Patriarch Alexius II
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Patriarch Alexius II (born February 23, 1929) is the current Patriarch of Moscow and the spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born as Alexey Mikhailovich Ridiger (Алексей Михайлович Ри́дигер) in Tallinn, Estonia, to the family of a priest; he is a descendant of Courland German nobility kin Ridiger, or von Rüdiger, which transferred into orthodox Christianity in the 18th century. He graduated from Leningrad clerical seminary in 1949; was ordained a deacon in 1950 (and later, a priest & monk); graduated from Leningrad clerical academy in 1953. On August 14, 1961, he was chosen to be the Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia. On June 23, 1964, he was promoted to archbishop; and, on February 25, 1968, at the age of 39 to metropolitan. After the death of Patriarch Pimen I in 1990 Alexei was chosen to become the new Patriarch of The Russian Orthodox Church.
Despite his age, Patriarch Alexius II is very healthy and leads an active pastoral life. He's frequently seen on Russian TV, meeting with politicians (however, there are no intrusions into political life by the Church, a policy explicitly emphasized by the Patriarch).
Relatively little is known about his personal life. The Patriarchial residence is located in Peredelkino, a suburb of Moscow; it includes a 350 year old restored church, a museum, and a three-storey house. There is also a winter residence - an apartment in the center of Moscow. Both residences act as living quarters and Patriarch's office at the same time. He commutes in an armored car under the protection of federal agents. Being a monk, Patriarch Alexius II is not allowed to possess any property himself; residences and cars are the property of the Moscow Patriarchate.
His name (secular Алексей, clerical Алексий) is transliterated from the Russian alphabet into English in various forms, including Alexius, Alexei, and Alexy. He did not change his first name when he became a monk.
Controversy
- Patriarch Alexius II was alleged to be a KGB agent during the Soviet era, according to documents smuggled out of Russia by Vasili Mitrokhin and published in England in 1999. Alexius' KGB code name according to Mitrokhin was DROZDOV and he was recruited on February 28, 1958. Some allege these documents were forged.
External links
References
- Andrew, Christopher and Vasili Mitrokhin. The Sword and the Shield : The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB. New York : Basic Books, 1999. Chapter 28 deals with the KGB infiltration of Soviet-era churches.
| The Current Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs |
| Ancient Patriarchates |
|---|
| Bartholomew I (Cons.) | Theodoros II (Alex.) | Ignatius IV (Hazim) (Ant.) | Theophilus III (Jeru.) |
| Autocephalous Churches |
| Alexius II (RU) | Ilia II (GE) | Pavle (SE) | Teoctist (RO) | Maxim (BG) Chrysostomos (CY) | Christodoulos (GR) | Sawa (PL) | Anastasios (AL) | Christopher (CZ/SK) |
|- style="text-align: center;"
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