Patriarch Aleksei Rediger of Moscow and all Russia (1929-2008) at Easter services at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow in 2008
Russia and, indeed, the entire Orthodox world grieved at the passing of Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia. We devote the following material, which are quotes from His Holiness concerning his pastoral ministry and his service to God, to the memory of the late First Hierarch of the Moscow Patriarchate. When the question of electing a new patriarch arose in 1990, Patriarch St Tikhon appeared to a monk and said that there was no fit to carry the burdens of the patriarchal office except for Aleksei. Believers often repeat His Holiness’ motto, “Love is higher than the law; mercy is higher than legality”.
Aleksei II carried out his first obedience in the Church when he helped to carry in water for a baptism at the age of six. By the age of ten, he knew the liturgy by heart. At first, his parents (the father of the patriarch was a rector of a parish in Tallinn in Estonia) were amazing at their son’s rapid development. So, they turned for advice to some wise monks. The monks said, “If this is serious, do nothing to hinder it”. One of the most striking childhood memories of Aleksei II was a pilgrimage to Holy Transfiguration-Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga. Many years later, he said, “My soul was touched by the pure spring of Russian holiness”. From his earliest years, Aleksei II knew that he would, of necessity, become a priest. He realised what the monastic path meant. His Holiness said, “I understood fully what my fate would be. I would not have a family or children. But, at the same time, I realised what I was gaining if I rejected earthly happiness. I would reject such in favour of another and larger love, a love for God that would enable me to completely dedicate myself to the service of all the people”.
His first parish was the Church of the Epiphany in the small Estonian town of Ykhvi. From the first, Fr Aleksei encountered many serious problems in this rather small town. In the period after the end of World War II, many people arrived in the region because of employment opportunities. There were many accidents at the works, and many labourers died as a result. In his recollections, the patriarch wrote, “As a pastor, it was necessary for me to deal with complex situations arising out of many different social problems”. It was difficult for His Holiness to embrace monasticism in those times. He recalled, “Then, the faith was persecuted, it was deprived of the very means of existence, and it was necessary to staunchly defend the interests of the Church. The government forbade us to give Holy Communion to young children, they incessantly kept forbidding church services, and they were relentlessly closing churches. But, the most terrible effect of all this was the closing of many monasteries”.
In the autumn of 1961, soon after he took monastic vows, Aleksei became the Bishop of Tallinn and all Estonia. Almost immediately, he had to exert great efforts to prevent the government from closing 36 parishes. However, because of the support that Patriarch Aleksei I gave him, the young bishop was able to find the means for the restoration of many churches in the Baltic region. After some 30 years, the Local Council of the MP elected Aleksei II to sit on the patriarchal throne. In this time, Russia went through great changes in the country and in its values, and it was necessary to start many things from scratch. His Holiness answered the question, “What was the hardest problem in your years of archpastoral service?” by saying, “It was necessary to bring the church into the 21st century, and I felt an enormous responsibility as the patriarch, as the head of the MP, to act for the future of the Church. In 15 years, we restored and established over 20,000 churches”.
Much was done simply through the enthusiasm of the people. Churches were rebuilt, spiritual seminaries were restored, and lost values were rediscovered. Patriarch Aleksei said, “In those years, we received many blessings from the Lord, we found the relics of St Seraphim of Sarov, the relics of St Aleksandr Nevsky were returned to the Metropolitan of St Petersburg (Vladyki Aleksei doesn’t mention that HE was the Metropolitan of St Petersburg at the time: editor’s note), and the icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin was returned to Russia, after 60 years of being kept abroad. God loves Russia; therefore, He awaits from us our thanksgiving for all this. If our people do not find God, they shall not find any rest or happiness or prosperity”.
With fondness, Patriarch Aleksei often remembered the beginning of his pastoral ministry. He often said, “Glory to God for all things!” after reflecting on all the events that had passed, including those first difficulties, which tempered the young priest and laid a firm foundation for his great service in future times.
5 December 2008
Svetlana Andreyeva
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=92006&cid=434&p=05.12.2008 (in Russian)
