A good and strong pastor

“An interminable flow” of people paid their last respects to Patriarch Alexy II who led the Russian Orthodox Church since 1990, the year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and who died following a heart attack on 5 December. According to the Interfax press agency, 82,000 people flocked into the Russian capital from other cities and also from abroad to say a last farewell to His Holiness. The funeral was held in the cathedral of Christ the Saviour on 9 December. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, elected Patriarch ad interim, by all the members of the Holy Synod and the patriarchs of all the Orthodox Churches: in all 200 bishops and priests. Also present in the front row of the congregation and standing (as protocol demands) were the representatives of the political world (Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Premier Vladimir Putin) and leading exponents of Russian culture. According to Orthodox tradition, the catafalque with the body of Alexy II was laid at the centre of the cathedral, surrounded by white roses and lilies. The Patriarch’s head was covered by a white veil, as tradition prescribes for the funerals of senior prelates. The coffin itself was draped with a green cloth of honour. At the end of the rite, a long funerary procession, under the driving rain, followed the bier to the cathedral of the Epiphany in Moscow, where the Patriarch was laid to rest in accordance with the wish he had expressed in his last will and testament. List of personalities present. Six heads of Orthodox Churches with their respective delegations participated in the ceremony: Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Patriarch of Georgia Ilia III, Patriarch Daniel of Romania, Metropolitan Christopher of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Archbishops Anastasios of Tirana and of all Albania and Jerome of Athens and of all Greece. Representing the Roman Catholic Church was a delegation headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and comprising Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Antonio Mennini and the Archbishop of the archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Mgr. Paolo Pezzi. A delegation of the Armenian Apostolic Church led by Catholicos Karekin II was also present. Representatives of the Anglican Church, the Evangelical Churches of Germany and Norway, the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Finland, and the Conference of European Churches arrived in Moscow to pay their last respects. In his homily Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad recalled that Alexy II “had inherited a Church weakened after decades of repression”. “At a time when our country was burdened by great challenges, the weak Russian Church had to tackle them, ensure its people were not lost and help them rediscover their faith”. “Today – continued Metropolit Kirill, who was moved to tears – he bequeaths to us another Church. It’s no longer a weak and impotent Church. Patriarch Alexy was able to safeguard the unity of the Church and today we are gathered here all together”. Condolences of Europe. All the Churches of Europe expressed unanimous condolences for the loss of Patriarch Alexy II. “Of his person – wrote Cardinal Péter Erdõ, President of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), in a message sent to Metropolitan Kirill – we were able to appreciate his commitment as a pastor of reconciliation, who raised his voice in response to the great questions of our time”. The general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, Rev. Colin Williams, expressed the gratitude of the Christian Churches of Europe for the work performed by Patriarch Alexy II within the CEC/KEK. And he recalled that the Patriarch had been a member of the CEC Presidium since 1964. In 1972 he became its Vice-President, and in 1987 was elected President, a post he continued to hold till 1992. In 1989, together with Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, he served as co-chairman of the First European Ecumenical Assembly in Basel. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, expressed deep sadness for the death of the Patriarch of Moscow and of all the Russias, Alexy II. “He was a leader of stature, with abundant experience, determination and courage, who guided his Church with a steady hand through a profoundly challenging period of change in Russia’s history. He will be remembered also as a friend to many outside his own Church”. “The Orthodox Church – writes the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a letter to Metropolitan Kyrill – has lost today a Patriarch, a leading hierarch in contemporary Orthodox history, a church leader respected by many for his genuine commitment to his church and people”. “The WCC and the ecumenical movement have lost today a leading figure, a powerful voice that knew how and when to be vigilant and critical”.