Patriarch Alexy II was married. Patriarch Alexy II Patriarch Alexy 2 biography his family

Patriarch Alexy II, whose biography is the subject of our article, lived a long and, I think, a happy life. His activities have 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 much good deeds in his life that the importance of this person does not diminish over the years.

Origin

Patriarch Alexy II, whose biography is 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, adopted Orthodoxy with the name Fedor Vasilievich. He was a general, an outstanding public figure and commander. From this came the Russian family of Ridigers.

The grandfather of the future patriarch was able to take his family out of St. Petersburg to Estonia during the hot times of the revolution. Alexy's father studied at the prestigious Imperial School of Jurisprudence, but finished his studies in Estonia. Then he worked as a forensic 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 RSKhD (Russian Student Christian Movement). They participated in religious disputes, visited monasteries, and attended church services. When Alexy was very young, his father began to study at pastoral courses, where he met Fr. John, who later became the boy's confessor.

The family had a tradition of spending summer vacations on pilgrimage trips to various monasteries. It was then that Alexy fell in love with the Pyukhtitsa monastery for the rest of his life. In 1940, Father Alexis was ordained a deacon. Since 1942, he served in the Kazan Church of 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 beginning in his formation. At the age of 6, he began to help in church services. Parents and confessor raised the boy in the spirit of Christian values, he grew up as a kind, obedient child. Times were difficult, the family at the beginning of World War II was threatened with expulsion to Siberia for German descent. The Reedigers had to go into hiding. During the war, his father took Alyosha with him on visits to prisoners in camps for persons displaced to Germany.

Vocation

The whole atmosphere of the Ridiger family was saturated with religion, the child absorbed it from his young nails. He loved and knew church services very much, and even played them out in his games. His confessor actively supported the boy's attraction to the Orthodox faith. In 1941, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II became an altar boy, helping the deacon, his father. Then he served in various churches in Tallinn for several years. The fate of Alexis, 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 immediately admitted to the third grade due to his high education and preparedness. In 1949 he entered the Leningrad Theological Academy. During this period, the revived religious educational institutions are on the rise, this allows Alexy to receive a high-quality education. He was a very good student, all the teachers noted his thoughtfulness and seriousness. He had no mental turmoil and searches, 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 invited the young man to be ordained before graduation. He was offered several options for serving, he chose the position of abbot in the Epiphany Church in the town of Jõhvi. 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 1957, he was transferred from the uneasy parish of Jõhvi to the University of Tartu. So the future Patriarch Alexy II, whose years of life will be associated with religious service, entered his path as a priest.

He again fell into difficult times. The Assumption Cathedral, to which Alexy was appointed, was in a deplorable state, the authorities did not support church undertakings, they had to work a lot, talk with people, attend services, go to services. The novice priest decided to seek help from Patriarch Alexy I, who assisted in the repair and blessed the namesake. In 1958 Alexy became the 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 thought about such an act before, but now he was finally confirmed in his intention.

Bishop's way

In 1961, the future Patriarch Alexy II (his photo could be seen more and more often in the reviews of foreign delegations' trips to Russia) received a new appointment. He becomes Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, and is also temporarily entrusted with the administration of the Riga Diocese. there was an acute shortage of young educated cadres, especially since she is again experiencing a round of new persecutions in Russia. The consecration, at the request of Alexy, is held in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn. Immediately, the young bishop receives a challenge from the authorities. In his parish, it is planned to close several churches because of "unprofitability", and give the beloved Pukhitsky monastery as a miners' rest house. Urgent and strong measures were needed.

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

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

In 1969, Alexy was assigned an additional service as Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod.

Church and social life

Alexy 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 public work. From the very beginning of his diocesan service, he did not remain aloof from the life of the entire Orthodox Church. In 1961, the future His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, whose photo can be seen in the article, 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 the 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. Since 1961, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1964 he became the manager of the Moscow Patriarchate and has been performing these duties for 22 years.

In 1989, Alexy was elected a People's Deputy of the USSR and was involved in the preservation of national cultural values, language, and the protection of historical heritage.

Patriarchal throne

In 1990, Pimen died, and gathered to elect a new head of the Russian church, and there was no better candidate than Alexy. 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 spirit-bearing role of the church. He believed that it is necessary to increase the number of temples, 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 their positions, and Alexy understood this well.

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

Public position

Alexy, 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 promoting Orthodoxy. He was convinced that all Christians should unite in educational activities. Alexy believed that the church should cooperate with the authorities, although he himself experienced a lot of persecution from the Soviet regime, but after perestroika he strove to establish good relations with the country's leadership in order to solve many state problems together.

Of course, the patriarch has always stood on the defense of the disadvantaged, he did a lot of charity work and helped to ensure that his parishioners also provide assistance to those in need. At the same time, Alexy repeatedly spoke out against people with non-traditional sexual orientations and warmly thanked the mayor of Moscow for banning the gay parade, called homosexuality a vice that destroys the traditional norms of mankind.

Church and social transformations under the patriarch

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

Merits of the Patriarch

Alexy, 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 of the life of Russians. He was also able to keep in the Russian jurisdiction the churches of the states that became independent as a result of the collapse of the USSR. His activity as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia had a significant impact on the development of Orthodoxy, on increasing its importance in the world. Alexy was the chairman of the meconfessional committee "Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever." In 2007, as a result of his efforts, the "Act of Canonical Communion" was signed, which meant the reunification of the ROC and the Russian Church abroad. Alexy was able to return to the wide 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, the number of parishes increased almost threefold, the number of churches in Moscow increased more than 40 times, if before the restructuring there were only 22 monasteries in the country, then by 2008 there were already 804. The patriarch paid great attention to church education. he significantly increased the number of educational institutions at all levels in the country, and also positively influenced the training programs, which became close to the world level.

Awards

Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, has been awarded for his services several times 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 the Grand Duke Vladimir, the Order of St. Alexis, the Dmitry Solunsky Medal, the Order of St. Gregory the Victorious from the Georgian Orthodox Church.

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

Also, Alexy 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 in the world.

Care and memory

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

But there was no evidence of these suspicions, so everything remained at the level of rumors. The people simply could not believe that there was no such person, and therefore they tried to find the culprit in their trouble. The Patriarch was buried and buried in the Epiphany Church.

People almost immediately began to ask themselves the question: will Patriarch Alexy II be canonized? So far there is no answer to it, since canonization is a difficult and long process.

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

Private life

Patriarch Alexy 2, whose cause of death was not the only reason for discussing his personality, life, deeds, interested 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 of such suspicions.

Another question that aroused interest among the inhabitants: was the priest married. It is known that bishops cannot have wives because they are celibate. But before taking monasticism, many priests had families, and this was not an obstacle to their church career. Patriarch Alexy II, whose wife was in his student years, never mentioned his family experience. Researchers say that this marriage with Vera Alekseeva was absolutely formal. He was needed only to prevent the authorities from calling A. Ridiger into military service.

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

The Ridiger family. Childhood and youth. According to the information from the Genealogy of the Ridigers, during the reign of Empress Catherine II, the Courland nobleman Friedrich Vilgelm von Rudiger converted to Orthodoxy and with the name Fyodor Ivanovich became the founder of one of the lines of this noble family known in Russia, one of whose representatives was Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Ridiger was a cavalry general and adjutant general, an outstanding commander and statesman, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. From the marriage of Fedor Ivanovich with Daria Fedorovna Yerzhemskaya, 7 children were born, including the great-great-grandfather of Patriarch Alexy Georgy (1811-1848). The second son from the marriage of Georgy Fedorovich Ridiger and Margarita Fedorovna Hamburger - Alexander (1842-1877) - married Evgenia Germanovna Gizetti, their second son Alexander (1870 - 1929) - the grandfather of Patriarch Alexy - had a large family, which he managed to take out in a difficult revolutionary time to Estonia from the riots of Petrograd. Father of Patriarch Alexy, Mikhail Alexandrovich Ridiger (May 28, 1902 - April 9, 1964), was the last, fourth, child in the marriage of Alexander Alexandrovich Ridiger and Aglaida Yulievna Balts (July 26, 1870 - March 17, 1956); the eldest children were George (born June 19, 1896), Elena (born October 27, 1897, married to F. A. Gisetti) and Alexander (born February 4, 1900). The Ridiger brothers studied in one of the most privileged educational institutions in the capital - the Imperial School of Jurisprudence - a first-class closed institution, whose pupils could only be children of hereditary nobles. Seven-year education included classes corresponding to gymnasium education, then special legal education. Only George managed to finish school, Mikhail completed his education already at a gymnasium in Estonia.

According to family tradition, A.A. Ridiger's family emigrated in haste and initially settled in Haapsalu, a small town on the Baltic Sea, about 100 km southwest of Tallinn. After graduating from high school, Mikhail began to look for work. In Haapsalu, there was no work for the Russians, except the most difficult and dirtiest, and Mikhail Alexandrovich earned money by digging ditches. Then the family moved to Tallinn, and there he entered Luther's plywood factory, where he served first as an accountant, then as the chief accountant of the department. M.A.Ridiger worked at the Luther factory until he was ordained (1940). Church life in post-revolutionary Estonia was very lively and active, primarily thanks to the activities of the clergy of the Estonian Orthodox Church. According to the memoirs of Patriarch Alexy, “these were real Russian priests, with a high sense of pastoral duty, caring for their flock” (Conversations with Patriarch Alexy II. Archive of the Central Scientific Center). An exceptional place in the life of Orthodoxy in Estonia was occupied by monasteries: the Pskov-Pechersk monastery of the Assumption of the Mother of God, the Pyukhtitsa of the Assumption of the Mother of God for women, the Iveron women's community in Narva. Many clergy and laity of the Estonian Church visited monasteries located in the dioceses of the western part of the former Russian Empire: the Sergius Convent of St. Sergius in the name of the Holy Trinity, the Vilna Holy Spiritual Monastery and the Pochaev Dormition Lavra. The largest gathering of pilgrims from Estonia annually took place on July 11 (June 28, O.S.) in the Valaam Transfiguration Monastery, then located in Finland, on the day of memory of its founders - Saints Sergius and Herman.

At the beginning of the 20s. With the blessing of the hierarchy, student religious circles appeared in Riga, which laid the foundation for the Russian Student Christian Movement (RSDH) in the Baltic States. The versatile activities of the RSHD, whose members were Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov, Hieromonk John (Shakhovskoy), N.A. Berdyaev, A.V. Kartashev, V.V. Zenkovsky, G.V. Florovsky, B.P. Vysheslavtsev, S.L. Frank, attracted Orthodox youth who wanted to find a solid religious foundation for an independent life in the difficult conditions of emigration. Recalling the 1920s and his participation in the RSHD in the Baltics, Archbishop John (Shakhovskoy) of San Francisco later wrote that that unforgettable period for him was “the religious spring of the Russian emigration,” its best response to everything that happened at that time with Church in Russia. For Russian exiles, the church has ceased to be something external, resembling only the past. The church became the meaning and purpose of everything, the center of being.

Both Mikhail Alexandrovich and his future wife Elena Iosifovna (nee Pisarev; May 12, 1902 - Aug. 19, 1959) were active participants in the Orthodox church and social and religious life of Tallinn, participated in the RSHD. EI Ridiger was born in Reval (modern Tallinn), her father was a colonel of the White Army, shot by the Bolsheviks in Terioki (now Zelenogorsk, Leningrad Region); relatives on the mother's side were the teachers of the Tallinn Alexander Nevsky Church at the cemetery. Even before the wedding, which took place in 1926, it became known that Mikhail Alexandrovich wanted to become a priest. The family life of the Ridigers was sealed "not only by ties of kinship, but also by bonds of great spiritual friendship." Before the birth of Alexei, an incident occurred that the family tradition preserved as a manifestation of the Providence of God for the future Primate of the Russian Church. Shortly before the birth of her son, Elena Iosifovna had to make a long bus trip, but at the last moment, despite her requests and even demands, she was not put on the outgoing bus. When she came on the next flight, she found out that the previous bus had an accident and all passengers were killed. At Baptism, the boy was given a name in honor of Alexy, the man of God. Alyosha grew up calm, obedient and deeply religious. This was facilitated by the atmosphere in the Ridiger family, which was an example of the "small church." From early childhood, Alyosha Ridiger's interests were associated with church service, with the temple. According to the recollections of the Primate, being a 10-year-old boy, he “knew the service and loved to serve very much. In the room in the barn I had a church, there were vestments. " Alyosha began his studies at a private school, moved to a private gymnasium, then studied at a regular school.

In the late 30s. in Tallinn, Russian-language theological and pastoral courses were opened under the guidance of Archpriest John (the future bishop of Tallinn Isidor (Epiphany)), in the first year of their work M.A.Ridiger became a student of the courses. Archpriest John, “a man of deep faith and a very great spiritual and life experience,” was also a teacher of the law at school and the confessor of Alyosha Ridiger, who later recalled this time: "Both in the family and my confessor were taught to see the good in people, so was parents, despite all the difficulties they had to overcome. Love and attention to people were the criteria by which Fr. John, and my father ”(Conversations with Patriarch Alexy II. Archive of the Central Scientific Center). Members of the Ridiger family were parishioners of the Alexander Nevsky Tallinn Cathedral, and after it was handed over to the Estonian parish in 1936, the Simeon Church. From the age of 6, Alyosha served in the church, where his confessor was rector.

It was a family tradition to make pilgrimages during the summer holidays: they went either to the Pyukhtitsky monastery, or to the Pskovo-Pechersky monastery. In 1937, Mikhail Alexandrovich, as part of a pilgrimage group, visited the Valaam monastery. This trip made such a strong impression on him that the next year and a year later the whole family went on a pilgrimage to Valaam. These trips also had a special reason: Alyosha's parents were embarrassed by his "play" in church services, and they wanted to consult with the elders experienced in spiritual life. The answer of the Valaam monks reassured the parents: seeing the boy's seriousness, the elders blessed him not to hinder his desire for church service. Communication with Valaam inhabitants became one of the defining events in the spiritual life of A. Ridiger, who saw in them examples of monastic activity, pastoral love and deep faith. Years later, Patriarch Alexy recalled: “Among the inhabitants of the monastery, I especially remembered its confessors - Schedule John and Hieroschemamonk Ephraim. Many times we have been to the Smolensk skete, where Hieroschemamonk Ephraim performed his feat, daily celebrating the Divine Liturgy and especially commemorating the soldiers who were slain on the battlefield. Once, in 1939, my parents and I visited the St. John the Baptist Skete, which was distinguished by the severity of monastic life. We were taken there in a rowboat, the shepherd, Schema-Abbot John. The whole day was spent in fellowship with this wonderful old man. Imprinted in the heart of Schema-monk Nicholas, who labored in the Konevsky skete and every time he met with a samovar, behind which soul-saving conversations were conducted. I remember the inn of Schedule Luka, an outwardly stern but spiritual shepherd, as well as the loving hieromonk Pamva, who repeatedly came to Tallinn. My memory has preserved the content of some conversations with the elders. A special relationship developed with the archivist monk Iuvian, a man of exceptional erudition and erudition. Correspondence was established with him in 1938-1939 ”. Monk Iuvian treated the young pilgrim with complete seriousness, told him about the monastery, explained the basics of monastic life. Later, Aleksey recalled that he was struck by the funeral of a monk, which the Ridiger family saw on Valaam, and was struck by the joy of those who participated in the funeral. “Father Iuvian explained to me that when a monk takes tonsure, everyone weeps with him for his sins and unfulfilled vows, and when he has already reached a quiet abode, everyone rejoices with him.” For the rest of his life, the future Patriarch will have cherished impressions of the pilgrimages to the "wondrous island" of Valaam. When in the 70s. Metropolitan Alexy, already the archpastor of the Tallinn diocese, was invited to visit the island, he invariably refused, for “he had already seen destroyed monasteries in the Moscow region, when, after a heart attack in 1973, he toured the famous monasteries: New Jerusalem, Savvo-Storozhevsky. I was shown a piece of the iconostasis in the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery or a piece of a bell - a gift from Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. And I did not want to destroy my previous childhood impressions of Valaam, which were deep in my soul ”(Conversations with Patriarch Alexy II). And only in 1988, 50 years later, Vladyka Alexy, being Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, came to the destroyed and desecrated Valaam to begin the revival of the famous monastery.

