the archimandrite paid for their maintenance from church funds.
In 1969, Alexy was assigned an additional ministry as Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod.
Church and social life
Aleksy always traveled a lot to his parishes with divine services in order to hold conversations with believers, to strengthen their spirit. At the same time, the future patriarch devoted a lot of time to social work. From the very beginning of his diocesan service, he did not remain aloof from the life of the entire Orthodoxchurches. In 1961, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, whose photo can be seen in the article, is a member of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the assembly of the World Council of Churches. He participates in the work of such prestigious organizations as the Conference of European Churches, in which he worked for more than 25 years, eventually becoming chairman of the presidium, the Rhodes Pan-Orthodox Conference, peacekeeping organizations, in particular the Soviet Peace Foundation, the Foundation for Slavic Literature and Slavic Cultures. From 1961, he served as deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1964, he became the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and performed these duties for 22 years.
In 1989, Alexy was elected a People's Deputy of the USSR and de alt with the preservation of national cultural values, language, and the protection of historical heritage.
Patriarchal Throne
In 1990, Pimen died, and the Local Council met to choose a new head of the Russian Church, and there was no better candidate than Alexy. The Patriarch of All Russia was enthroned on June 10, 1990 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. In his speech to the flock, he said that he sees as his main goal the strengthening of the spiritual role of the church. He believed that it was necessary to increase the number of churches, including work in places of detention, in order to give people spiritual support on the path of correction. The coming social changes in the church society had to be used to strengthen its position, andAlexy understood this well.
For some time the patriarch continued to act as bishop of the Leningrad and Tallinn diocese. In 1999, he took over the administration of the Japanese Orthodox Church. During his service, the Patriarch traveled a lot to parishes, performed services, and contributed to the construction of cathedrals. Over the years, he visited 88 dioceses, consecrated 168 churches, received thousands of confessions.
Public position
Aleksy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, from an early age was distinguished by a firm social position. He saw his mission not just in serving God, but in propagating Orthodoxy. He was convinced that all Christians should unite in educational activities. Alexy believed that the church should cooperate with the authorities, although he himself experienced a lot of persecution from the Soviet authorities, but after perestroika he sought to establish good relations with the country's leadership in order to solve many state problems together.
Of course, the patriarch has always stood up for the disadvantaged, he did a lot of charity work and helped his parishioners also provide assistance to those in need. At the same time, Alexy repeatedly spoke out against people with non-traditional sexual orientation and warmly thanked the mayor of Moscow for the ban on the gay parade, called homosexuality a vice that destroys the traditional norms of humanity.
Church and social transformations under the patriarch
Alexey, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, began his work in office by informing the current Church of the critical statethe power of the country. He did a lot to increase the role of the church in the country's politics, he, along with the first persons of the state, made visits to memorial and parade events. Alexy did a lot to ensure that church power was concentrated in the hands of the Council of Bishops, reducing democratization in the structure of the church. At the same time, he contributed to increasing the autonomy of individual regions outside the Russian Federation.
Merit of the Patriarch
Aleksy, Patriarch of All Russia, did a lot for the Russian Orthodox Church, first of all, thanks to him, the church returned to broad public service. It was he who contributed to the fact that today Russian churches are full of parishioners, that religion has again become a familiar element in the life of Russians. He was also able to keep the churches of the states that became independent as a result of the collapse of the USSR under Russian jurisdiction. His activity as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia had a significant impact on the development of Orthodoxy, on increasing its significance in the world. Alexy was the chairman of the "Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today and Forever" me-denominational committee. In 2007, as a result of his efforts, the “Act on Canonical Communion” was signed, which meant the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Church Abroad. Alexy was able to return the widespread practice of religious processions, he contributes to the acquisition of the relics of many saints, in particular Seraphim of Sarov, Maxim the Greek, Alexander Svirsky. He doubled the number of dioceses in Russia, almost tripled the number of parishes, the number of churches inMoscow has increased by more than 40 times, if before perestroika there were only 22 monasteries in the country, then by 2008 there were already 804 of them. training, which have become close to the world level.
Awards
Aleksy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, was repeatedly awarded for his services by both secular and ecclesiastical authorities. He had more than 40 orders and medals of the Russian Orthodox Church, including such honorary ones as the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called with a diamond star, the Order of Grand Duke Vladimir, the Order of St. Alexis, the medal of Dmitry Thessalonica, the Order of St. Gregory the Victorious from the Georgian Orthodox Church.
The Russian government also repeatedly noted the high merits of the patriarch with awards, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Twice Alexy was awarded the state award for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian work, he received certificates and thanks from the President of the Russian Federation.
Alexey also had many awards from foreign countries, prizes, badges of honor and medals from public organizations.
In addition, he was an honorary citizen of more than 10 cities and was an honorary doctor of 4 universities around the world.
Care and memory
On December 5, 2008, the sad news spread around the world: Patriarch Alexy 2 died. The cause of death was heart failure. The patriarch has severalyears, he had serious heart problems, he even had an elevator built in the residence to go up to the second floor to help him avoid unnecessary stress. However, versions about the murder of the patriarch appeared in the media almost immediately.
But there was no evidence for these suspicions, so everything remained at the level of rumors. The people simply could not believe that such a person was gone, and therefore tried to find the culprit in their misfortune. The patriarch was buried in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and buried in the Church of the Epiphany.
People almost immediately began to wonder: will Patriarch Alexy II be canonized? So far, there is no answer to it, since canonization is a complex and long process.
The memory of the patriarch was immortalized in the names of libraries, squares, in the form of monuments, memorial plaques, several monuments.
Private life
Patriarch Alexy 2, whose cause of death was not the only reason for discussing his personality, life, actions, was of interest to many. A lot of rumors circulated around his relationship with the KGB, Alexy was even called the favorite of the special services. Although there was no evidence for such suspicions.
Another question that aroused the interest of the townsfolk: was the priest married. It is known that bishops cannot have wives, since celibacy applies to them. But before accepting monasticism, many priests had families, and this was not an obstacle to their church career. Patriarch Alexy II, who had a wife during his student years, never mentioned his family experience. The researchers say that this marriage withVera Alekseeva was absolutely formal. He was needed only to prevent the authorities from conscripting A. Ridiger into military service.
Little is known about the private life of the patriarch. He loved to read and always worked hard. Alexy is the author of over 200 books on theology. He was fluent in Estonian, German, and spoke a little English. He lived and died in his favorite residence in Peredelkino, where he felt comfortable and calm.
