In society

The uniform

December 5, 2008 Alexey Makarkin

Alexy II went down in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church (Russian Orthodox Church) as a patriarch, who solved the historical task of reuniting the Russian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church abroad (ROPS). Thus, the dramatic church split was overcome, which continued most of the twentieth century. The wisdom and diplomacy of the Patriarch, who began his life in exile (he was the son of a cleric who served in independent Estonia) played a large role in this association.

Alexy II became a patriarch in a difficult period for the church. On the one hand, new large -scale possibilities opened before her - and, indeed, already during his patriarchate, many temples were returned to her, monasteries and educational institutions were opened, the publication of numerous church media began, the release of theological literature was established. On the other hand, new problems faced the church-she was prophesied by shocks, internal schisms and defeat in competition with charismatic preachers who poured into Russia from abroad.

Alarmist forecasts did not materialize. Interest in preachers quickly came to naught - their activity did not correspond much to the ideas of Russians about religion. Not a single serious split in the church occurred-and this is the great merit of Alexy II, who tactfully regulated disagreements that arose in the church. During his patriarchate, various church figures could express their own views, often different from each other - only schismatic actions were unacceptable, which, in particular, recently allowed the Chukchi diomid. The Patriarch expressed his own opinion on issues that concern the church people (it was usually moderately conservative), but at the same time allowed diversity, understanding the church tradition very widely-unlike integrist who rejects all theological creativity. It is no coincidence that in Moscow there are different parishes as liberal-intelligent Cosmas and Damian in Shubin and extremely conservative Nikolaa on Bersenevka. Supporters of ecumenism are adjacent to its furious opponents, adherents of missionary activities in the youth audience (including using rock music) with adherents of traditional piety. Alexy himself could make a prayer service before the general patron saint-a thorny crown of the Lord-in the notot-dah de Paris, despite the expected protests from the reactionary part of the clergy and flock.

Under Alexia II, the split and world Orthodoxy avoided, despite the historically complex, competitive relations between Moscow and Constantinople. The conflict in connection with the emergence of “parallel” jurisdiction in Estonia led only to a short cessation of prayer-channic communication between the two patriarchies, which was soon resumed. At the end of his life, he made a lot of efforts to preserve the Moscow-Constantinople dialogue and at the same time to maintain the positions of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. For the sake of this, an elderly patient Patriarch made difficult visits to Kyiv and Istanbul in the last months of his life. He was primarily the man of the Church - and served her until the death, despite ill health. This month, a visit to the Holy to Vienna was to be held as part of another dialogue-the Orthodox Catholic (recently it has actively developed: only in the fall of this year Russia was visited by three high-ranking hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church).

Alexy II was diplomatic in relations with the state, but at the same time defended the independence of the Church in fundamental issues. Six months after his election by the Patriarch, he condemned the bloodshed, arranged by the allied security forces in Vilnius. The Church took the wise position during the August coup of 1991 and the civil conflict of 1993-in the latter case, it fulfilled the peacekeeping mission, and it was not the fault of the priesthood that politicians were unable to achieve a compromise. A positive role in Russian political and church life was played by the Synod’s decision under the chairmanship of the Patriarch not to allow clerks to be candidates in elections of various levels - thus, the church was outside the inter -party struggle.

Under Alexia II, the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church was adopted, which provides for the possibility of resisting the anti -church policy of the state - this document continues the tradition of Patriarch Tikhon and audits the “Sergian” service approach that contributed to the temporary separation of the foreign church. Already this year, after hostilities in the South Caucasus, the Russian Orthodox Church was able to create its own structures in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, continuing to recognize these republics with the canonical territory of the Georgian Orthodox Church (now inter -church relations remain the only channel of communication between Russia and Georgia).

Alexy II was a tolerant patriarch, who turned out to be able to lead a church ship through numerous reefs - this is his great merit to the church. In difficult times, he managed to consolidate the church on the basis of common values ​​when recognizing the possibility of diverse. The authoritarian Patriarch, like Nikon, in these conditions could “break firewood”, cause an internal conflict, as happened in the 17th century. Alexy seemed to seek - as far as possible - to follow the traditions of St. Tikhon, firm in the main, but capable of compromises in the secondary. It is no coincidence that he, while still a metropolitan, played a significant role in the canonization of Tikhon, and already in his patriarchate, many new martyrs, the comrades -in -arms of the first Russian patriarch, who served the church during the time of state atheism, were ranked.

Author - Vice President of the Center for Political Technology