In 1940, after completing his theological and pastoral courses, M.A.Ridiger was ordained a deacon. In the same year, Soviet troops entered Estonia. In Tallinn, among the local population and among Russian emigrants, arrests and deportations began to Siberia and the northern regions of Russia. Such was the fate of the Ridiger family, but God's providence preserved them. This is how Patriarch Alexy later recalled this: “Before the war, like a sword of Damocles, we were threatened with deportation to Siberia. Only chance and miracle of God saved us. After the arrival of Soviet troops, relatives on our father's side came to us in the suburbs of Tallinn, and we gave them our house, and we ourselves went to live in a barn, there we had a room where we lived, we had two dogs with us. At night they came for us, searched the house, walked around the site, but the dogs, who were usually very sensitive, never even barked. We were not found. After this incident, until the German occupation, we no longer lived in the house. "

In 1942, the priestly ordination of M.A.Ridiger took place in the Kazan Church of Tallinn, and his almost 20-year path of priestly service began. The Orthodox people in Tallinn have preserved the memory of him as a pastor, open "for trusting communication with him." During the war years, priest Mikhail Ridiger spiritually nourished the Russian people, who were transported through Estonia to work in Germany. In the camps located in the port of Paldiski, in the villages of Klooga, Põlküla, thousands of people were kept in very difficult conditions, mainly from the central regions of Russia. Communication with these people, who experienced and suffered a lot, endured persecution in their homeland and remained faithful to Orthodoxy, amazed Fr. Mikhail and later, in 1944, strengthened his decision to stay in his homeland. Military operations were approaching the borders of Estonia. On the night of May 9-10, 1944, Tallinn was severely bombed, which damaged many buildings, including in the suburbs where the Ridigers' house was located. The woman who was in their house died, but Fr. The Lord saved Michael and his family - it was on that terrible night that they were not at home. The next day, thousands of Tallinn residents left the city. The Reedigers stayed, although they understood perfectly well that with the arrival of Soviet troops, the family would be in constant danger of being exiled. It was at this time that Elena Iosifovna had a prayer rule: every day to read an akathist in front of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow", "because she had a lot of sorrows, because she passed through her heart everything that touched her son and husband."

In 1944, 15-year-old A. Ridiger became a senior subdeacon of the Archbishop of Narva Paul (Dmitrovsky, since March 1945, Archbishop of Tallinn and Estonia). A. Ridiger, as senior subdeacon and second psalm-reader, was instructed by the diocesan authorities to prepare for the opening of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn; in May 1945, divine services began again in the cathedral. Aleksey Ridiger was an altar and sacristan in the cathedral, then a psalmist in the Simeon and Kazan churches of the Estonian capital. On February 1, 1946, Archbishop Paul reposed, on June 22, 1947, Archpriest John of the Epiphany became Bishop of Tallinn, who took monasticism with the name Isidor. In 1946, Alexei successfully passed the entrance exams at the LDS, but was not admitted due to his age - he was only 17 years old, admission to theological schools of minors was not allowed. Successful admission took place the next year, and immediately to the 3rd grade. After graduating from the seminary with the first grade in 1949, the future Patriarch became a student of the LDA. The Leningrad theological schools revived after a long break at that time experienced a moral and spiritual upsurge. In the class where A. Ridiger studied, there were people of different ages, often after the front, striving for theological knowledge. As Patriarch Alexy recalls, students and teachers, many of whom at the end of their lives were able to pass on their knowledge and spiritual experience, the opening of theological schools was perceived as a miracle. Professors A. I. Sagard, L. N. Pariyskiy, S. A. Kupresov and many others had a great influence on A. Ridiger. etc. A particularly deep impression was made by the depth of the religious feeling of SA Kupresov, a man of difficult and difficult fate, who every day after the lectures went to church and prayed at the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign".

The teachers singled out A. Ridiger, noting his seriousness, responsibility and devotion to the Church. Bishop Isidor of Tallinn, who kept in touch with the teachers of the LDA, asked about his pupil and rejoiced, receiving favorable comments about the student's "bright personality". Dec 18 1949 Bishop Isidor died, the administration of the Tallinn diocese was temporarily entrusted to Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Grigory (Chukov). He invited A. Ridiger to graduate from the academy as an external student and, having been ordained, begin pastoral ministry in Estonia. Metropolitan Gregory offered the young man a choice: abbot in the Epiphany Church in Jõhvi, serving as a second priest in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and abbot in a parish in Pärnu. According to the memoirs of Patriarch Alexy, “Metropolitan Gregory said that he would not advise me to go straight to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. There you are known as a subdeacon, let them get used to you as a priest, and if you want, then in six months I will transfer you to the cathedral. Then I chose Jykhvi because it is halfway between Tallinn and Leningrad. I very often went to Tallinn, because my parents lived in Tallinn, my mother could not always come to me. And I also went to Leningrad often, because even though I studied as an external student, I ended up with my course. "

Priestly ministry (1950-1961). On April 15, 1950 A. Ridiger was ordained a deacon, and a day later - a priest and was appointed rector of the Epiphany Church in the town of Jõhvi. The young priest began his ministry under the impression of the speech of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I to the students of the Leningrad theological schools on December 6. 1949, in which the Patriarch painted the image of a Russian Orthodox pastor. The parish with the priest Alexy Ridiger was very difficult. For the first service, Fr. Alexia, who was in the Week of Myrrh-Bearing Wives, only a few women came to the temple. However, gradually the parish revived, rallied, began to repair the temple. “The congregation there was not easy,” His Holiness the Patriarch later recalled, “after the war, people came to the mining town from various regions in special directions for heavy work in the mines; many died: the accident rate was high, so as a pastor I had to deal with difficult fates, with family dramas, with various social vices, and above all with drunkenness and the cruelty generated by drunkenness. " For a long time about. Alexy served in the parish alone, so he went to all the services. Patriarch Alexy recalled that they did not think about the danger in those post-war years - whether it was close, how far, it was necessary to go to the funeral service, to baptize. From childhood, who loved the church, the young priest served a lot; later, already being a bishop, Patriarch Alexy often fondly recalled his service in the parish.

In the same years, Fr. Alexy continued his studies at the academy, from which he graduated in 1953 with a first class degree with a candidate of theology degree for his term essay "Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) as a dogmatist." The choice of the topic was not accidental. Although at that time the young priest did not have many books, 5 volumes of "Words and Speeches" of St. Philaret (Drozdov) were his reference books. In the composition of Fr. Alexy cited unpublished archival materials about the life of Metropolitan Filaret. The personality of the Moscow saint has always been for Patriarch Alexy the standard of bishop service, and his works are a source of spiritual and life wisdom.

On July 15, 1957, priest Alexy Ridiger was transferred to the university city of Tartu and appointed rector of the Assumption Cathedral. Here he found a completely different environment than in Jõhvi. “I found,” said Patriarch Alexy, “both in the parish and in the parish council, the old Yuryev university intelligentsia. Communication with them left very vivid memories for me ”(ZhMP. 1990, No. 9. P. 13). Recalling the 1950s, His Holiness the Patriarch said that he "had a chance to start his church ministry at a time when they were no longer shot for faith, but how much he had to endure, defending the interests of the Church, will be judged by God and history" (Ibid. P. . 40). The Dormition Cathedral was in serious condition, required urgent and major repairs - the fungus corroded the wooden parts of the building, in the chapel in the name of St. Nicholas the floor collapsed during the service. There were no funds for repairs, and then Fr. Alexy decided to go to Moscow, to the Patriarchate, and ask for financial help. Secretary of Patriarch Alexy I D.A. Ostapov, after asking Fr. Alexy, presented him to the Patriarch and reported on the request, His Holiness the Patriarch ordered to help the initiative priest. Having asked his ruling bishop Bishop John (Alekseev) for a blessing to renovate the cathedral, Father Alexy received the allocated money. This is how Patriarch Alexy I met for the first time with the priest Alexy Ridiger, who in a few years became the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and the chief assistant to the Patriarch.

17 Aug 1958 about. Alexy was elevated to the rank of archpriest, and on March 30, 1959 he was appointed Dean of the Tartu-Viljandi District of the Tallinn Diocese, which included 32 Russian and Estonian parishes. Archpriest Alexy served in Church Slavonic, in Estonian parishes in Estonian, which he speaks fluently. According to the memoirs of Patriarch Alexy, "there was no tension between the Russian and Estonian parishes, especially between the clergy." In Estonia, the clergy were very poor, their income was much lower than in Russia or Ukraine. Many of them, in addition to serving in the parish, were forced to work in secular enterprises, often in hard work, for example, as stokers, state farm workers, postmen. And although there were not enough priests, it was extremely difficult to provide the clergy with at least a minimum of material well-being. Subsequently, having already become a hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladyka Alexy was able to help the Estonian clergy by establishing pensions for the clergy from an earlier age than before. At this time, Archpriest Alexy began to collect material for his future doctoral dissertation "History of Orthodoxy in Estonia", which had been in progress for several decades.

19 Aug In 1959, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, EI Ridiger died in Tartu, she was buried in the Kazan church in Tallinn and was buried at the Alexander Nevsky cemetery - the resting place of several generations of her ancestors. Even during his mother's life, Archpriest Alexy was thinking about accepting the monastic tonsure, after the death of Elena Iosifovna this decision became final. On March 3, 1961, at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the monastic tonsure of Archpriest Alexy was performed with the name in honor of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow. The monastic name was drawn by lot from the shrine of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Continuing to serve in Tartu and remaining dean, Father Alexy did not advertise his acceptance of monasticism and, in his words, "just began to serve in a black kamilavka." However, in the face of new persecutions against the Church, young, energetic bishops were needed to protect and govern the Church. The opinion of Father Alexia has already been formed among the higher hierarchy. In 1959, he met Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) of Krutitsky and Kolomna, then chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), and made a positive impression on him. Alexy began to be invited to accompany foreign delegations on their trips across Russia.

Episcopal ministry (1961-1990). Aug 14 In 1961, by a resolution of the Holy Synod, headed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, Hieromonk Alexy was assigned to become Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia with the assignment of temporary administration of the Riga diocese. The future bishop asked that his ordination be performed not in Moscow, but in the city where he would have to carry out his ministry. And after being elevated to the rank of archimandrite on September 3, 1961, Archimandrite Alexy was ordained Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, and the consecration was led by Archbishop Nikodim (Rotov) of Yaroslavl and Rostov. In his speech when he was named bishop, Vladyka Alexy spoke about the consciousness of his weakness and inexperience, about his youth, about the anticipation of the difficulties of serving within the Estonian Diocese. He spoke about the covenants of Christ the Savior to the shepherds of the Holy Church “to lay down his life for his sheep” (John 10:11), to be an example for the faithful “in word, life, love, spirit, faith, purity” (1 Tim. 4:12), "In righteousness, piety, faith, love, patience, meekness, to fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6. 11-12), testified of his bold faith that the Lord would strengthen him and vouch for him as "a doer is not ashamed, the right is the ruling word truth "(2 Tim. 2:15) to give a worthy answer at the Lord's judgment for the souls of the flock entrusted to the leadership of the new bishop.

In the very first days, Bishop Alexy was put in an extremely difficult situation: Ya. S. Kanter, the representative of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church for Estonia, notified him that in the summer of 1961 a decision was made to close the Pukhtitsa monastery and 36 "unprofitable" parishes (The "unprofitability" of churches was a common pretext for closing them down during the years of Khrushchev's attack on the Church). Later, Patriarch Alexy recalled that before his ordination, when he was rector of the Assumption Cathedral in Tartu and dean of the Tartu-Viljandi region, he could not imagine the scale of the impending disaster. There was almost no time left, for the closure of the churches was to begin in the coming days, and the time of transferring the Pyukhtitsa monastery to a rest house for miners was determined - October 1. 1961 Realizing that such a blow should not be allowed to Orthodoxy in Estonia, Bishop Alexy begged the delegate to postpone the execution of the tough decision for a while, since the closing of churches at the very beginning of the bishop's ministry of the young bishop would make a negative impression on the flock. The church in Estonia got a little respite, but the main thing was ahead - it was necessary to protect the monastery and churches from the encroachments of the authorities. At that time, the atheistic authorities, whether in Estonia or in Russia, took into account only political arguments and usually positive references to a particular monastery or temple in the foreign press turned out to be effective. In early May 1962, taking advantage of his position as deputy chairman of the DECR, Bishop Alexy organized a visit to Pukhtitsa monastery by a delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the GDR, which not only visited the monastery, but also published an article with photographs of the monastery in the newspaper Neue Zeit. Soon, a Protestant delegation from France, representatives of the Christian Peace Conference (KMK) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) arrived in Pyukhtitsa (now Kurmäe) together with Vladyka Alexy. After a year of active visits to the monastery by foreign delegations, the question of closing the monastery was no longer raised. Later, Bishop Alexy devoted much effort to the correct organization and strengthening of the Pukhtitsa monastery, which became in the late 1960s. the center of the spiritual life of the Estonian diocese and one of the centers of monastic life in the country. The so-called. Pyukhtitsa seminars, to which Bishop Alexy, as President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), invited representatives of all Churches - CEC members in the USSR: the ROC, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Evangelical Lutheran and Churches of Latvia, Lithuania Estonia and the Reformed Church of Transcarpathia. All this undoubtedly strengthened the position of the Pyukhtitsa Monastery. Vladyka Alexy often served in the monastery, and the Estonian and Russian clergy, not only from the Narva deanery, but also from all over Estonia, always gathered for divine services. The unification of Estonian and Russian clergy in common worship, and then in simple human communication, gave many clergy, especially those who bore their obedience in the most difficult material and moral conditions of dying parishes, a feeling of mutual support.

Bishop Alexy also managed to defend the Tallinn Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which seemed to be doomed. On May 9, 1962, Archpriest Mikhail Ridiger reposed; on Saturday, May 12, Vladyka Alexy buried his father. Immediately after the funeral, an authorized representative of the Council for ROC Affairs approached the bishop and suggested thinking about which of the Tallinn churches should become the new cathedral in connection with the decision of the city's youth to convert the cathedral into a planetarium. Vladyka Alexy asked the commissioner to wait a little with a decision - until the feast of the Holy Trinity, he himself began to prepare materials in defense of the cathedral. I had to turn to the study of the distant and recent past and prepare for the authorities an exhaustive reference on the history of the cathedral, talk about how pro-German forces in Estonia tried to close the cathedral, which testifies to the unbreakable spiritual connection between Estonia and Russia. The most serious political argument was the fact that immediately after the occupation of Tallinn by German troops in 1941, the cathedral was closed and was inactive during the entire period of the occupation. Before leaving, the German authorities decided to throw off the famous cathedral bells from the bell tower, but they did not succeed, they were able to remove only the tongue of the small bell, which, despite the mountains of sawdust and other precautions, broke the porch of the chapel in honor of St. Prince Vladimir. “That revenge-seekers in Germany will be delighted,” said Bishop Alexy, passing his note, “what they failed to do was done by the Soviet regime.” And again, as in the case of the Pukhtitsa monastery, after some time, the commissioner informed the bishop that the question of closing the cathedral was no longer a question. All 36 “unprofitable” parishes were preserved.

In the first years of Vladyka Alexy's episcopal service, which fell at the peak of Khrushchev's persecutions, almost all his forces were spent on resisting atheistic aggression, on saving churches and shrines. According to the general development plan of Tallinn, the new city highway was supposed to pass through the territory where there is a temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The oldest surviving wooden structure of the city - the Kazan Church, built in 1721, seemed to be doomed. Bishop Alexy managed to force the city authorities to change the approved general construction plan, persuade them to incur additional costs and design a bend on the highway to bypass the temple. Again I had to appeal to history, to the architectural value of the temple, to the feelings of historical and national justice; the article about the Kazan Church, published in the magazine "Architecture", also played a role - as a result, the authorities decided to keep the temple.

In 1964, the leadership of the Jykhvi district executive committee decided to alienate the church in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the former summer residence of Prince S.V. Shakhovsky on the grounds that they were outside the monastery fence (Vladyka Alexy managed to enclose the entire territory of the monastery with a new fence only a few years later). It was clear that it would not be possible to protect the temple and the residence, pointing out the impossibility of closing the existing church; to this they replied that there are 3 more churches in the monastery "to satisfy your religious needs." And again, historical justice came to the rescue, which always turns out to be on the side of truth, not power. Bishop Alexy proved that the destruction or transformation into a state institution of the church, where the tomb of the governor of Estonia, Prince Shakhovsky, who put so much effort into strengthening the unity of Estonia and Russia, is historically and politically inexpedient.

In the 60s. Several churches were closed, not so much because of the pressure of the authorities, which in most cases managed to neutralize, but because the number of believers in rural areas among the Estonian population was sharply reduced as a result of generational change - the new generation was brought up indifferent at best to the Church. Some rural churches were emptied and gradually fell into decay. However, if even a small number of parishioners remained or there was hope for their appearance, Vladyka Alexy supported such churches for several years, paying taxes for them from diocesan, church-wide, or his own funds.

