Patriarch Alexius II (Патриарх Московский и всея Руси Алексий II; born February 23, 1929) is the 16th and current Patriarch of Moscow and of All-Russia and the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Early years

Career

On April 15, 1950, he was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan Gregory (Chukov) of Leningrad, and on April 17, 1950 he was ordained a priest and appointed rector of the Theophany church in city of Jõhvi, Estonia, in the Tallinn Diocese. On July 15, 1957 Fr. Alexius was appointed Rector of the Cathedral of the Dormition in Tallinn and Dean of the Tartu district. He was elevation to the rank of Archpriest on August 17, 1958, and on March 30, 1959 he was appointed Dean of the united Tartu-Viljandi deanery of the Tallinn diocese. On March 3, 1961 he was tonsured a monk in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.

On August 14, 1961, he was chosen to be the Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia. On June 23, 1964, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop; and, on February 25, 1968, at the age of 39, metropolitan.

From 1986 until his election as Patriarch, he was Metropolitan of Novgorod and Leningrad. After the death of Patriarch Pimen I in 1990 Alexius was chosen to become the new Patriarch of The Russian Orthodox Church. He was chosen on the basis of his administrative experience, and was considered "intelligent, energetic, hardworking, systematic, perceptive, and businesslike. He also "had a reputation as a conciliator, a person who could find common ground with various groups in the episcopate." Archbishishop Chrysostom (Martyshkin) remarked "With his peaceful and tolerant disposition Patriarch Aleksi will be able to unite us all.

Patriarch Alexius II was "the first patriarch in Soviet history to be chosen without government pressure; candidates were nominated from the floor, and the election was conducted by secret ballot."

Upon taking on the role of Patriarch, Patriarch Alexius became a vocal advocate of the rights of the church, calling for the Soviet government to allow religious education in the state schools and for a “freedom of conscience” law. During the attempted coup in August 1991, he denounced the arrest of Mikhail Gorbachev, and anathematized the plotters. He publicly questioned the junta's legitimacy, called for restraint by the military, and demanded that Gorbachev be allowed to address the people. He issued a second appeal against violence and fratricide, which was amplified over loudspeakers to the troops outside the Russian "White House" half an hour before they attacked. Ultimately, the coup failed, which eventually resulted in the break up of the Soviet Union.

Under his leadership, the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia who suffered under Communism were glorified, beginning with the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev, and Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd in 1992. In 2000, the All-Russian Council glorified Tsar Nicholas II and his family, as well as many other New Martyrs. More names continue to be added to list of New Martyrs, after the Synodal Canonization Commission completes its investigation of each case.

Patriarch Alexius has also issued statements condemning anti-Semitism.

On April 27, 2007, he was reported by some Russian media to be in grave condition and even dead,, though this was later shown to have been a hoax., and Patriarch Alexius has stated that the motivation behind these rumors were to scuttle the upcoming reconciliation between the Russian Church inside of Russia with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. "As you can see, I'm healthy, I'm serving, I'm alive," he is quoted as saying. Despite his age, he appears healthy, and has been leading an active pastoral life. He's frequently seen on Russian TV, conducting Church services, and meeting with various government officials.

He was the first laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation for the humaniatarian work (2005)

Personal life

He married Vera Alekseeva, the daughter of a priest from Tallinn Georgi Alekseev, on April 11, 1950, on the Tuesday of Bright Week when marriages are normally prohibited according to Church tradition; however, permission was granted by Metropolitan Gregory of Leningrad, at the request of Bishop Roman of Tallinn and the fathers of both the bride and groom (both of whom were priests, and who concelebrated the marriage together). Moskovskie Novosti has alleged that according to a denunciation written by a priest-inspector Pariysky to the Leningrad Council of Religious Affairs, the marriage had been expedited in order for Ridiger to become a deacon and avoid being drafted into the Soviet Military (marriage is impossible after ordination in Orthodoxy). Up until 1950, seminarians were given a deferment from the draft, but in 1950 this was changed, and only clergy were exempt. For reasons which have remained private, they divorced less than a year later.

The Patriarch's private residence is located in the village of Lukino (near Peredelkino), now a western suburb of Moscow; it includes a 17th century church, a museum, and a spacious three-storey house built in the late 1990s. According to the Patriarch's May, 2005, interview, on the residence's compound there are nuns who are drawn from the Pühtitsa Convent who are in charge of all the household chores.

There is also a working residence in central Moscow - a 19th century town mansion, which was turned over to the Patriarchate by Stalin's order in September 1943. Both residences act as living quarters and Patriarch's office at the same time. He commutes in an armored car and has been under the protection of federal agents (FSO) since January 2000. Being a monk, Patriarch Alexius II is not allowed to possess any property himself; residences and cars are the property of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The formal residence (infrequently used for some official functions) is located in the Moscow Danilov monastery - a two-storey Soviet building erected in the 1980s.

Name

His name (secular 'Алексей, clerical Алексий) is transliterated from the Cyrillic alphabet into English in various forms, including Alexius, Aleksi, Alexis, Alexei, Alexey and Alexy. When he became a monk, his name was not changed; this departure from custom was common in the Russian Church in Soviet times.

Allegations and criticism

Alleged work for the KGB

The Moscow Patriarchate has, however, consistently denied that Patriarch Alexius was in fact a KGB Agent. Konstanin Khrachev, former chairman of Soviet Council on Religious Affairs, explained: "Not a single candidate for the office of bishop or any other high-ranking office, much less a member of Holy Synod, went through without confirmation by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB". Professor Nathaniel Davis points out: "If the bishops wished to defend their people and survive in office, they had to collaborate to some degree with the KGB, with the commissioners of the Council for Religious Affairs, and with other party and governmental authorities.

Patriarch Alexius has, acknowledged that compromises were made with the Soviet government by bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate, himself included, and publicly repented of these compromises:

"Defending one thing, it was necessary to give somewhere else. Were there any other organizations, or any other people among those who had to carry responsibility not only for themselves but for thousands of other fates, who in those years in the Soviet Union were not compelled to act likewise? Before those people, however, to whom the compromises, silence, forced passivity or expressions of loyalty permitted by the leaders of the church in those years caused pain, before these people, and not only before God, I ask forgiveness, understanding and prayers."

According to Nathaniel Davis, when asked by the Russian press about claims that he was a "compliant" bishop, "Aleksi defended his record, noting that while he was bishop of Tallinn in 1961, he resisted the communist authorities' efforts to make the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city a planetarium (which, in truth, they did do elsewhere in the Baltic states) and to convert the Pyukhtitsa Dormition nunnery to a rest home for miners. Official records show that the Tallinn diocese had a lower number of forced Church closings than was typical in the rest of the USSR during Patriarch Alexius' tenure as bishop there. Timothy Ware notes, "Opinions differ over the past collaboration or otherwise between the Communist authorities, but on the whole he is thought to have shown firmness and independence in his dealings as a diocesan bishop with the Soviet State.

Opposition to homosexuality

Footnotes

External links

• His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
• His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
• photo gallery
• "Alexy II in France to meet Orthodox followers". Russia Today, .
• The Address of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to the PACE
• position of the Orthodox Church on homosexuality