A prayer service for Alexius II, whose funeral will be celebrated today, and for the whole Russian Church was held yesterday afternoon in Loreto after the presentation of the volume "Tesori artistico-religiosi delle Marche" (Literary and Artistic treasures of the Marche), a publication with a remarkable ecumenical value written both in Italian and Russian which is to be sold in the Orthodox Church. The participants, including Archbishop of Loreto Mgr Giovanni Tonucci, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Marche (CEM) Mgr Luigi Conti, and a representative from the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate, father Vladimir Khomenko, have all recalled the "efforts" Alexius II "made for the rebirth of the Church after the harsh ideological repression," and his "good struggle" to "defend human and evangelical values" especially in Europe. The prayer service ended with the wish that "the memory of this servant of Christ Gospel may support all those who are suffering and encourage all those who will take over his legacy in leading the venerable Russian Orthodox Church."