The Tallinn and Estonian diocese, as of January 1, 1965, included 90 parishes, including 57 Estonian, 20 Russian and 13 mixed. These parishes were cared for by 50 priests, there were 6 deacons for the entire diocese, and the diocese had 42 pensioners. There were 88 parish churches and 2 houses of prayer. The parishes were territorially divided into 9 deaneries: Tallinn, Tartu, Narva, Harju-Lääne, Viljandi, Pärnu, Võrus, Saare-Mukhu and Valga. Every year, since 1965, the diocese has published the "Orthodox Church Calendar" in Estonian (3,000 copies), Easter and Christmas epistles of the ruling bishop in Estonian and Russian (300 copies), sheets for general church singing in Estonian language at the services of Passion and Easter Weeks, on the feast of the Epiphany, at ecumenical memorial services, at funeral services for the deceased, etc. (more than 3 thousand copies). Messages and calendars were also sent to all Estonian Orthodox parishes in exile. Since 1969, the future Patriarch kept notes about the divine services he performed, necessary for the correct and timely visit to different parts of the diocese. Thus, from 1969 to 1986, when Vladyka Alexy became Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, he performed up to 120 services a year on average, more than 2/3 in the Tallinn diocese. The only exception was 1973, when on February 3, Metropolitan Alexy suffered a myocardial infarction and was unable to perform services for several months. In some years (1983-1986) the number of divine services performed by Metropolitan Alexy reached 150 and more.

Some of the records contain notes describing the position of Orthodoxy in the Estonian Diocese, for example, at the liturgy in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral at the celebration of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem on April 11, 1971, Metropolitan Alexy gave communion to about 500 people, almost 600 people participated in the common cathedral passion. Of course, the cathedral gathered more worshipers than ordinary parish churches, but the records also testify to how great the activity of believers was in all parishes. His knowledge of the Estonian language and his ability to preach in it played a great role in the archpastoral ministry of Vladyka Alexy. Bishops' services in the Cathedral were held with great solemnity and grandeur. But this seemingly inalienable property of Orthodox worship also had to be defended in the struggle against the atheistic environment. Approximately a year before the appointment of Bishop Alexy to the Tallinn See, Easter processions and night services were stopped because of hooligan antics during the night service. In the second year of his episcopal ministry, Vladyka Alexy decided to serve at night: a great many people came, and during the entire service there was no hooliganism or angry shouts. Since then, Easter services have been performed at night.

By the same decree that Bishop Alexy was appointed to the Tallinn See, he was entrusted with the temporary administration of the Riga diocese. During the short period of administration of the Riga diocese (until January 12, 1962), he twice visited Latvia and performed divine services in the Cathedral, the St. Sergius Convent in Riga and the Preobrazhenskaya Hermitage in Riga. In connection with the new duties, the deputy chairman of the DECR, Vladyka Alexy, at his own request, was relieved of the administration of the Riga diocese.

From the very beginning of his archpastoral ministry, Vladyka Alexy combined the leadership of diocesan life with participation in the top management of the ROC: on November 14, 1961, he was appointed deputy chairman of the DECR - Archbishop Nikodim (Rotov) of Yaroslavl and immediately as part of the delegation of the ROC he was sent by the Holy Synod to the first meeting on about. Rhodes, then to New Delhi to participate in the III Assembly of the WCC. Patriarch Alexy recalled this time: “I often visited His Holiness Patriarch both at the receptions of ambassadors and at receptions of high delegations, and I often met with Patriarch Alexy I. I have always felt deep respect for His Holiness Patriarch Alexy. He had to endure both the difficult 20-30s and Khrushchev's persecution of the Church, when churches were closed, and he was often powerless to do anything. But His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, from the very beginning of my activity as a diocesan bishop and deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, treated me with great confidence. This was all the more important for me because for me, in fact, my very appointment as deputy chairman of the department was completely unexpected. I didn’t make any effort to this ”. At the III Assembly of the WCC in New Delhi in 1961, Bishop Alexy was elected a member of the Central Committee of the WCC, later he took an active part in many interchurch, ecumenical, peacemaking forums; often led the delegations of the Russian Church, participated in theological conferences, interviews, dialogues. In 1964, Vladyka Alexy was elected president of the CEC and since then has been invariably re-elected to this position, in 1987 he became chairman of the presidium and advisory committee of this organization.

On June 23, 1964, by the decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, Bishop Alexy (Ridiger) of Tallinn was elevated to the rank of archbishop. Dec 22. In 1964, by the decision of His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, Archbishop Alexy was appointed manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate and a permanent member of the Synod. The appointment of a young archbishop to this key position in the management of the Church was due to several reasons: firstly, in the venerable old age of Patriarch Alexy I, he needed an active and completely devoted assistant, as the Patriarch considered Vladyka Alexy, who was close to him in origin, in upbringing and in image thoughts. Secondly, this appointment was also supported by the chairman of the DECR, Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), \u200b\u200bwho saw in his deputy an active and independent-minded bishop, who knew how to defend his position even in front of the leaders. Patriarch Alexy recalled: “When I became the manager of the affairs, I saw Patriarch Alexy I all the time, and, of course, there was complete trust and confidence that if I came to an agreement with him, you can be calm. I often had to go to Peredelkino to see His Holiness the Patriarch and prepare resolutions for him, which he signed, not looking carefully, but only looking through them. It was a great joy for me to communicate with him and in his trust in me. " Working in Moscow and in the early years without a Moscow residence permit, Vladyka Alexy could only live in hotels; every month he moved from the Ukraine Hotel to the Sovetskaya Hotel and back. Several times a month, Vladyka Alexy traveled to Tallinn, where he resolved pressing diocesan issues and conducted bishop's services. “During these years, the feeling of home was lost,” Patriarch Alexy recalled, “I even thought that the 34th train, which runs between Tallinn and Moscow, became my second home. But, I confess, I happily, at least for a while, renounced Moscow affairs and waited for those hours on the train when I could read and be alone with myself. "

Archbishop Alexy was constantly in the center of church events, he had to solve many, sometimes seemed insoluble issues with clergy and bishops. According to the recollections of Patriarch Alexy, when he came to the Patriarchate for the first time, “I saw a full corridor of priests who were deprived of registration by local authorized representatives, hieromonks who were left without a place after the authorities in Moldova banned monks from serving in parishes, so they had to arrange. And no one came and said, rejoice, how good it is with me, they came only with troubles and sorrows. With different problems, everyone went to Moscow in the hope of getting some kind of support or a solution to their problem. And although I could not always help, I did everything I could. " A typical example is the case of a parish in the Siberian village of Kolyvan, who turned to Vladyka Alexy with a request to protect the temple from closing. At that time, nothing could be done, just to save the community, to which the local authorities allocated such a small hut that the deceased had to be carried through the window to the funeral service. Many years later, already being the Primate of the Russian Church, Patriarch Alexy visited this village and the temple, which had already been returned to the community.

One of the most difficult issues that Vladyka Alexy faced as the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate was the issue of Baptism: local authorities invented all sorts of tricks to prevent the baptism of children and adults. For example, in Rostov-on-Don, it was possible to baptize at the age of 2 years, and then only after 18 years. Arriving in Kuibyshev in 1966, Archbishop Alexy found the following practice there: although baptism was allowed by the authorities without age restrictions, the students had to bring a certificate stating that the school did not object to their baptism. “And there were thick stacks of certificates,” Patriarch Alexy recalled, “that such and such a school does not mind that their student of such and such class was baptized. I told the commissioner: you yourself are violating Lenin's decree on the separation of church from state and school from church. He apparently understood and asked not to report this innovation in Moscow, promising to stop this practice within a week, and really stopped. " The most outrageous practice turned out to be the practice in the Ufa diocese, which was reported to Metropolitan Alexy in 1973 by Archbishop Theodosius (Pogorsky) appointed to this cathedra - at Baptism it was required that the baptized person write a statement to the executive body that he asks to baptize him in the Orthodox faith, and 2 witnesses (with passports) had to testify on the text of the statement that no one is putting pressure on the baptized person and that he is mentally healthy. At the request of Vladyka Alexy, Bishop Theodosius brought a sample of this work, with which the administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate went to a reception at the Council for Religious Affairs; after a protest announced by Vladyka Alexy, this practice was banned. On February 25, 1968, Archbishop Alexy was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan.

Under the successor of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, who died in 1971, His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, it became more difficult to fulfill the obedience of the business manager. Patriarch Pimen, a monastic man, a reverent performer of divine services and a prayer book, was often weighed down by an endless variety of administrative duties. This gave rise to complications with the diocesan bishops, who did not always find the effective support from the Primate, which they hoped for when they turned to the Patriarchy, contributed to the strengthening of the influence of the Council for Religious Affairs, often brought to life such negative phenomena as intrigue and favoritism. And yet, Metropolitan Alexy was convinced that in every period the Lord sent the necessary figures, in the period of "stagnation" it was precisely such a Primate, as His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, was needed. “After all, if someone else were in his place, how many firewood he could break. And His Holiness Patriarch Pimen, with his usual caution, conservatism and even fear of any innovations, managed to preserve a lot in our Church. " On May 7, 1965, the duties of the chairman of the Study Committee were added to the main work of the manager of the affairs of Metropolitan Alexy, and from March 10, 1970 - the leadership of the Pension Committee under the Holy Synod. In addition to fulfilling permanent posts in the highest church administration, Vladyka Alexy took part in the activities of temporary synodal commissions: for the preparation and conduct of the celebration of the 500th and 60th anniversary of the restoration of the Patriarchate, the preparation of the Local Council in 1971, for the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus, he was reception, restoration and construction in St. Daniel's Moscow monastery. The best assessment of Metropolitan Alexy's labors as manager of affairs and fulfillment of other obediences was his election as Patriarch in 1990, when the members of the Local Council - bishops, clergy and laity - remembered Bishop Alexy's devotion to the Church, his talent as an organizer, responsiveness and responsibility.

In the mid-1980s, with the coming to power in the country of M.S.Gorbachev, there were changes in the policy of the leadership, and public opinion changed. This process proceeded very slowly, the power of the Council for Religious Affairs, although it actually weakened, but still formed the basis of state-church relations. Metropolitan Alexy, as the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, felt the urgent need for radical changes in this area, perhaps somewhat sharper than other bishops. Then he committed an act that became a turning point in his fate - on December 17, 1985, Metropolitan Alexy sent a letter to Gorbachev, in which he first raised the question of restructuring state-church relations. The essence of Vladyka Alexy's position was described by him in the book Orthodoxy in Estonia: “My position, both then and today, is that the Church should be really separated from the state. I believe that during the days of the Council of 1917-1918. the clergy were not yet ready for the real separation of the Church from the state, which was reflected in the documents adopted at the Council. The main question that was raised in negotiations with the secular authorities was the question of not separating the Church from the state, because the centuries-old close relationship between the Church and the state created a very strong inertia. And in the Soviet period, the Church was also not separated from the state, but was crushed by it, and the state's intervention in the internal life of the Church was complete, even in such sacred areas as, say, you can or cannot be baptized, you can or cannot be crowned, outrageous restrictions on the performance of the Sacraments and services. State-wide terror was often exacerbated by simply ugly, extremist antics and prohibitions by representatives of the “local level”. All this required immediate changes. But I realized that the Church and the state also have common tasks, for historically the Russian Church has always been with her people in joys and trials. Questions of morality and ethics, health and culture of the nation, family and upbringing require the unification of efforts of the state and the Church, an equal union, and not subordination of one to another. And in this regard, I raised the most pressing and cardinal question of revising the outdated legislation on religious associations ”(“ Orthodoxy in Estonia ”, p. 476). Gorbachev then did not understand and did not accept the position of the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, a letter from Metropolitan Alexy was sent to all members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, while the Council for Religious Affairs indicated that such issues should not be raised. The authorities' response to the letter, in full accordance with the old traditions, was an order to remove Vladyka Alexy from the key position of the business manager at that time, which was done by the Synod. After the death of Metropolitan Anthony (Melnikov) of Leningrad, by the decision of the Holy Synod of July 29, 1986, Metropolitan Alexy was appointed to the Leningrad and Novgorod cathedra, leaving him to rule the Tallinn diocese. On September 1, 1986, Vladyka Alexy was removed from the management of the Pension Fund; on October 16, the duties of the Chairman of the Training Committee were removed from him.

The first days of Metropolitan Alexy's stay at the Leningrad See were marked by a prayer at the chapel at the grave of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg, and a year later, anticipating the official glorification of Blessed Xenia, Bishop Alexy consecrated the chapel. It depended on the new metropolitan whether it would be possible in this city, where the Soviet regime was especially hostile to the Church, to arrange a normal church life during the period of changes that had begun in the country. “In the first months,” the Primate recalls, “I acutely felt that no one recognized the Church, no one noticed it. And the main thing that I managed to do in four years was to achieve that the Church began to be reckoned with: the situation has changed radically. " Metropolitan Alexy achieved the return to the Church of a part of the former Ioannovsky monastery, in which the sisters from the Pukhtitsy monastery settled, who began to restore the monastery. On the scale not only of Leningrad and the Leningrad Region, but of the entire north-west of Russia (the Novgorod, Tallinn and Olonets dioceses were also under the control of the Leningrad Metropolitan), attempts were made to change the status of the Church in society, which became possible in the new conditions. A unique experience was accumulated, which was then applied on a church-wide scale.

In the jubilee 1988, a radical shift took place in the relationship between Church and state, Church and society. In the consciousness of society, the Church has become what it has been in reality since the time of St. Prince Vladimir - the only spiritual support of the state and the existence of the Russian people. In April 1988, His Holiness Patriarch Pimen and permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church held a conversation with Gorbachev; Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad also took part in the meeting. The hierarchs raised a number of specific questions related to ensuring the normal activity of the Orthodox Church. After this meeting, the way was opened to a broad nationwide celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, which became a true triumph of the Church. The jubilee celebrations lasted from June 5 to June 12, 1988. On June 6, the Local Cathedral was opened in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At the evening session of the Council on June 7, Metropolitan Alexy made a speech on the peacekeeping activities of the Russian Church. His report contained a deep substantiation of the peacemaking ministry of the Church and showed the organic connection of church peacemaking with the unchanging patriotic position of the Russian Church. At the Council, 9 saints were canonized, among them Blessed Xenia, the chapel on whose grave, before her glorification, was restored and consecrated by Vladyka Alexy

At the end of the 1980s, in the midst of real changes that had begun, the authority of Metropolitan Alexy grew not only in church, but also in public circles. In 1989, Vladyka Alexy was elected People's Deputy of the USSR from the Charity and Health Fund, of which he was a member of the board. Metropolitan Alexy also became a member of the Committee on International Peace Prizes. Participation in social and political life brought its own experience: positive and negative. Patriarch Alexy often recalled parliament as "a place where people have no respect for each other." “I am categorically against the election of clergymen today, because I have experienced firsthand how we are not ready for parliamentarism, and I think that many other countries are not ready yet. The spirit of opposition and struggle reigns there. And after the meeting of the Congress of People's Deputies I would return just sick - this was the effect of this atmosphere of intolerance, when they slammed and shouted the speakers. But I think that my deputy was also useful, because I was a member of two commissions: on the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact (the Estonian delegates asked me to participate in this commission) and on the law on freedom of conscience. The commission on the law on freedom of conscience included lawyers who considered the 1929 Regulations on Religious Associations as a standard and did not understand, refused to understand that it was necessary to deviate from the norms of this law. Of course, it was very difficult, because I am not an expert in jurisprudence, but I tried to convince even these Soviet lawyers, and often I succeeded, ”recalls Patriarch Alexy.

Election as Patriarch. His Holiness Patriarch Pimen died on May 3, 1990. The last years of his Primacy, when the Patriarch was seriously ill, were difficult, and sometimes just difficult for the general church administration. Metropolitan Alexy, who headed the Administration of Affairs for 22 years, perhaps had a better idea of \u200b\u200bthe real situation of the Church in the late 1980s than most. He was convinced that the scope of the Church's activity was narrowed, limited, and in this he saw the main source of disorder. To elect a successor to the late Patriarch, a Local Council was convened, preceded by the Council of Bishops, which took place on June 6 at the Patriarchal residence in the Danilov Monastery. The Council of Bishops elected 3 candidates for the Patriarchal See, of which the largest number of votes (37) was received by Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad.

