Rest Eternally, Great Patriarch. Ecumenical Notes By Uncle Monty.

Rest Eternally, Great Patriarch.

Ecumenical Notes By Uncle Monty.
Osternachtfeier in der Christ-Erlöser-Kathedrale.
Präsident Wladimir Putin und Patriarch Alexi II.
von Moskau und ganz Russland tauschen
Glückwünsche zum Osterfest aus.
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Russia pays tribute to Patriarch Alexei II
as 'true pastor.' Moscow (ENI).
Condolences on the death of Patriarch Alexei II poured
in, as the Moscow Patriarchate announced that a synod
of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church would convene
to name a locum tenens who would serve until the election
of a new leader of the world's largest Orthodox church.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, known as president for
his close relationship with Alexei, called the patriarch's
death "a very tragic and sorrowful event". "Not only
was he a prominent figure in the history of the Russian
Orthodox Church, but also a great statesman," said
Putin, the Interfax news agency reported.
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World Christian leaders praise Moscow
Patriarch Alexei II. Geneva (ENI).
Christian leaders and organizations from around the
world have issued statements to mark the death of
Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church, who
died on 5 December at the age of 79. The World Council of
Churches, which groups 349 churches, mostly Anglican,
Protestant and Orthodox said, "The WCC and the ecu-
menical movement have lost today a leading figure, a
powerful voice that knew how and when to be supportive
and constructive but also how and when to be vigilant and
critical. He guided the Russian Orthodox Church moving out
of the atheist regime. He led the Russian Orthodox Church
through a long, patient and important reconstruction process
during which the members of the clergy, parishes, monast-
eries, seminars and other institutions serving the church
and her people were multiplied with a spectacular speed."
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Moscow Patriarch Alexei II praised for
role in changing times. Moscow (ENI).
Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church
has died at his residence in Peredelkino, 40 kilometres
from central Moscow, the church's Moscow Patriarchate
has announced. No cause was given for the death on 5
December of the 79-year-old patriarch. The previous
evening Alexei held a church service in one of Moscow's
central cathedrals to mark a major religious holiday,
the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. It said
the church's ruling body, The Holy Synod, was
to gather for an urgent meeting in Moscow on
6 December following the death of its leader.
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Alexei II: Russian Patriarch who saw in
big changes – Obituary. Moscow (ENI).
Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church,
who died on 5 December at the age of 79, will go down
in history as the cleric who presided over Russia's
"second baptism" - the post-communist era which saw
the liberation of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well
as the restoration of battered church buildings and, even
more important, of the church's status as an institution
at the very heart of the nation's cultural and political life.
Much had to be done in the 1990s as the church, with no
experience of a modern pluralist democratic society,
struggled to preserve its traditional theology and
practices in a rapidly changing nation. The Patriarch
approached the challenge cautiously, making the unity
of his church his priority, and steering a careful path
between the reforms advocated by progressive clergy
and the deep-rooted conservatism of others.
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Above and Below Reports Taken From
The Ecumenical News International (ENI)
News Highlights. 5-9 December 2008.
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:: UPDATE ::

Russians honour Patriarch Alexei;

dignitaries arrive for funeral. Moscow (ENI).

Thousands of Russians stood in line for hours outside

Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to pay final

respects to Patriarch Alexei II, who died after leading the

Russian Orthodox Church to revival in the post-Soviet era.

The funeral of Alexei who died on 5 December was to

take place on 9 December led by Patriarch Bartholomeos I

of Contstantinople, the Rev. Nikolai Balashov, the Moscow

Patriarchate's secretary for Inter-Orthodox relations told

the Itar-Tass news agency. Relations between the Moscow

and Constantinople patriarchates have been marked by

conflict over influence in former Soviet territories, but at

a meeting in July in Kiev during celebrations marking the

1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, Alexei and

Bartholomeos said Orthodox unity was of foremost

importance and they pledged to pursue dialogue.

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Vatican and Moscow mull future relations after

Patriarch's death - Analysis. Rome (ENI).

Russian media created a stir in the weeks before the

death of Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox

Church, by reporting that plans were underway for a

meeting in 2009 with Pope Benedict XVI at an interfaith

forum in the Azerbaijani capital. Officials of the Moscow

Patriarchate rushed to quash such speculation. Still,

observers have suggested that relations between the

Russian church and the Vatican are warmer under

Pope Benedict XVI than during the papacy of his

predecessor, John Paul II.

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