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December 9, 2008

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Buried in Moscow
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Alexei II praised for rebuilding church and reaching out to other faiths

Casket containing the body of Patriarch Alexy II is seen at the Epiphany
Cathedral in Moscow, 09 Dec 2008Russia has buried its first post-Soviet
Orthodox patriarch, after a
funeral attended by presidents, foreign emissaries and the country's
political elite. A cortege of black limousines escorted the
coffin of Patriarch Alexei from Christ the Savior Cathedral through
Moscow streets. Bells tolled across the city, as the 79-year-old
Alexei was laid to rest at the Epiphany Cathedral. He died Friday at
his residence outside Moscow after a long illness. Russian
President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived
half way through the elaborate six-hour ceremony, and held candles as
they stood near the patriarch's coffin. Roman Catholic, Anglican and
other Orthodox envoys also attended, as did Islamic leaders. The
patriarch's interim successor, Metropolitan Kirill, praised Alexei as a
leader who rebuilt a church weakened by decades of communist rule. He
also praised his predecessor for reaching out to leaders of other
faiths. Alexei became leader of the church in 1990, as the
officially atheist Soviet Union was loosening its restrictions on
religion. After the Soviet Union collapsed the following year, the
church's popularity surged. In the days since his death,
Russian leaders, the media and ordinary citizens remembered the
patriarch for his efforts to rebuild Christ the Savior Cathedral six
decades after it was destroyed during the rule of dictator Josef
Stalin. In one of his biggest achievements, the patriarch
signed a pact in May 2007 with Metropolitan Laurus, the leader of the
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ending an 80-year split begun by White
Russians who fled Soviet Russia to set up a rival faction. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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