His Holiness the Patriarch wrote about his inner state on the eve of the Local Council: “I was on my way to Moscow for the Council, having before my eyes great tasks, which finally opened up for archpastoral and church activities in general in St. Petersburg. Speaking in a secular language, I did not conduct any “election campaign”. Only after the Council of Bishops ... where I received the most votes from the bishops, I felt that there was a danger that this cup might not escape me. I say "danger" because, being the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate for twenty-two years under His Holiness Patriarchs Alexy I and Pimen, I knew perfectly well how heavy the cross of Patriarchal service was. But I relied on the will of God: if there is the will of the Lord on my Patriarchate, then, apparently, He will also give strength. " According to recollections, the Local Council in 1990 was the first Council in the post-war period, held without the intervention of the Council for Religious Affairs. Patriarch Alexy spoke about the voting for the election of the Primate of the Russian Church, which took place on June 7: “I felt the confusion of many, I saw the confusion on some faces - where is the pointing finger? But it was not there, we had to decide for ourselves. "

On the evening of June 7, the chairman of the counting commission of the Cathedral, Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh, announced the results of the vote: 139 votes were cast for Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod, 107 for Metropolitan Vladimir of Rostov and Novocherkassk (Sabodan) and 66 for Metropolitan Filaret of Kiev and Galician (Denisenko ). In the second round, 166 members of the Council voted for Metropolitan Alexy, and 143 members of the Council voted for Metropolitan Vladimir. After the announcement of the final results of the voting, the newly elected Patriarch answered the question of the Chairman of the Council addressed to him with the appropriate rite words: “Election of me by the Consecrated Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia I accept with gratitude and in no way contrary to the verb” (ZhMP. 1990, no. 9. P. 30). A conciliar act on the election of His Holiness the Patriarch and a conciliar letter were drawn up, signed by all the bishops - members of the Local Council. At the end of the evening session, the senior archpastor of the Russian Church, Archbishop Leonty (Bondar) of Orenburg, addressed the newly elected Patriarch with congratulations. In his response, Patriarch Alexy II thanked all the members of the Local Council for their election and congratulations and said: “I recognize the difficulty and feat of the upcoming ministry. My life, which from my youth has been dedicated to the service of the Church of Christ, is approaching evening, but the consecrated Council entrusts me with the feat of the Primary ministry. I accept this election, but in the first minutes I ask the Most Reverend and Right Reverend archpastors, the honest clergy and all the God-loving flock of All-Russia with their prayers, their help, help me and strengthen me in the upcoming service. Many questions arise today before the Church, before society and before each of us. And in their solution, a conciliar reason is needed, a joint decision and discussion of them are needed both at the Councils of Bishops and at the Local Councils in accordance with the Charter adopted by our Church in 1988. The conciliar principle should apply to both diocesan and parish life, only then will we resolve the issues that face the Church and society. Church activity is expanding today. Deeds of mercy, charity, and education of the most varied age groups of our believers are expected from the Church, from each of its servants, from the church leaders. We must serve as a reconciling force, a unifying force, even when our lives are often divided. We must do everything to help strengthen the unity of the holy Orthodox Church ”(WMP. 1990. No. 9. P. 28).

On June 8, the session of the Council was opened by its new chairman, Vladyka Alexy, who was elected Patriarch. On this day, the Council, following the report of the chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Juvenaly (Poyarkov), issued an act on the glorification of St. righteous John of Kronstadt, the heavenly patron of the city, in which the newly elected Patriarch performed his archpastoral service on the eve of the Council, a saint whom Patriarch Alexy especially venerated. On June 10, 1990 in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, the enthronement of the newly elected Patriarch took place, with whom Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, members of the Holy Synod, the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch, Bishop Niphon, and a host of clergy served at the Divine Liturgy. The insistence of the designated Patriarch was performed by 2 Patriarchal Exarchs. On the day of his enthronement, the newly elected 15th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II uttered the Primate Word, in which he outlined the program of the upcoming Patriarchal ministry: “We see our primary task first of all in strengthening the inner, spirit-bearing life of the Church ... Achievement of the set goals will also help management of church life according to our new Rule, which pays great attention to the development of conciliarity. We are faced with the great task of a broad revival of monasticism, which at all times has exerted such a beneficial effect on the spiritual and moral state of the entire society ... In many, churches returned to the Church are being restored, and new ones are being built. This joyful process for us is still developing and will require from all of us a lot of work and material costs. Mindful of our responsibility to teach the truth of Christ and baptize in His name, we see before us an immense field of catechetical activity, including the creation of a wide network of Sunday schools for children and adults, providing the flock and the entire society with the literature necessary for Christian teaching and spiritual growth. With thanksgiving to God, we note that new ways and means are opening up before us for the development of free spiritual enlightenment in the most diverse circles of our society ... There is a lot to be done in establishing justice in international relations. Being multinational, the Russian Orthodox Church, together with other Christian Churches and religious associations of our country, is called upon to heal the wounds inflicted by ethnic strife ... As before, we will develop our fraternal relations with local Orthodox Churches and thereby strengthen pan-Orthodox unity. We see our Christian duty in testifying to Orthodoxy, in developing dialogue and cooperation with heterodox confessions. To fulfill these plans of our Church, I need the fraternal cooperation of the members of the Holy Synod, of the entire episcopate, clergy, monastics and laity "(ZhMP. 1990, No. 9. P. 21-22).

The newly elected Patriarch understood: “No one is born a ready bishop and there is no one who was born a ready Patriarch. I am the same as everyone else, I also formed during the Soviet era. But now the main thing is not to rest on our laurels, not to feel like a prince of the Church, but to work tirelessly ”(Conversations with Patriarch Alexy II). There was also a lot of risk in what the new Primate of the Russian Church was going to accomplish: during the Soviet period, the experience of monastic life was practically lost (in 1988 there were only 21 monasteries), the system of spiritual education of the laity was lost, no one knew how to preach in the army, how to work in places of detention. However, the need for such a ministry became more and more obvious. Shortly before the Local Council, the administration of one of the colonies addressed a letter to Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad, informing them that they had decided to build a church in the colony, that the project was ready, and even most of the funds had been collected, and asked to consecrate the site of the church foundation. Patriarch Alexy recalled that he went there, fearing that he would not be able to find a common language with the prisoners. The meeting took place and strengthened him in the consciousness of the need to conduct systematic work in places of deprivation of liberty. Metropolitan Alexy promised to come to consecrate the temple when it is built; a year and a half later, already being a Patriarch, His Holiness fulfilled his promise; at the liturgy after consecration, he gave the Holy Communion to 72 people. It is significant that for 2 years after the elevation to the Patriarchal throne, the Primate of the Russian Church continued to lead the Tallinn diocese, ruling it through the Patriarchal Vicar Bishop of Tallinn Cornelius (Jacobs). Patriarch Alexy gave the new bishop the opportunity to gain the necessary experience and supported him with his enormous authority in the diocese. On August 11, 1992, Bishop Cornelius became the ruling archpastor of the Estonian Diocese.

A few days after his enthronement, on June 14, Patriarch Alexy went to Leningrad in order to glorify St. righteous John of Kronstadt. The celebration of glorification took place in the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka, where the saint of God is buried. Returning to Moscow, on June 27, the Patriarch met with the Moscow clergy at the St. Daniel Monastery. At this meeting, he spoke about the fact that the new Statute on the management of the ROC allows the revival of conciliarity at all levels of church life and that one must start with the parish. The Primate's first speech to the Moscow clergy contained a capacious and concrete program of transformations in church life, aimed at normalizing it in the face of a significant expansion of the freedom of the Church. On July 16-20, 1990, a session of the Holy Synod was held under the chairmanship of Patriarch Alexy. Unlike previous meetings, which mainly dealt with issues related to external church activities, this time the focus was on the internal life of the Church. Under Patriarch Alexy, the Holy Synod began to meet much more often than before: once a month or every 2 months. This ensured the observance of canonical conciliarity in church administration.

Church-state relations in the Patriarchate of Alexy II. Patriarch Alexy ascended to the Primate throne when the crisis of the Soviet state entered its final phase. In a rapidly changing environment, it was important for the ROC to regain the necessary legal status, which largely depended on the initiative of the Patriarch, on his ability to build relationships with government authorities and politicians in such a way as to affirm the dignity of the Church as the highest shrine and spiritual guide of the people. From the first steps of the Patriarchal ministry, Alexy II, in contacts with the authorities, was able to protect and emphasize the dignity of the Church, which he headed. Soon after his enthronement, His Holiness the Patriarch brought to the attention of the President of the USSR the critical attitude of the Local Council to the draft new law "On freedom of conscience and religious organizations," an agreement was reached on the participation of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious communities in further work on the bill. This had a favorable effect on the content of the law, adopted on October 1, 1990, and affirming for individual parishes, church institutions, including the Patriarchate, the rights of a legal entity. A month after the publication of the union law, the Russian law "On freedom of religion" was adopted. He no longer provided for the existence of a government institution similar to the Council for Religious Affairs; instead, a Commission on Freedom of Conscience and Religion was formed in the Supreme Council. The regulation on the separation of schools from the Church was formulated in a form that allowed the teaching of the doctrine in general education schools on an optional basis.

In the new socio-political situation, the Church could not, as in previous years, refrain from judging the ways of the country's development, such silence would not meet with understanding in society. On November 5, 1990, for the first time after the message of St. Tikhon in 1918 on the anniversary of the October Revolution, His Holiness the Patriarch, in his address to fellow citizens, gave a meaningful assessment of this dramatic event: “Seventy-three years ago, an event took place that determined the path of Russia in the twentieth century. This path turned out to be mournful and difficult ... And let all the past years, one after the other, stand in our conscience and beg us not to pay with human destinies for the experiments and principles of politicians ”(ZhMP. 1990, No. 12. P. 2). At the request of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Russian authorities declared Christmas to be a day off, and in 1991, for the first time since the 1920s, Russian citizens were not forced to work on this holiday.

Tragic events took place in the country on August 19-22, 1991. Part of the leaders of the state, dissatisfied with the policy of reforms, made an attempt to overthrow the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev, forming the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP). This attempt ended in failure, which resulted in the banning of the CPSU and the fall of the communist regime. “In the days that we have just experienced, the period of our history, which began in 1917, ended with the Providence of God,” His Holiness Patriarch wrote on August 23 in his Epistle to the archpastors, pastors, monastics and all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church. the time cannot return when one ideology ruled the state and tried to impose itself on society, on all people. The communist ideology, as we are convinced, will never again be a state one in Russia ... Russia begins the labor and feat of healing! " (ZhMP. 1991. No. 10. S. 3). The speeches of the Primate on the most acute problems of social life from high Christian positions made him in the minds of our people the spiritual leader of Russia. In late September and early October 1993, the Russian state experienced one of the most tragic political crises in its modern history: the confrontation between the executive and legislative powers, as a result of which the Supreme Soviet ceased to exist, a new Constitution was adopted, elections to the V State Duma and the Soviet were held Federation. Having learned about the events in Moscow, His Holiness the Patriarch, who was then at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Orthodoxy in America, urgently interrupted his visit and returned to his homeland. At the Danilov Monastery, with the mediation of the Hierarchy of the Russian Church, negotiations were held between representatives of the opposing sides, which, however, did not lead to an agreement. Blood was shed, and yet the worst did not happen - a full-scale civil war.

The most important document regulating the life of religious organizations in Russia was adopted on 26 September. 1997 new law “On freedom of conscience and on religious associations”. The ROC, its hierarchy and the Primate faced a well-organized confrontation between various public organizations and the media, which, hiding behind the principles of equality and freedom, tried to defend the right of totalitarian sects and neo-religious cults to pursue an aggressive policy on the canonical territory of the ROC. His Holiness the Patriarch has repeatedly appealed to the highest bodies of state power, making sure that in its new edition of the law, guaranteeing citizens the freedom of religious life, at the same time, take into account the special role of Orthodoxy in the history of the country. As a result, in its final version, the law recognized the historical role of the Orthodox Church in the fate of Russia, thus, without prejudice to the rights of other religions, it protects Russians from pseudo-spiritual aggression.

In February 1999, the Russian Church and the Russian public celebrated the 70th anniversary of Patriarch Alexy. The jubilee celebrations became a major event in the life of the country, to congratulate the Primate at the Bolshoi Theater, where the anniversary was celebrated, came the archpastors and pastors of the Russian Church, prominent statesmen and political figures of different trends and parties, outstanding scientists, writers, artists, and artists.

On the bright Easter days of 2000, which coincided with the celebration of the 55th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Alexy, together with President of Russia V.V. Putin, President of Ukraine L.D. Kuchma and President of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko, visited Prokhorovo Pole in Belgorod diocese. After the Divine Liturgy in the memorial church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul on Prokhorov Field and prayers for all who laid down their lives for the Fatherland, the Patriarch consecrated the Bell of Unity of 3 fraternal Slavic peoples.

On June 10, 2000, the Russian Church solemnly celebrated the tenth anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy. At the liturgy in the revived Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Patriarch Alexy was co-served by 70 bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, representatives of the fraternal Local Orthodox Churches, as well as about 400 clerics of Moscow and the Moscow Region. Addressing the Patriarch with a welcoming speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed: “The Russian Orthodox Church has a huge role to play in the spiritual gathering of the Russian lands after many years of disbelief, moral devastation and theomachy. There is not only the restoration of destroyed churches. The traditional mission of the Church is being restored as a key factor in social stability and the unification of Russians around common moral priorities - justice and patriotism, peacemaking and charity, creative work and family values. Despite the fact that you had the opportunity to navigate the church ship in a difficult and contradictory time, the past decade has become a unique era of a real revival of the moral foundations of society. At this crucial moment in our national history, millions of our fellow citizens listen with deep respect to your firm, heart-hardened word of the pastor. The Russians are grateful to you for your prayers, your trusteeship for the strengthening of civil peace in the country, for the harmonization of interethnic and interreligious relations ”(Orthodox Moscow. 2000. No. 12 (222). P. 2).

In his speech at the jubilee Council of Bishops in 2000, Patriarch Alexy described the current state of church-state relations: “The Patriarchal See maintains constant contact with the highest state authorities of the Russian Federation, other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic states, parliamentarians, regional leaders. During conversations with heads of state, government, deputies, heads of various departments, I invariably try to raise pressing problems of church life, and also talk about the troubles and needs of the people, about the need to create peace and harmony in society. As a rule, I find understanding and subsequently see the good fruits of maintaining church-state relations at the highest level. I regularly meet with the leaders of foreign countries, their ambassadors accredited in Moscow, heads of foreign Churches and religious organizations, and the leadership of intergovernmental structures. I am not afraid to say that these contacts in many ways contribute to strengthening the authority of our Church in the world, its involvement in global social processes, and the ordering of life for the Russian Orthodox diaspora. " Patriarch Alexy retains unchanged his understanding of the relationship between the Church and the state, seeing them not in merging or subordination, but in cooperation in solving many socially significant problems.

Internal Church Life in the Patriarchate of Alexy II.During the years of the Primacy of Patriarch Alexy, 6 Bishops' Councils were held, at which decisions that were most important for the life of the ROC were adopted. 25-27 oct. 1990 the first Bishops' Council held in the Danilov Monastery, chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy. The Council focused on 3 issues: the church situation in Ukraine, the schism initiated by the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), and the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church, conditioned by 2 new laws on freedom of conscience and religion. At the initiative of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Council of Bishops, in its appeal to the archpastors, pastors and all loyal children of the ROC, expressed the position of the Hierarchs of the Russian Church on those issues that were misinterpreted in the polemical speeches of the representatives of the ROCOR: the struggle for the survival of our Church in the difficult years of persecution for her, we nevertheless do not at all consider ourselves bound by his Declaration of 1927, which preserves for us the significance of a monument to that tragic epoch in the history of our Fatherland ... We are accused of “trampling on the memory of the holy new martyrs and confessors “… In our Church, the prayerful commemoration of the sufferers for Christ, whose successors our episcopate and clergy happened to become, have never been interrupted. Now, as the whole world is witnessing, we are developing a process of their church glorification, which, in accordance with the ancient church tradition, must be rid of vain politicking, placed at the service of the changing moods of the times ”(ZhMP. 1991. No. 2. P. 7-8). The Bishops' Council adopted a decision to grant the Ukrainian Orthodox Church independence and autonomy in government while maintaining jurisdictional ties with the Moscow Patriarchate.

On March 31, 1992, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church opened in the Danilov Monastery, whose sessions lasted until April 5. In his opening remarks, His Holiness the Patriarch made an overview of the Council's program: the canonization of the New Martyrs of Russia and the holy parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh; the question of the status of the Ukrainian Church and church life in Ukraine, the relationship between the Church and society. The Council of Bishops adopted a decision on the canonization of the monks Schema-monk Cyril and Schema-nun Mary, parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh, as well as the canonization of the new martyrs Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Vladimir (Epiphany), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Veniamin (Kazan) and others like him murdered Archimandrite Sergius (Shein), Yuri Novitsky and John Kovsharov, Grand. princess Elisabeth and nun Barbara. In the act of canonization, it was said that this was only the beginning of the church glorification of the new martyrs and confessors who suffered during the years of revolutionary turmoil and post-revolutionary terror.

The Council of Bishops discussed the petition of the Ukrainian bishops to grant the Ukrainian Church autocephalous status. In his report at the Council of Met. Filaret (Denisenko) substantiated the need to grant the Ukrainian Church autocephaly by political events: the collapse of the USSR and the formation of an independent Ukrainian state. A discussion began, in which the majority of the bishops took part, and His Holiness the Patriarch also took the floor during the discussion. Most of the speakers rejected the idea of \u200b\u200bautocephaly, Metropolitan Philaret was named the culprit of the church crisis in Ukraine, which manifested itself in the emergence of an autocephalist schism and the falling away of most parishes into the union. The archpastors demanded his resignation from his post. Metropolitan Filaret promised that upon his return to Kiev he would convene a Council and resign from his duties as Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia. However, upon returning to Kiev, Metropolitan Filaret announced that he did not intend to leave his post. In this situation, His Holiness the Patriarch took measures to save the canonical unity of the Russian Church - on his initiative, the Holy Synod instructed Metropolitan Nikodim (Rusnak), the oldest archpastor of the Ukrainian Church, to convene the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Church, in order to accept the resignation of Metropolitan Philaret of Ukraine and elect a new Churches. On May 26, the Primate of the Kiriarchal Church, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, sent a telegram to Metropolitan Filaret, in which, appealing to his archpastoral and Christian conscience, he asked for the good of the church to submit to the canonical hierarchy. On the same day, Metropolitan Filaret gathered his supporters in Kiev for a conference, which rejected the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Council of Bishops, convened in Kharkov on May 27 by Metropolitan Nikodim, expressed no confidence in Metropolitan Philaret and dismissed him from the Kiev See. Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) was elected head of the Ukrainian Church. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, at a meeting on May 28, expressed its agreement with the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Church. Patriarch Alexy in accordance with the definition "On the Ukrainian Orthodox Church" adopted by the Council of Bishops in October. 1990, blessed the newly elected Metropolitan of Kiev for his service as Primate of the Ukrainian Church.

On June 11, 1992, a Council of Bishops was held at the Danilov Monastery under the chairmanship of His Holiness the Patriarch, specially convened to consider the case on charges against former Metropolitan Filaret of anti-church activities. Having considered all the circumstances of the case on the accusation of the former Metropolitan of Kiev Filaret (Denisenko) and Bishop of Pochaev Jacob (Panchuk) in grave ecclesiastical crimes, the Council decided to expel Metropolitan Philaret and Bishop Jacob from dignity.

On November 29, 1994, the next Bishops' Council opened in the Danilov Monastery, the activities of which continued until December 2. On the first day of conciliar meetings, His Holiness the Patriarch read out a summary report, which reflected the most important events of church life in the 2.5 years that have passed since the previous Bishops' Council: the resumption of regular services in Kremlin churches and St. Basil's Cathedral, the consecration of the restored Kazan Cathedral on Red Square , the beginning of the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the nationwide celebration of the 600th anniversary of the death of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The Patriarch noted in his report the widespread revival of monastic life.

On February 18, 1997, the next Bishops' Council opened with a brief speech by His Holiness the Patriarch. The first day of the council sessions was dedicated to the report of the Primate. Patriarch Alexy reported on the labors of the Primate of the Russian Church and the Holy Synod, on the situation in dioceses, monasteries and parishes. Concerning the missionary service of the Church, the speaker highlighted the work on organizing missions among young people. In the section of the report devoted to church charity, official statistics were presented showing that in Russia from 1/4 to 1/3 of the population lives below the poverty line. In this regard, the Primate said that the ROC should become a full-fledged subject of social policy, which could change this dramatic situation. In the part of his report devoted to inter-Orthodox relations, His Holiness the Patriarch especially dwelt on the characterization of the difficult relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which were the result of Constantinople's interference in the church life of Estonia: the seizure of several Estonian parishes and the extension of its jurisdiction to Estonia. Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, His Holiness the Patriarch noted that, despite all the efforts of the schismatics, supported in some places by the authorities and the press, the Ukrainian flock rejected the new temptation of schism, which did not receive noticeable spread. In the report of the Primate, the reaction of the clergy and church people to the slanderous publications of a number of newspapers devoted to church life was expressed: “It is simply useless to argue with them ... We do not forget about the appeal of the Apostle Paul to every Christian: Avoid stupid and ignorant contests, knowing that they give rise to quarrels; the servant of the Lord should not quarrel, but be friendly to everyone, teachable, gentle, instruct opponents with meekness (2 Tim. 2. 23-25) ”(ZhMP. 1997. No. 3. P. 77). The Bishops' Council of 1997 testified to the unity of the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church who serve in different states and regions, around the Primate, behind this unity of archpastors lies the unity of the church people in a society torn apart by contradictions and enmity. On February 20, the participants in the Council of Bishops made a pilgrimage to the shrines of Moscow and visited the Kremlin cathedrals. A significant event took place in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral - the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the first time since Patriarch Adrian ascended to the Patriarchal seat.

The Jubilee Council of Bishops, which took place in the year of the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, opened in the hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on 13 August. On the first day of the Council, Patriarch Alexy made a detailed report in which he deeply and realistically analyzed all aspects of modern life and activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Alexy described the condition of diocesan and parish life in the Russian Church as generally satisfactory. The main result of the Council, in which 144 bishops took part, were the decisions on the canonization of 1154 St. saints, including 867 new martyrs and confessors of Russia, including St. passion-bearers - the last Russian emperor Nicholas II and his family. The Council established general church veneration for 230 martyrs previously glorified to local veneration. The cathedral canonized 57 devotees of piety of the 16th-20th centuries. A new edition of the ROC Charter was approved, which, according to Patriarch Alexy, “should be the basis and program for further improvement” of church life. “It is very important,” the Patriarch noted, “that the norms of the Charter are not only conciliarly approved, but also really implemented in the life of our Church. It is especially important to strengthen the connection of each parish with its diocesan administration, and the dioceses - with the center and among themselves. " An important event was the adoption of the "Foundations of the Social Concept of the Church", which "formulated the Church's responses to the challenges of the era of the turn of the century." The Council of Bishops adopted special definitions in connection with the state of Orthodoxy in Ukraine and Estonia. At the end of the Council, the solemn consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the canonization of the newly glorified saints took place, in which the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches took part: Patriarch and Catholicos of All Georgia Ilia II, Patriarch of Serbia Pavel, Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, Archbishop Chrysostom of Cyprus, Archbishop of All Tirania, andastas Metropolitan Nicholas of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, as well as representatives of the Local Churches - Archbishop Demetrius of America (Patriarchate of Constantinople), Metropolitan Irenaeus of Pilusia (Patriarchate of Alexandria), Bishop Niphon of Philippopolis (Patriarchate of Antioch), Archbishop St. (Church of Greece), Archbishop Jeremiah of Wroclaw and Szczecin (Polish Church), Archbishop Herman of Philadelphia and East Pennsylvania (American Church), who headed the delegations of their Churches. The guest of the celebrations was the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.

The closest co-workers of the Patriarch in the implementation of the highest church administration are the permanent members of the Holy Synod. From March 1997 to August 2000, 23 sessions of the Holy Synod were held, in which, in addition to the permanent members, 42 diocesan bishops took part. The expansion of the sphere of activity of the ROC required the creation of new synodal departments and institutions: in 1991, the departments for religious education and catechesis and for church charity and social service were established, in 1995 - the department for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies and the Missionary department, in 1996 - the Orthodox Encyclopedia Church Research Center of the Russian Orthodox Church. New commissions were formed: Biblical (1990), Theological (1993), for monasteries (1995), for economic and humanitarian issues (1997), Historical and legal (2000). In 1990, the All-Church Orthodox Youth Movement was created.

In 1989-2000. the number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church increased from 67 to 130, the number of monasteries - from 21 to 545, the number of parishes increased almost 3 times and approached 20 thousand, the number of clergymen also changed significantly - from 6893 to 19417. During the years of his episcopal service, Patriarch Alexy headed 70 episcopal ordinations: 13 in the dignity of Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod and 57 - as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. In 2000, the ROC numbered up to 80 million people.

A characteristic feature of the Primary ministry of Patriarch Alexy is numerous visits to dioceses, which began with a trip to the northern capital immediately after enthronement; During the first year of his Patriarchate, His Holiness visited 15 dioceses, while serving not only in cathedrals, but also in parishes remote from the diocesan center, in newly opened monasteries, met with the local leadership, with the public, attended higher and secondary schools, military units , nursing homes, prisons, bringing joy and consolation to people. And in subsequent years, the Primate did not leave his attention to the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. So, for example, in the last 5 years alone, Patriarch Alexy has paid pastoral visits to over 40 dioceses: in 1997 - Elista, Murmansk, Vilna, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Odessa, Vienna and Vladimir dioceses, as well as the Holy Land, where he led the celebrations for the occasion of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem; in 1998 - Tambov, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Kaluga and Voronezh; in 1999 - Krasnodar, Tula, Kaluga, St. Petersburg with a visit to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, Syktyvkar, Arkhangelsk, Rostov, Penza, Samara and Krasnoyarsk; in 2000 - Belgorod, St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Saransk, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Tokyo, Kyoto, Sendai, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk dioceses, as well as the Diveevo monastery and Valaam monastery; in 2001 - Baku, Brest, Pinsk, Turov, Gomel, Cheboksary, Tobolsk, St. Petersburg, Kaluga, Tula, Petrozavodsk, as well as the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky monastery. From June 1990 to December 2001, Patriarch Alexy visited 88 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, consecrated 168 churches. On March 23, 1990, for the first time after many decades of the ban on religious processions outside the church, a religious procession, led by His Holiness the Patriarch, took place along Moscow streets from the Kremlin walls to the Great Ascension Church.

At the end of 1990, in one of the offices of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, located in the Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg, St. relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. On January 11, 1991, His Holiness the Patriarch arrived in St. Petersburg and after a prayer service in the chapel of Blessed Xenia and in the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka went to the Kazan Cathedral. The relics of St. Seraphim were transferred from the Kazan Cathedral to the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and remained there until February 6, during which time thousands of Orthodox Petersburgers came to bow to St. to the saint of God. From St. Petersburg, the holy relics, accompanied by the High Hierarch, were brought to Moscow and transferred to the Epiphany Cathedral in procession. They stayed in Moscow for 5.5 months, and every day a long line of people wishing to kiss them lined up. July 23-30, 1991 St. The relics in a procession with the cross, accompanied by His Holiness the Patriarch, were transferred to the Diveyevo monastery, revived shortly before the re-acquisition of the relics of the holy founder of this monastery. Other significant events also took place: the second uncovering of the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod (February 28, 1991), the miraculous uncovering of the imperishable relics of St. Patriarch Tikhon (22 Feb 1992). In the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, while maintaining the museum regime in it, divine services began to be regularly held, and this ancient temple again became the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church.

A symbol of the revival of the Russian Church in the 90s. XX century was the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, barbarously destroyed in 1931. His Holiness Patriarch and Moscow Mayor Yu. M. Luzhkov headed this truly national cause. On Easter 1995, Patriarch Alexy, co-served by a host of archpastors and pastors, celebrated the first service in the restored church - Easter Vespers. On December 31, 1999, His Holiness the Patriarch performed a small consecration of the upper church of the Nativity of Christ; on August 19, 2000, the solemn consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior took place. In the processions of the cross, thousands of Orthodox clergy and laity walked from all over Moscow in the morning to the reconstructed shrine. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was co-served by the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, as well as 147 bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate. Addressing the flock, the Patriarch stressed: “It is providential that the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior took place on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. For the life of our Fatherland is being transformed, the souls of people are transformed, who find their way to God and the temple of God. This day will remain in the history of our Church as the triumph of Orthodoxy ”(Orthodox Moscow. 2000. No. 17 (227). P. 1).

In his speeches at Bishops' Councils and at Moscow diocesan meetings, His Holiness the Patriarch constantly addresses issues of pastoral ministry and the moral character of a clergyman, reminds of the difficulties and shortcomings of modern parish life, of the tasks of the clergy, both invariable and eternal, regardless of the circumstances of the time, and dictated spite of the day. In a speech at the diocesan meeting in December 1995, Patriarch Alexy spoke with particular concern that some clergy do not value church traditions: “This leads to voluntary or involuntary distortions of the entire church life ... Some have recently been actively trying to introduce religious democratic pluralism ... It is legitimate and fair to talk about religious pluralism in the state, but not within the Church ... In the Church there is not democratic pluralism, but the grace-filled conciliarity and freedom of the children of God within the framework of the law and holy canons, which do not hinder the good purity of freedom, but put an obstacle to sin and elements alien to the Church ”(Address of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II to the clergy and parish councils of churches in Moscow at the diocesan meeting on December 21, 1995. M., 1996. P. 15). "A misunderstanding of the meaning of the church hierarchy, which has a divine institution, sometimes leads a cleric or a monk to a dangerous disagreement with canon law, to a state that is fatal for the soul" (from a report at the Council of Bishops in 2000).

Patriarch Alexy is attentive to the spiritual aspirations of his flock: both those people who are just coming to faith, and those who have already become strengthened in their service to God. “In the area of \u200b\u200bparish life, the most important attention should be paid to ensuring that people who have recently found their way to the church do not leave it because of insensitivity and rudeness on the part of church officials, which, unfortunately, is observed in our parishes. Everyone who comes to the church should be in a benevolent environment, feel the love and care of believers. People are repelled from the Church by the negligent attitude of the clergy to their pastoral duties, indifference ”(from a report at the Council of Bishops in 2000). The demands of Patriarch Alexy to perform the sacrament of Baptism in accordance with church rules and the tradition of the Russian Church, to precede Baptism with catechesis, a call to renounce the practice of common confession - all this testifies to the desire to strengthen the canonical and spiritual life of the parish. In general, positively assessing the works of the modern parish clergy, the Primate draws attention to the insufficient theological education and the lack of the necessary life and spiritual experience among many priests, which is the reason for the existence of the "young age", which, in the words of Patriarch Alexy, is associated "not with the age of the clergy, but with his lack of a sober and wise approach to spiritual practice. " Protecting his flock from spiritual temptations, the Primate more than once expressed his serious concern “about the application by some clergy of various innovations that contradict the established Orthodox Church tradition. Displaying unreasonable zeal, such pastors often strive to organize parish life on the model of the early Christian community, which confuses the conscience of believers and often leads to division in the parish or to its deliberate isolation. The preservation of the church tradition should be strictly consistent with the historical reality, for the artificial restoration of outdated forms of parish life can seriously distort the spiritual structure of the community and bring confusion. " Patriarch Alexy calls on the clergy not to limit the life of the community only to divine services, to organize charitable, missionary and catechetical work in the parish. “Until recently, the circle of the priest's activities was limited to the walls of the church, and the Church was artificially cut off from the life of the people. Now the situation has changed radically. The priest has become a public figure, he is invited to radio and television, to prisons and military units, he speaks in the media, meets people of different professions, of different intellectual levels. Today, in addition to high morality, impeccable honesty and truly Orthodox spirituality, a pastor is also required to be able to speak in the language of a modern person, to help in solving the most difficult problems that modern reality poses to believers. " The revitalization of parish life presupposes, in the opinion of Patriarch Alexy, the most active participation of the parishioners, "kindling the conciliar principles in the life of the parish ... Ordinary members of the parish should feel their involvement in the common cause and their responsibility for the future of the church community." Alexy believes that the most important direction of the parish activity is charity, helping the disadvantaged, sick, refugees. “The Russian Orthodox Church must make every effort to make the ministry of mercy one of the priority directions of its activity” (from a report at the Council of Bishops in 2000).

The Patriarch considers that the sphere of special pastoral responsibility is the care of persons in prison. The Primate is convinced that the pastoral service in prisons and colonies - the performance of the Sacraments, the provision of humanitarian aid to prisoners - can and should help to correct people who once transgressed the law, and in the best way contribute to their return to full life. During the years of the Primacy of Patriarch Alexy, in the Russian Federation alone, more than 160 Orthodox churches and 670 prayer rooms have been created in places of detention and prisons.

In a speech at the Council of Bishops in 2000, the Patriarch emphasized: “The influence of monasticism on the world and the reverse influence of the world on monasticism in different periods of history acquired in Russia a fateful, sometimes tragic character, associated with the flourishing or impoverishment of the ascetic ideal in the people's soul. Today, modern monasticism has a special pastoral and missionary responsibility, for due to the urbanization of life, our monasteries are in close contact with the world. The world comes to the walls of the monasteries, trying to find spiritual support there, and our monasteries, by their prayerful exploits and good deeds, build and heal the soul of the people, again teaching them piety. " The increase in the number of monasteries in the ROC over the past decade more than 25 times was accompanied by many difficulties and problems, for it was necessary to restore what seemed to have been almost completely lost - the traditions and foundations of monastic exploits. And today, according to Patriarch Alexy, “there are still many difficulties in the life of monasteries. The lack of experienced confessors remains a big problem, which sometimes negatively affects both the structure of monastic life and the pastoral care of the people of God. Since a confessor not only accepts repentance, but also bears responsibility before God for the counseling he is given, he must use many efforts to acquire the gift of compassionate love, wisdom, patience and humility. For only one's own spiritual experience, a real knowledge of what is the struggle with sin, can save the confessor from mistakes, make his words understandable and convincing for the flock ”(from a report at the Council of Bishops in 2000). The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Alexy, decided to strengthen the monastic order, setting the minimum age for tonsure into the mantle no earlier than 30 years, with the exception of students of theological schools and widowed clergy. This is done so that those who embark on the path of monastic work think carefully about the step they are taking and, under the guidance of the abbot and an experienced confessor, undergo a sufficient skill of obedience.

External relations of the ROC to the Patriarchate of Alexy II. In the field of external church relations, Patriarch Alexy consistently pursues an independent, clear and realistic policy based on unconditional fidelity to Orthodoxy, strict adherence to canonical principles, and the Christian understanding of love and justice.

Constantly caring about the strengthening of fraternal relations between the Local Orthodox. By the churches, Patriarch Alexy treats the Serbian Church with special sympathy and supports her in the years of suffering of the Serbian people from external aggression. The Patriarch of Moscow not only repeatedly protested against the conduct of punitive hostilities by the international alliance in the territory of independent Yugoslavia, but twice in these difficult years (1994 and 1999) visited the long-suffering Serbian land, clearly expressing the position of the multimillion flock of the Russian Church. In the spring of 1999, at the height of the escalation of NATO's military aggression against Yugoslavia, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia flew to the bombed Belgrade to support the fraternal people with joint prayer. On April 20, after the Divine Liturgy in Belgrade, Patriarch Alexy said: “We are witnessing an outrageous lawlessness: several strong and rich countries, boldly considering themselves the world standard of good and evil, trample on the will of the people who want to live differently. Bombs and missiles are raining down on this land not because they are protecting someone. NATO's military actions have a different goal - to destroy the post-war world order paid for with great blood, to impose an order alien to them, based on the dictates of brute force. But injustice and hypocrisy will never prevail. Indeed, according to the ancient saying: God is not in power, but in truth. Let the power of the enemy surpass yours - but on your side, my dears, the help of God. This is the meaning of all historical lessons ”(ZhMP. 1999. No. 5. P. 35-36). Patriarch Alexy tried to prevent bomb attacks. As soon as it became known about the "illegitimate and unjust" decision of the NATO leadership, the Patriarch in his statement supported the Hierarchy of the Serbian Church, whose hierarchs considered NATO's military intervention in the Yugoslav conflict unacceptable. On behalf of the Russian Church, Patriarch Alexy appealed to the heads of NATO member states and the leaders of the North Atlantic bloc with a demand to prevent the use of military force against the sovereign Republic of Yugoslavia, since this could cause "an inevitable escalation of hostilities in the very center of Europe." However, the voice of reason was not heard, and the Patriarch of Moscow again issued a statement expressing protest against the multimillion flock of the Russian Church: “Last night and tonight Yugoslavia was subjected to numerous airstrikes by NATO ... We are told that the armed action is aimed at achieving peace. Is this not hypocrisy? If people are being killed “for the sake of peace”, the right of an entire people to decide their own destiny is trampled on, are not there completely different goals behind the calls for peace? A group of states, having not received any legitimization from the international community, arrogated to themselves the right to judge what is good and what is bad, who to execute and whom to pardon. They are trying to accustom us to the idea that strength is the measure of truth and morality. The gross economic and political pressure, which in recent years has been practiced by Western states to serve their interests, has been replaced by outright violence ... What is being done is a sin before God and a crime from the point of view of international law. Many iniquities were committed allegedly in the name of peace, allegedly for the sake of imposing "freedom and civilization." But history teaches us that it is impossible to deprive a sovereign nation of its history, its shrines, its right to an original life. And if the peoples of the West do not understand this, the judgment of history will be inevitable, for cruelty damages not only the victim, but also the aggressor ”(ZhMP. 1999, No. 4. P. 25). With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, funds were raised in churches in Moscow and in other dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church to help refugees from Kosovo. Patriarch of the Serbian Church Pavel highly appreciated the selfless help of the Russian First Hierarch.

The firm position of the Russian Church and the resolute support by Patriarch Alexy of the canonical Hierarchy of the Bulgarian Church, its Primate Patriarch Maxim, helped to overcome the schism in one of the ancient Orthodox Churches. Patriarch Alexy became one of the initiators of the meeting in Sofia of the Primates and hierarchs of the Local Churches (September 30 - October 1, 1998) for a pan-Orthodox discussion and healing of the church schism in Bulgaria.

In the 90s. XX century there was an acute crisis in the relationship between the Russian and Constantinople Churches, caused by the situation in Estonia. In the early 90s. The nationalist-minded part of the Estonian clergy declared their subordination to the non-canonical foreign “synod”, after which, with the encouragement of the authorities, the seizure of the parishes of the canonical Estonian Church by the schismatics began, which was declared the “occupation Church” by the Estonian government. Despite this, the overwhelming majority of clergy and laity in Estonia remained faithful to the Russian Church. In October 1994, the Estonian authorities appealed to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople with a request to admit schismatics associated with the Stockholm "synod" into their jurisdiction. Patriarch Bartholomew gave a positive answer and, avoiding negotiations with the Moscow Patriarchate, called on the Estonian clergy to come under his omophorion. On February 20, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, referring to the "urgent request of the Estonian government", decided to restore the Tomos of Patriarch Meletius IV of 1923 and establish an autonomous Orthodox Metropolitanate of Estonia in the territory of Estonia within the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Alexy, who devoted 25 years to the archpastoral care of the Orthodox Church in Estonia, was very acutely experienced by the schism in the Estonian clergy. The response of the hierarchy of the Russian Church to the schism in Estonia was the temporary termination of canonical communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This move was supported by some autocephalous Orthodox Churches. As a result of negotiations between representatives of the Russian and Constantinople Churches at the 1996 meeting in Zurich, an agreement was reached that in Estonia there will be dioceses at the same time under the jurisdiction of 2 Patriarchates, clergy and church people can voluntarily choose their jurisdictional affiliation. It also envisaged the cooperation of the two Patriarchates in presenting their position to the Estonian government with the aim of ensuring that all Orthodox Christians in Estonia receive the same rights, including the right to historical church property. However, Constantinople put forward all new conditions up to the demand to recognize the diocese in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople as the only autonomous Orthodox Church in Estonia.

Relations between the Russian and Constantinople Churches also became complicated because of the not entirely clear position of Patriarch Bartholomew on the issue of the church schism in Ukraine. From the side of the schismatic so-called. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) is actively trying to find support from the Patriarch of Constantinople. In order to avoid confrontation between the two Patriarchates over the Ukrainian church problem, Patriarch Alexy gave his blessing to enter into negotiations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the hope that through the cooperation of the two Churches and with the support of the entire Orthodox Fullness, the right solution will be found that will help overcome schisms and unite Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

Patriarch Alexy also pays great attention to the still unresolved problem of relations with the Romanian Orthodox Church, caused by the creation by the Romanian Church on the canonical territory of the ROC of a structure called the Bessarabian Metropolis. His Holiness the Patriarch considers the structure of parishes united in the representation of the Romanian Church in Moldova to be the only canonically acceptable possibility of the presence of the Romanian Patriarchate on the territory of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The year of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ became an important milestone in the strengthening of inter-Orthodox relations: on January 7, 2000, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, in the Bethlehem basilica, with the concelebration of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, the unity of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church was again attested to the world. During his First Hierarchical service, Patriarch Alexy repeatedly visited the fraternal Local Churches, the guests of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia were Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Patriarch Peter of Alexandria, Patriarch-Catholicos of Georgia Ilia II, Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, Patriarch of Romania, Theoktistos of All Tsepistopias , Metropolitan Savva of Warsaw and All Poland, Primates of the Church Metropolitans of the Czech lands and Slovakia Dorotheos and Nicholas, Metropolitan of All America and Canada Theodosius.

Today, the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Alexy, is the most numerous in its composition, the number of dioceses and parishes in the family of fraternal Local Orthodox Churches. This fact imposes a considerable responsibility on the Primate of the Russian Church for the development of Orthodox life throughout the world, especially in those countries where Orthodox missionary service is possible and necessary and where there is a Russian diaspora.

The position of Patriarch Alexy in his relations with heterodox Churches, religious and ecumenical organizations is based on two principles. First, he believes that the testimony of the truth of the Orthodox faith in a divided Christian world is one of the most important directions of external church activity, responding to the call of the Lord Jesus Christ to overcome those mediastinals that divide believers in Him (John 17.21-22), hinder the grace-filled unity of people in the love of God pre-established by Divine economy. Secondly, the basis of any testimony at any level of inter-Christian contacts can only be a clear ecclesiological self-awareness of the Orthodox Church as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. “At all times,” the Patriarch emphasized in his report at the Council of Bishops in 2000, “our Church remained faithful to the commandment of standing in the sacred Tradition, to which she was taught by the apostolic“ word or message ”(2 Thess. 2:15), following the Savior's covenant to preach to all nations, “teaching them to keep everything” that He commanded (Matt. 28:20) ”.

The Russian Church maintains ties with the Eastern (pre-Chalcedonian) Churches both within the framework of a pan-Orthodox dialogue and independently. In bilateral relations, the most important direction is the conduct of a complex and responsible theological dialogue on Christological issues. His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, in the Synod's determination of March 30, 1999, emphasized the need to intensify the mutual study of the theological traditions of the Russian and Eastern Churches, to make the results of the joint work of theologians clearer for a wide circle of believers. It is important that the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, accompanied by the bishops and clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, twice in the anniversary year 2000, was a guest of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and the Russian Orthodox Church. In the conversations between Patriarch Alexy and the Primate of the Armenian Church, decisions were made to fundamentally expand cooperation in the fields of theological education and social service.

On relations with the Roman Catholic Church in the 90s. XX century The situation in Galicia, where the Orthodox Church fell victim to the Uniate expansion, was negatively reflected. Vatican diplomacy seeks to expand the sphere of influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia and other countries located on the canonical territory of the ROC. The position of the Russian Orthodox Church on the proselytism of the Catholic Church was outlined by Patriarch Alexy at the 1994 Council of Bishops: "The restoration of Catholic structures in our canonical territory must correspond to real pastoral needs and contribute to the restoration of the religious, cultural and linguistic identity of peoples with traditionally Catholic roots." The approach to Russia as an absolute religious desert, the Patriarch emphasized, testifies to the proselytizing nature of the ways and methods of "new evangelization" practiced by the Roman Catholic Church in Russia and the CIS countries. In his speech at the Moscow diocesan meeting in 1995, Patriarch Alexy spoke about the Uniate factor complicating relations with the Roman Catholic Church. The revival of the union is dangerous for the Church and the people. “More than 120 Catholic priests today work in Belarus, - said His Holiness the Patriarch. - Of these, 106 are citizens of Poland and are spreading Catholicism and Polish nationalism, and they are engaged in proselytism openly. And you can't look at it calmly. "

In his speech at the Council of Bishops in 2000, Patriarch Alexy noted with regret the lack of progress in relations with the Vatican, the reasons for which are the continuing discrimination against Orthodox Christians by the Greek Catholic communities in Western Ukraine and Catholic proselytism in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Vatican, according to the Patriarch, rejects all efforts of the Russian Church to normalize the situation and promote a fair division of churches between Orthodox and Greek Catholics, probably in the hope that the Russian Church will come to terms with the existing situation. However, the position of Patriarch Alexy on this issue is firm: “We continue to insist on the restoration of equal rights for all believers in Western Ukraine, on providing Orthodox places for worship where they are deprived of this opportunity, on excluding cases of discrimination. The pain and tears of Orthodox people in Western Ukraine, who today are forced to pay for the injustices committed against the Greek Catholics by the godless power, must be wiped away and healed. " At the same time, Patriarch Alexy is not inclined to reject the possibility of cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church in the social, scientific and peacekeeping spheres.

During the Primary ministry of Patriarch Alexy, mutual visits of heads and representatives of Christian Churches took place, bilateral dialogues continued with the Evangelical Church in Germany, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and the Episcopal Church in the USA.

In the 90s. XX century The Russian Church faced the proselytizing activity of some Protestant denominations, often using the humanitarian aid provided by the Russian Federation for their own purposes. This kind of activity, as well as the further liberalization of Protestant churches, undermined the confidence of the Russian Orthodox flock in ecumenical contacts with Protestant Churches, raised doubts about the advisability of the Russian Church's participation in the WCC, where the influence of Protestant Churches prevails. In these conditions, the hierarchy of the ROC, with the support of the fraternal Local Churches, initiated a process of radical reform of the WCC, so that the inter-Christian dialogue could be carried out more effectively, without introducing new ecclesiological problems and divisions within the Orthodox Churches. At a meeting of representatives of all Local Orthodox Churches in Thessaloniki in April-May 1998, held at the initiative of the ROC and the Serbian Patriarchate, a decision was made on cardinal transformations in the existing structure of the WCC, which would allow the Orthodox Churches to exercise their witness to the non-Orthodox world, avoiding ecclesiological and canonical collisions, which are very painfully perceived by a significant part of the Orthodox clergy and believers.

Patriarch Alexy attaches great importance to the participation of the Church in peacekeeping activities. In his report at the 1994 Council of Bishops, His Holiness the Patriarch gave a positive assessment of the participation of the Russian Church in the activities of the CEC, highlighting the great efforts made by the CEC to reconcile the warring parties in the former Yugoslavia, promote reconciliation and eliminate the harmful consequences of hostility, conflicts and disasters in Armenia, Azerbaijan. , Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Baltic countries. In May 1999, an informal inter-Christian peacekeeping group was created, which contributed to the end of the bombing of Yugoslavia and the development of a just attitude of Christian Churches and organizations to the problem of Kosovo.

In his report at the Council of Bishops in 2000, Patriarch Alexy, noting that recently he had to repeatedly face a lack of understanding of the essence of contacts with heterodox Churches and inter-Christian organizations, said: “From my personal experience, I can say that such contacts are important not only for them but also for us Orthodox. In the modern world it is impossible to exist in complete isolation: there is a need for broad inter-Christian cooperation in theological, educational, social, cultural, peacekeeping, diaconal and other areas of church life. It is not enough just to declare that the Orthodox Church is the repository of the fullness of Revelation. It is also necessary to bear witness to this deed, giving an example of how the apostolic faith, preserved by the Orthodox Church, transforms the minds and hearts of people, changes the world around us for the better. If we truly, and not falsely, grieve for our separated brothers, then it is our moral duty to meet with them and seek mutual understanding. These meetings are not fatal for the Orthodox. Indifference, lukewarmness, which the Holy Scripture condemns (Rev. 3:15) is harmful in spiritual life. "

The name of Patriarch Alexy II occupies a firm place in church science as well. Prior to his accession to the Holy See, he published 150 works on theological and church history topics. In total, about 500 works of the Primate have been published in the church and secular press in Russia and abroad. In 1984, Patriarch Alexy presented to the Academic Council of the LDA a three-volume work "Essays on the History of Orthodoxy in Estonia" for the degree of Master of Theology. The Academic Council decided to award the dissertation candidate the degree of Doctor of Church History, since “in terms of the depth of research and the volume of material, the dissertation significantly exceeds the traditional criteria for a master's work” and “on the eve of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, this work may constitute a special chapter in research on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church "(Alexy II. Church and the spiritual rebirth of Russia. S. 14). This work is informatively rich and extremely relevant at the end of the 20th century, when Orthodoxy in Estonia found itself in a difficult situation. The monograph contains strong historical evidence that Orthodoxy in Estonia has ancient roots and they were nurtured by the Russian Church, and without special patronage from the Russian government, and often with direct opposition to the movement of the people to the Orthodox Church on the part of local officials and their influential patrons. In Petersburg. Patriarch Alexy is also a Doctor of Theology (honoris causa) at the Theological Academy in Debrecen (Hungary), Faculty of Theology. Jan Komensky in Prague, Tbilisi DA, Theological Faculty of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a number of other theological educational institutions, honorary professor of many universities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, honorary member of St. since 1992 - a full member of the Academy of Education of the Russian Federation, and since 1999 - an honorary professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

His Holiness the Patriarch was awarded the highest orders of the ROC, including the orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir (1 and 2 degrees), Venerable Sergius of Radonezh (1st degree), St. Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow (1st degree) and St. Innocent (1st degree), orders of other Orthodox Churches, as well as high state awards, including the Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, Friendship of Peoples (twice), "For Services to the Fatherland "(2nd degree) and Andrew the First-Called. Patriarch Alexy also received state awards from Greece, Lebanon, Belarus, Lithuania and a number of other countries. Patriarch Alexy is an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Sergiev Posad, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Mordovia. 6 Sep 2000 The Primate was elected an honorary citizen of Moscow.

Archival materials:

• Conversations with His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II // Archives of the Central Scientific Center.

Works:

• Speech at the presentation of the diploma of Doctor of Theology Honoris Kaus by the Faculty of Theology named after Jan Amos Comenius in Prague on November 12, 1982 // ZhMP. 1983. No. 4. S. 46-48;
• Philokalia in Russian ascetic thought: Dokl. at the presentation of the diploma honoris causa // Ibid. S. 48-52;
• Speech [at the release of the Leningrad Theological Schools] // Vestn. LDA. 1990. No. 2. S. 76-80;
• Collection of selected works for the anniversary of enthronement (1990-1991). M., 1991;
• Speeches at the presentation of the bishop's baton to the newly appointed bishops. M., 1993;
• Correspondence with monk Iuvian (Krasnoperov) // Valaam Chronicler. M., 1994;
• Message from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 75th anniversary of the assassination of Emperor Nicholas II and his Family // Noble Assembly: Ist.- publicist. or T. almanac. M., 1995.S. 70-72;
• Russia is needed not only for itself, but for the whole world // Lit. study. 1995. No. 2/3. S. 3-14;
• To return to people the interethnic, political and social peace: From the answers of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II to the questions of the observer of the newspaper "Culture" // Rossiyskiy Obozrevatel. 1996. No. 5. S. 85-86;
• Address to the participants of the international conference "Spiritual foundations of politics and principles of international cooperation" // ZhMP. 1997. No. 7. S. 17-19;
• Statement in connection with the situation around the new law "On freedom of conscience and on religious associations" // Ibid. 1997. No. 8. P.19-20;
• Message from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 80th anniversary of the assassination of Emperor Nicholas II and his family // Ibid. 1998. No. 7. P. 11;
• Address to the participants of the scientific and theological conference “Mission of the Church. Freedom of conscience. Civil Society "// Ibid. 1998. No. 9. S. 22-37;
• Speech at the opening of the Cathedral meeting "Russia: the path to salvation" // Ibid. 1998 No. 11. S. 49-50;
• Speech at a meeting with His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasius of Tirana and All Albania // Ibid. 1998. No. 11. S. 52-53;
• Welcoming speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Compound in Moscow // Ibid. S. 57-58;
• Message to the participants of the church history conference "Protopresbyter Gabriel Kostelnik and his role in the revival of Orthodoxy in Galicia" // Ibid. S. 58-61;
• The role of Moscow in defending the Fatherland // The role of Moscow in defending the Fatherland. M., 1998.Sat. 2.S. 6-17;
• Word of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II: [On the crisis of the Russian school] // Christmas readings, 6th. M., 1998.S. 3-13;
• On the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in the modern world: Speech at the celebrations. act of the Tbilisi Theological Academy // Church and Time / DECR MP. 1998. No. 1 (4). S. 8-14;
• A word to the participants in the Council hearings [of the World Russian People's Council on March 18-20, 1998] // Ibid. No. 2 (5). S. 6-9;
• Open letter ... dated 17.10.1991 [protopres. A. Kiselev, prot. D. Grigoriev, Yu. N. Kapustin, GA Raru, GE Trapeznikov on overcoming the split between the ROC and ROCOR] // Ibid. S. 47-50;
• Address of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II to the clergy and parish councils of churches in Moscow at the diocesan meeting on 23 December. 1998 M., 1999;
• Report at the solemn act dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the repose of St. Sergius of Radonezh // ZhMP. 1999. Special. no. S. 36-41;
• Greetings to the participants of the conference "Manuscript collections of church origin in libraries and museums of Russia" // ZhMP. 1999. No. 1. S. 41-42;
• The same // Manuscript collections of church origin in libraries and museums of Russia: Sat. / Synod. b-ka. M., 1999.S. 7-8;
• Word ... on the Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy // ZhMP. 1999. Special. no. S. 29-35;
• Speech at the opening of the VII International Christmas Readings // Ibid. 1999. No. 3. S. 24-27;
• The Difficult Path of the Dramatic Age: On the 80th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Patriarchate in Russia: Art. // Ibid. 1999. Special. no. S. 46-50;
• Orthodoxy in Estonia. M., 1999;
• Church and Spiritual Renaissance of Russia: Words, Speeches, Messages, Messages, 1990-1998. M., 1999;
• Russia: Spiritual Renaissance. M., 1999;
• Appeal in connection with the armed action against Yugoslavia // ZhMP. 1999. No. 4. S. 24-25;
• Speech at a meeting of the Academy of Social Sciences // Ibid. S. 17-21;
• Speech at a meeting of the Russian committee for preparation for the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity // Ibid. 1999. No. 7. S. 32-34;
• Speech at a solemn meeting dedicated to the 275th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences // Ibid. S. 8;
• Speech at the meeting of the renewed Patriarchal Synodal Biblical Commission // Ibid. No. 11. P. 18-20;
• Speech at the solemn presentation of prizes in memory of Metropolitan Makarii (Bulgakov) for 1998-1999 // Ibid. S. 28-29;
• The Sadler of the Russian Land: The Word and Image of the Primate. M., 1999;
• “I look to the XXI century with hope”: Conversation with the correspondent. g. "Church and Time" January 28. 1999 // Church and Time. 1999. No. 1 (8). S. 8-21;
• Words, speeches and interviews of different years: Word when naming a bishop; Speech at the opening of the II European Ecumenical Assembly; What should a priest be like ?; The earth was entrusted to man by God; “It's not your business to know the times or the terms ...”; The difficult path of the dramatic age; Christian view of the ecological problem // Ibid. S. 22-84;
• Opening remarks by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy at a meeting of the organizing committee on preparations for the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity // ZhMP. 2000. No. 1. S. 18-21;
• Word at the first service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior // Ibid. S. 44-45;
• Word at the opening of the V World Russian People's Council // Ibid. S. 21-23;
• Word after the Divine Liturgy and the grand opening in Moscow of the Compound of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia // Ibid. No. 2. S. 52-54;
• Speech at the opening of the VIII International Christmas Educational Readings // Ibid. No. 3. S. 47-52;
• Speech at the opening of the theological conference of the Russian Orthodox Church "Orthodox Theology on the Threshold of the Third Millennium" // Ibid. No. 4. S. 42-44;
• The same // East. vestn. 2000. No. 5/6 (9/10). S. 12-14;
• Greetings to the participants of the Orthodox Press Congress "Christian Freedom and the Independence of Journalism" // ZhMP. 2000. No. 4. S. 47-48;
• Greetings to the participants of the X Theological Conference of St. Tikhon's Theological Institute // Ibid. No. 5. S. 15-6;
• Speech at a reception dedicated to the enthronement of the Primate of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church // Ibid. No. 6. S. 52-53;
• A speech at the ceremonial presentation of the volume "Russian Orthodox Church" - the first volume of the 25-volume "Orthodox Encyclopedia" // Ibid. No. 7. S. 11 -12;
• Speech at a meeting of the Russian organizing committee on preparations for the meeting of the third millennium and the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity // Ibid. S. 12-15;
• Epistle to archpastors, pastors, monastics and all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the bringing of the holy relics of the great martyr and healer Panteleimon from Mount Athos, June - Aug. 2000 // Ibid. No. 8. S. 4-5;
• Materials of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000 // Ofits. MT website on the Internet www.russian-orthodox-church.org.ru ;
• Speech at the opening of the conference “The Holy Land and Russian-Palestinian Relations: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (11 October 2000, Moscow) // Ibid.

Literature:

• Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Speech at the reception on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Metropolitan of Tallinn and Estonia Alexy (Ridiger) on March 1, 1979 // ZhMP. 1979. No. 5. S. 8;
• 50th anniversary of the Metropolitan of Tallinn and Estonia Alexy: Album. Tallinn, 1980;
• Patriarch. M., 1993;
• Pospelovsky D.V. The Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century. M., 1995;
• Polishchuk E. Visit of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy to Germany // ZhMP. 1996. No. 1. S. 23-38;
• Polishchuk E. On the land of Austria // Ibid. 1997. No. 8. S. 42-52;
• Polishchuk E. Trip of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to Lithuania // Ibid. No. 9. S. 44-52;
• Strong-willed V. The Trip of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to Central Asia // Ibid. No. 1. P. 16-37;
• Urzhumtsev P. Stay of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II in the Holy Land // Ibid. No. 8. S. 30-39;
• Tsypin V., prot. History of the Russian Church. 1917-1997 // History of the Russian Church. M., 1997. Book. nine;
• Kiryanova O. Pastoral visit of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II to the Tobolsk - Tyumen diocese // ZhMP. 1998. No. 10. S. 46-53;
• Kiryanova O. Church celebration of the anniversary of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church // Ibid. 1999. No. 2. S. 12-17;
• Kiryanova O. Name-name of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy // Ibid. 2000. No. 4. S. 30-33;
• Zhilkina M. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II: Biogr. sketch // Ibid. 1999. Special. no. S. 3-28;
• Zhilkina M. Visit of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy to the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church // Ibid. 2000. No. 6. S. 27-50;
• Zhilkina M. Decade of the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy // Ibid. No. 7. S. 51-56;
• His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia: (Photo album). M., 1999;
• Chronicle of the visits of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II to the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, 1990-1998. // LMP. 1999. Special. no. S. 51-54;
• Primate. M., 2000;
• Safonov V. Meeting of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the heads of the Diocesan departments of education // ZhMP. 2000. No. 3. S. 57-61.

Childhood years (1929 - late 30s)

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

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

Mikhail Alexandrovich studied at the School of Law, graduated from the gymnasium in exile in Estonia. Mother of the Most Holy Patriarch - Elena Iosifovna Pisareva (+1959), a native of Revel (Tallinn). In pre-war Europe, the life of the Russian emigration was poor, but material scarcity did not interfere with the flourishing of cultural life.

The emigrant youth was distinguished by a high spiritual attitude. The Orthodox Church played a huge role. The activity of the Church in the life of the Russian diaspora was as high as never 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 (RSKhD) actively worked among the youth. The movement had as its main goal the unification of believing youth for the service of the Orthodox Church, set itself the task of training defenders of the Church and the faith, and affirmed the inseparability of true Russian culture from Orthodoxy.

In Estonia, the Movement operated on a large scale. Parish life was actively developing within the framework of his activities. Russian Orthodox people willingly participated in the activities of the Movement. Among them was the father of the future Holy Patriarch.

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

The family of the future Primate was dominated by the spirit of the Russian Orthodox Church, when life is inseparable from the temple of God and the family is truly a home church. For Alyosha Ridiger, there was no question of choosing a life path.

His first conscious steps were taken in the church, when as a six-year-old boy he performed his first obedience - pouring baptismal water. Even then, he firmly knew that he would become only 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 is done seriously by a boy, then there is no need to hinder. Most of the Russians who lived in Estonia at that time were essentially not emigrants. Being natives of this region, they ended up abroad without leaving their homeland.

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

Every year, making pilgrimages to the Pyukhtitsa Holy Dormition Monastery and the Pskov-Pechersky Holy Dormition Monastery, the parents of the future His Holiness the Patriarch took the boy with them.

In the late 1930s, together with their son, they made two pilgrimage trips to the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior 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), the Hieroschemamonk Ephraim (Khrobostov, +1947) and especially with the monk Iuvian (Krasnoperov, +1957), with whom a correspondence began and who received the youth in my heart.

Here is a small excerpt from his letter to Alyosha Ridiger: “ Dear in the Lord, dear Alyoshenka! I sincerely thank you, my dear, for the greeting on the feast of 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 vouchsafed all of you to come to us on Easter, this would increase our Easter joy. Let's hope that the Lord, by His great mercy, will do this. We, too, fondly remember all of you: for us you are exactly our own, kindred spirit. Forgive me, dear Alyoshenka! Be healthy! God bless you! In your pure childish prayer, remember also about me, unworthy. Sincerely loving you in the Lord M. Iuvian. "

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

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

This connection reminded of itself 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 in the face of saints.

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

The path that the saints of the Russian land traveled for centuries - the path of pastoral ministry, which originates from a church-going childhood in Christ - was banned under Soviet rule.

Divine Providence for our current Primate built his life from birth in such a way that childhood and adolescence in old Russia preceded life in Soviet Russia (as far as it was then possible), and the young, but spiritually mature and courageous warrior of Christ met with Soviet reality.

From early childhood, Alexei Ridiger served in the church. His spiritual father was Archpriest John Bogoyavlensky, later Bishop Isidor of Tallinn and Estonia (+1949). From the age of fifteen, Alexy was a subdeacon to Archbishop Paul of Tallinn and Estonia (Dmitrovsky; +1946), and then to Bishop Isidor. He studied at a Russian high school in Tallinn.

His Holiness the Patriarch recalls that he always had an A according to the Law of God. The family was his strength and support both in choosing the path and throughout his priestly ministry. Not only the bonds of kinship, but also the bonds of spiritual friendship tied 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 Primate, was handed over to the Estonian parish. The history of this temple is long-suffering: immediately after the proclamation of the Republic of Estonia in 1918, a campaign to liquidate the cathedral began - they raised money "for the demolition of churches with Russian golden onions and boxes of Russian Gods" (Orthodox chapels) even in schools for children.

But the public, Russian and international, as well as the Red Cross, came out against 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. An architectural magazine published illustrations: a view of the city without “Russian bulbs”, 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 already Soviet Estonia set out to transform 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. The cathedral existed in this form until the war. In 1945, Subdeacon Alexy was instructed to prepare for the opening of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn for the resumption of divine services there (the cathedral was closed during the wartime occupation).

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

The next year, 1947, he was immediately enrolled in the 3rd year of seminary, which he graduated with the first grade 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 was appointed rector of the Epiphany Church in the city of Johvi in \u200b\u200bthe Tallinn Diocese.

For more than three years he combined the ministry of a parish priest with correspondence studies at the academy. In 1953, Father Alexy graduated from the Theological Academy with the first grade and was awarded the degree of Candidate of Theology for his term essay "Metropolitan Filaret (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 during the year he combined ministry in two churches. He served in Tartu for four years.

Tartu is a university city that is quiet in the summer and lively in the winter when students arrive. His Holiness the Patriarch has preserved the good memory of the old Yuryevsk university intelligentsia, which 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. A reliable refuge and consolation was prayer - every day Elena Iosifovna read the akathist in front of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow". Mother Helena Iosifovna was served in Tartu, and 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, at 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 Alexis was assigned to become Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia with the assignment of the temporary administration 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 ordained Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, temporarily administrator of the Riga diocese.

It was not an easy 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 with their "five-year plan of atheism" had returned. True, the new persecution of Orthodoxy was not bloody - the 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" persecuted and persecuted Christians. There was a massive closure of churches throughout the country. The already small number of theological educational institutions dropped sharply.

In February 1960, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, in his speech at a conference of the Soviet public for disarmament, addressed millions of Orthodox Christians over the heads of those gathered in the Kremlin. Calling them to stand firm in the face of new persecution, His Holiness the Patriarch said: “In such a position of the Church there is a lot of consolation for its faithful members, for what can all the efforts of the human mind against Christianity mean if its two-thousand-year history speaks for itself, if the hostile ones are against His attacks were foreseen by Christ Himself and made a promise of 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 had begun their ministry in pre-revolutionary Russia, left this world - confessors who had gone through the Solovki and the hellish circles of the Gulag, archpastors who went into exile abroad and returned to their homeland after the war ... 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 new ways of economic and police pressure on the Church, but the Orthodox faithfulness to Christ's commandment became an irresistible strength for her: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 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 ministry, the young bishop was faced with the decision of the local authorities to close and transfer the Pyukhtitsa Assumption Monastery to a rest house. 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, being already 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 there were rave reviews of the Pukhtitsa Monastery in the Neue Zeit newspaper. Then there was another delegation, the third, fourth, fifth ... And the question of closing the monastery was removed.

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 go through ... I happened to start my church service at a time when there was no longer they were shot, but how much I had to endure, defending the interests of the Church, will be judged by God and history ”. Over the 25 years of Vladyka Alexy's episcopal ministry in Estonia, with God's help, he managed to defend a lot. But then the enemy was known - he was alone. And the Church found ways of internal opposition to him.

Having ascended the Patriarchal throne, His Holiness Vladyka faced a completely different situation: in the modern complex world, with its social, political and national problems, the Church has many new enemies. On June 23, 1964, Bishop Alexy was elevated to the rank of archbishop and at the end of 1964 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 the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, and His Holiness the Patriarch fully trusted me in solving many internal issues. The hardest trials fell to his lot: revolution, persecution, repression, then, under Khrushchev, new administrative persecutions and the closure of churches. The modesty of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, his nobility, high spirituality - all this had a great influence on me. The last divine service, which he performed shortly before his death, was in 1970 at the Meeting.

In the Patriarchal residence in Chisty Lane, after his departure, the Gospel remained, revealed in words: "Now release Thy servant, Master, according to Thy verb in peace ..." ".

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

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

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

In 1984, Vladyka 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 the depth of research and the volume of material significantly exceeds the traditional criteria for a master's work" and "on the eve of 1000 On the anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, this work may constitute a special chapter in the study of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, ”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 huge amount 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 of Tallinn and Estonia Alexy took place.

At the Leningrad Department

On June 29, 1986, Vladyka Alexy was appointed Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod with the assignment to govern 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 faced 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 representative of the Council for Religious Affairs said harshly: "This has never happened in Leningrad and cannot be." But a year later, this same chairman, when meeting with Metropolitan Alexy, said: "The doors of the Leningrad Soviet are open for you day and night." Soon, representatives of the authorities themselves began to come to the reception of the ruling bishop - this was how the Soviet stereotype was broken. Since January 24, 1990, Vladyka Alexy has been a member of the board of the Soviet Fund for Mercy and Health; 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 the management of the St. Petersburg diocese, Vladyka Alexy managed to accomplish a lot: the chapel of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg at the Smolensk cemetery, and the Ioannovsky monastery at Karpovka were restored and consecrated.

During the tenure of His Holiness the Patriarch as Metropolitan of Leningrad, the canonization of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg took place, relics, churches and monasteries began to return, in particular, the holy relics of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Monks Zosima, Savvaty and German 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 took part in the III Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New Delhi (1961); was elected a member of the Central Committee of the WCC (1961-1968); was President of the World Conference "Church and Society" (Geneva, Switzerland, 1966); member of the Commission "Faith and Order" of the WCC (1964-1968).

As head of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, he took part in theological interviews with the delegation of the Evangelical Church in Germany "Arnoldshain-II" (FRG, 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 Pyukhtitsky 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 keynote 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 was co-chairman of 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 addressed the II 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 the Churches that support cooperation with this regional Christian organization. Seminars were held at the Pukhtitsky Dormition 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 - a member of the board of the Soviet Peace Fund, a member of the founding meeting of the Rodina society, at which he was elected a member of the council 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 Soviet-Indian Friendship Society, 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 as one of its presidents.

The future Primate in his Patriarchal ministry was to revive church life on an all-Russian scale.

On May 3, 1990, His Holiness Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Russia 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 in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow.

The return of the Church to wide public service is largely the merit of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. One after another followed truly providential events: the uncovering of the relics of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, their solemn transfer to Diveyevo, when, according to the saint's prediction, in the middle of summer they sang Easter; the uncovering of the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod and their return to Belgorod, the uncovering of the relics of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon and their solemn transfer to the Great Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery, the uncovering of the relics of St. Philaret of Moscow and St. Maximus the Greek in the Trinity Lavra of St.

These miraculous gains testify to the beginning of a new, amazing period in the life of our Church, testify to God's blessing for 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 millennium 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 Peace Forum (Moscow, 2000).

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

During the years of his episcopal service as Metropolitan and Patriarch Alexy II visited many dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and countries of the world, was a participant in many church events. Several hundred of his articles, speeches and works on theological, church history, 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 chaired the meetings of the Holy Synod.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy paid much 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 young generation. For this purpose, with the blessing of His Holiness, theological seminaries, theological schools, and parish schools are being opened; structures are being created for the development of religious education and catechesis. In 1995, the dispensation of church life made it possible to approach the rebuilding of the missionary structure.

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

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

The pastoral approach of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy eased the tension between the institutions of the state system for the preservation of cultural monuments and the Church, which was caused by unjustified fears, narrowly corporate or personal interests. His Holiness signed a number of joint documents with the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the leadership of individual museum complexes located on the territory of church-historically and spiritually significant monasteries, which solve the above problems and give the monasteries a new life.

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

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

In the course of 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 a particular person in political and economic activity.

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

The patriarch came up with many peacekeeping initiatives in connection with the conflicts in the Balkans, the Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation, the hostilities in Moldova, the 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 service, a large number of new dioceses were formed. Thus, many centers of spiritual and ecclesiastical-administrative leadership arose, located closer to 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 devoted much attention to the revival and development of intra-diocesan and parish life. In many ways, these works became a model for the organization of diocesan and parish life in other places. Along with the tireless internal church system, in which he constantly called for a more active and responsible participation of all Church members 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 witness of the Truth of Christ to the world.

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

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II was married. But this fact is not in any of his official biography.

A woman lives in a picturesque suburb of Tallinn, Nõmme, in a modest rural house. She looks much younger than her years (and she is almost 72), acquaintances call her an exceptionally worthy person. She raised three children from her second marriage, buried her second husband. And few people know that in her first marriage she was the wife of the current Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II (then a student of the Leningrad Theological Academy Alexei Mikhailovich Ridiger).

Of course, the patriarch, like any bishop, is not married: starting from the 7th century, the church has required celibacy from its bishops. But this does not mean that he had no right to be married before he became a monk. Today, among the episcopate of the Russian Church there are many who were once widowed or divorced for some reason. Thus, Archbishop Sophrony (Budko) of Kemerovo, and the recently deceased Archbishops of Tikhvin Meliton (Soloviev) and Vologda Mikhail (Mudyugin) became bishops from widowed archpriests. The marriage between Archbishop of Tambov Yevgeny (Zhdan) and Metropolitan of Kursk Yuvenaly (Tarasov) did not work out, the latter himself raised two of his children. Even one new martyr emerged from the widows of archpriests - the Metropolitan of Kazan and the locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne, recently canonized Kirill (Smirnov).

Such a fate is not considered something reprehensible among the Orthodox. The fact of marriage often finds its place in the official biographies of Russian bishops. However, not a single official text about the life of Patriarch Alexy contains a word about the fact that he was also married. You can read that after the first visit to the Valaam Monastery in 1938, the future patriarch, at the age of 11, dreamed of becoming a monk.

The wife of the patriarch Vera Georgievna Alekseeva (Myannik by her second husband) was born in the same year 1929 as Aleksey Mikhailovich (he was on 23.02, she was on 2.12), in the family of Georgy Mikhailovich Alekseev. Father-in-law of the patriarch, a native of St. Petersburg (01/20/1892), technologist by education, in 1918 he graduated from the Petrograd Theological Academy and ended up in emigration to Estonia. In 1931 he became a priest and for a long time served as the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, where the future patriarch was a servant at one time.

The wedding took place on April 11, 1950, when the future patriarch was still a 1st year student at the Academy. The marriage record is available in the Tallinn archives, but we do not present it, since, according to Estonian law, it can be made public only by a court decision or with the consent of relatives. On the same day, the young were married by their fathers - Mikhail Ridiger (also a priest) and Georgy Alekseev. By the way, some Orthodox Christians think that parents should not marry their children: supposedly it is a bad omen and the marriage will be unhappy. But in this case something else is much more interesting: the date of the wedding. Easter in 1950 fell on April 9, April 11 is Bright Tuesday, and according to church rules, they do not have a wedding ceremony during the whole Easter week: you have to wait for the so-called Antipascha or Krasnaya Gorka (Sunday after Easter; April 16 in 1950).

What made the student of the Theological Academy and two respected priests-fathers violate the canon? Apparently, Alexei Mikhailovich was in a hurry to receive the priestly dignity, which cannot be accepted before the wedding. Indeed, four days later, on April 15, the future patriarch was ordained a deacon, and on April 17, a priest. Why such a rush, why not wait a few days and do everything according to the rules? The deceased inspector of the Leningrad Theological Academy Lev Pariysky (1892 - 1972) believed that he knew the truth. In the archives of the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, his letter (in other words, a denunciation) "to the Plenipotentiary of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of Ministers of the USSR for the city of Leningrad and the Leningrad Region A.I.Kushnarev" is preserved:

"In LDA (Leningrad Theological Academy. - Author's note) there was a case of being ordained a priest in order to evade serving in the Soviet army. Ridiger AM, born in 1929, was subject to conscription. military service in 1950. Being the fiancé of the daughter of the archpriest of Tallinn G. Alekseev, Ridiger A. wanted to get rid of military service. Ridiger on Easter Tuesday, when marriage is prohibited under the Church Charter.

Ridiger was married in the Academic Church on Easter Tuesday 1950, was hastily promoted to deacon, then to the priesthood by Bishop Roman, and appointed to the Estonian parish of st. Yikhva, Balt. railway, Narvskaya st., E 102.

Indeed, until 1950, students of theological educational institutions were granted a respite from the army. In 1950 it was abolished and only persons in the priesthood were not called. Let's not forget that the future patriarch Alexei Ridiger was born in bourgeois Estonia, did not go to Soviet school, literally just found himself in the country of victorious socialism, and in this sense he was hardly morally ready to serve in the Soviet army.

What made the inspector of the Theological Academy write a denunciation about the future patriarch and his own student, and even a few months after the wedding? Does the stated version correspond to reality? We will probably never know for sure. But the document puts forward a humanly understandable version of the reasons for the haste with marriage and ordination. It should be added that the official biographies of Alexy II known to us contain the phrase: "I was declared not liable for military service because of heart disease."

The marriage of Alexei Mikhailovich and Vera Georgievna did not last long: the young couple divorced in the same 1950. The reasons for the divorce are shrouded in mystery. If the marriage was indeed concluded under pressure from external circumstances, then it is clear that it could not be lasting.

The breakup of the young family caused a serious discord between the Alekseevs and the Ridigers, as evidenced by eyewitness recollections.

It should be added that the marriage was not the result of a youthful impulse, this choice was a family matter. The diary entries of one of the now deceased professors of the Leningrad Theological Academy, preserved in the archives, testify that Elena Iosifovna, the mother of the future patriarch, considered another girl, Irina Ponomareva, the "best bride" for her son. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that this same Irina in 1951 became the second wife of the inspector of the Leningrad Theological Academy, Archpriest Alexei Osipov. Subsequently, Osipov demonstratively broke with the church (those were the times of "scientific" atheism and "Khrushchev's persecutions") and went over to the position of militant atheism. He became the most famous apostate of the Soviet era, wrote several atheistic books. The trusting relationship between Irina Ponomareva and Alexei Mikhailovich Ridiger is evidenced by Irina's letters to friends, where she calls him Lesha even after he became a priest.

The former father-in-law of the Patriarch, Archpriest Georgy Alekseev, was widowed in 1952, which predetermined his future fate. At the end of 1955, the Synod appointed him bishop of Tallinn and Estonia. On December 17, 1955, he accepted monasticism with the name John, and on December 25, his episcopal ordination was performed. All this time, from 1950 to 1957, Priest Alexei, the future patriarch, was the rector of a small parish in the Estonian town of Jõhvi. However, in 1957, his former father-in-law raised him: he was elevated to the rank of archpriest and appointed abbot and dean of the large city of Tartu. Fears of the Ridiger family about possible bad treatment from former relatives have not been confirmed.

However, in August - September 1961, the following happens. Former father-in-law Bishop John (Alekseev) is appointed to Gorky, and his place is taken by ... the former son-in-law - the future patriarch! This family continuity could have made a touching impression, if not for one circumstance. Appointment of bishops from widows or divorced priests, as we have said, is common. However, most often, candidates for the office of bishop accept monasticism after the decision of the Synod: immediately before the episcopal consecration. Here it happened beforehand. On August 14, 1961, Hieromonk Alexy (Ridiger) was appointed Bishop of Tallinn by the Synod. But he took monasticism on March 3 at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The ordination of the future patriarch to the episcopate took place in Tallinn on September 3, 1961. The service was headed by Bishop Nikodim (Rotov), \u200b\u200bwho is officially considered the "founder" of Alexy's career, and the former father-in-law, Archbishop John, took part in the ordination, as it were ironically. It can be assumed that during this service in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the former wife Vera also stood in her favorite place near the left kliros.

The transfer of John (Alekseev) to the Volga had a detrimental effect on his health. In 1963, a year and a half after the transfer, he fell ill, in 1965 he retired and died on June 16, 1966. On June 21 he was buried in Tallinn, and this was done by the former son-in-law, Bishop Alexy (Ridiger). The daughter of one and the former spouse of the other, probably, was again standing somewhere nearby ...

It is difficult to imagine what made the patriarch delete from his official biography an episode of married life with this woman. From a purely human point of view, such a fact cannot damage the image of any normal person. Not in society, not in church.

This is the story of A. Osipov from Tallinn, 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 Alesha Ridigera, the dean of the Tallinn district.

It should be added that the wedding "by pull" was performed on Bright Week (which is prohibited by the charter) on April 11, 1950.

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

Ridiger Sr., of course, believed that Alyosha's wedding solves many problems at once, not only the problem of conscription. A wedding with the daughter of a local dean is a "good party".

It is also clear that the marriage soon fell apart - after all, it was concluded by calculation, and not by love.

The act is quite characteristic: without the ability shown in it to use people for their needs, and then step over them and through the church rules and go over the heads of the Soviet patriarch, one cannot become. As a true aristocrat, the deceased was genuinely self-centered.

This is not a "forced action". Here someone else's fate was used. And not only the bride, whom he ruined the life of a fictitious wedding. But after all, the parents of this girl did not survive this tank passage along their daughter ...

It's amazing how exactly 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 premarital honest agreement.

If he discussed the fake of his marriage with his bride - why did she leave him so quickly? If Vera was so anxious to pursue a passion, she would not have given birth to three children from another husband.

If you haven't discussed it, then it's just mean.

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

And he accepts monasticism only when, in addition to him, he is promised the bishopric (tonsured in March 1961; ordination in August).

I believe that the bishopric is associated with divorce. No, this is not an assumption that Alyosha got divorced, having in mind the bishopric.

It just became clear to the attentive organs that they were facing a person who was not burdened with overvalued motivation and that they could work with him.

Let me remind you that he became a bishop in Khrushchev's time, when the party openly led the case 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 in 50 helped to become a bishop of the 61st.

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

An unconverted Komsomol member can leave her husband-priest. But the priest who has become a priest is not. She was able to bring up her children from the next marriage in a church spirit.

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

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

He has been known to the bride's family since childhood. So something secret could be revealed to his wife only after the wedding. Moreover, such that it justifies a 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 divorce belongs to the spouse who remains in Orthodoxy).

2. Adultery and unnatural vices.

3. Inability to marital cohabitation (if it began before marriage and is not due to advanced age; the case is initiated no earlier than two years from the time of marriage; if the inability was the result of intentional bodily harm after marriage, divorce is allowed).

4. Disease with leprosy or syphilis.

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

6. Sentencing of one of the spouses to punishment combined with deprivation of all rights of the state.

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

8. Dreaming, pimping and taking advantage of the spouse's lewdness.

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

10. An incurable serious mental illness that eliminates the possibility of continuing the marriage life.

11. Malicious abandonment of a spouse by another spouse, if it makes it impossible to continue the marriage life.

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

Let's imagine only two options:

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

The husband learns that his wife is not a virgin at all, and therefore considers it his canonical duty to part with her. There are two circumstances against this version: if this deceived husband is so jealous of the canons, then why does he himself not immediately go to the monk after that, as the canons require. In addition, in the Patriarchate of Alexy himself, the requirement for the premarital virginity of both spouses was in a half-forgotten state.

But there is another option:
The seminarian Alyosha asked the Lord for a long time to show him his way.
A month after the wedding, a hand touched him and put him on his knees and on the palms of his hands.
And the Angel said to him: "Alexey, the man of desires! Pay attention to the words that I will tell you, and stand right on your feet; for I am sent to you now. Listen, Alexey: There is no will of God for your family life. Go to monks and you will become a great shepherd and under your patriarchal leadership Holy Russia will be reborn! "

And Alexei was amazed: "But why did you come so late? I am already married and happy with my young wife!"

And the Angel replied: “From the first day, when you set your heart to gain understanding and humble you before your God, your words have been 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 announce to you what will happen to your people in the last times, since the vision refers to distant days. So, come out of your kindred now! "

(see Dan 10)

And Alexei left his wife, allowing her packs to find a husband and began to humbly await the call to the bishopric. And after the coming of eight years, 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 a servant, and divorced in 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 service in the army (“In L.D.A. Ridiger A.M., born in 1929, was subject to conscription in 1950. As the fiancé of the daughter of Archpriest G. Alekseev in Tallinn, Ridiger A. wanted to get rid of military service. in the army, Ridiger, Archpriest Alekseev and Bishop Roman of Tallinn begged Metropolitan Gregory to agree to marry Ridiger on Easter Sunday, when according to the Church Charter marriage is prohibited. to the priesthood by Bishop Roman and was appointed to the Estonian parish of Jõhva station, Balt railway, Narvskaya st., E 102. Academy inspector L. Parijski, 27 November 1951 "- Evgeny Sidorenko [Evgeny Komarov]. Married to the Patriarch // "Moscow News", 05/22/01).

Komarov is the editor-in-chief of the Moscow Church Bulletin, a correspondent of the WMP attached to the Patriarch in 90-91. Archive address of Pariysky's denunciation:
TsGA SPb, f.9324, op.2, d.37.

***
zloy_monah
"In Pyukhtitsy, everyone is aware of this event, and no one has ever made this special secret before. The nuns told me about 15 years ago that he had a wife. Abbess Varvara even gave her (wife) a special place, near her, near And when she came to Pyukhtitsa, at the service of then Metropolitan Alexy, she put her next to her. I don't know why during his patriarchate they began to make some kind of secret out of it. Now her son (wives), but from another marriage, S Männik is essentially ruling the Estonian Diocese, since the 93-year-old Metropolitan Korniliy already knows little.