Moskovsky Komsomolets: "Rest in Peace, Your Holiness!"
80,000 pay a last tribute to Patriarch Alexy II.
According to Moscow police reports, 11,000 came to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where the Patriarch lay in state, on Saturday night and in the wee hours on Sunday, 25,000 on Sunday, 13,000 in the early morning hours on Monday, 22,000 on Monday, and another 11,000 early Tuesday morning.
The country paid a last tribute to Patriarch Alexy II . ThePatriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was interred at the Epiphany (or Yelokhovsky) Cathedral after a requiem at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Last tributes were paid by Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, accompanied by their wives, the Belarussian, Moldovan and Serbian presidents, hierarchs of the other Orthodox Churches and delegates from the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and others. Many fainted in the packed cathedral. Metropolitan Cyril, the patriarchal locum tenens, felt ill on two different occasions, and had to leave.
The cathedral and its anterooms were full of flowers brought while the Patriarch lay in state. Roses, mainly white, lined the bier. White dominated the surroundings. The entire clergy was wearing white as symbol of eternal bliss.
The Patriarch lay with his face veiled, which is how monks are buried. Many in the congregation had brought his portraits with them and thus did not need to recollect how the Patriarch looked during his lifetime.
An elegant lady fell to her knees, sobbing as if someone near and dear to her had passed away. The man by her side was prostrate for a quarter of an hour before she pressed his hand gently, bidding him to rise.
An oral record of the Patriarch's life was made by Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, head of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces. The duty fell on him not because of his office, but due to his eloquence. "His ardent prayer, angelic patience, and rare courage delivered the Church safely through storms, making it evident that the Grace of God rested on our Patriarch and that the Holy Trinity took direct part in his life," Father Dimitry said. The number of churches in Russia reached 30,000 and monasteries grew from 18 to 700 while the late, lamented Alexy held the See. "Half of the monasteries of the Russian Empire have been restored, as if the 70 year Babylonian Captivity had passed without a trace," the priest said triumphantly-pity Gennady Zyuganov was not among the congregation to hear it.
"He was a real builder of the Church," Father Dimitry went on. "He said more masses than any other priest. He never closed himself off from those who wanted to talk to him. Even the highest officials saw him as a father figure."
VIPs started coming to the cathedral the instant he said this. The dirge gathered Russia's entire political elite-the Cabinet, presidential envoys, members of Parliament, etc. Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine, laid a huge bunch of roses on the bier, and Alexei Kudrin placed several carnations.
Parishioners received Communion as VIPs appeared, one by one. Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov joined communicants and humbly joined the long queue. A three-day or longer fast and a confession are necessary before Communion ("It implies both bodily and spiritual fasting," a priest standing nearby told me), so I saw that Mr Konovalov deserved his reputation for piety.
The funeral service was scheduled for 11 a.m., but had to be put off as not all VIPs had arrived. Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh and his South Ossetian counterpart Eduard Kokoity arrived at three minutes past. Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin and their wives stood at the bier at five minutes past. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, and Serbian President Boris Tadic were at their side. Irina, tycoon Roman Abramovich's ex-wife, was close by. She had come to the cathedral very early, and was already there when journalists were admitted at 9 a.m. sharp.
Before the requiem, Metropolitan Cyril said that the Patriarch was "a man of the Universe". Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople celebrated the requiem. Metropolitan Cyril, the Patriarchs and representatives from the other 14 Local Orthodox Churches of the world, and bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate celebrated together.
The Moldovan President was in tears throughout the service, and never removed his handkerchief from his eyes.
At the end of the service, the clergy and the laity approached the bier. Dmitry Medvedev was the first, his wife following. Vladimir Putin came next. He kissed the Patriarch and stood long by the bier, his gaze never leaving the deceased. The Prime Minister appeared to have a telepathic conversation with the Church Patriarch. Did he? He alone can say. Lyudmila Putina was the next to bow to the bier, followed by the three presidents. After the VIPs left, ordinary members of the congregation attempted to approach the bier-but guards did not let them. Meanwhile, the remaining VIPs were coming up one by one. A priest who had come from Ukraine for the funeral and was standing next to me tearfully implored a security to let him approach. "No admittance," was the reply. The priest continued coaxing him-all in vain.
The coffin was carried out. A woman screamed when the procession was leaving the cathedral. The priest near me silently wiped his eyes.
The motorcade went to the Epiphany Cathedral, where the Patriarch was buried according to his testament close to the relics of St Alexei, the Metropolitan of Moscow, his name saint.
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BISHOPS FAINT LAMENTING THE PATRIARCH
The funeral service of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was full of mishaps. The requiem started after an ardent address by Metropolitan Cyril of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (Gundyaev, in the world), the patriarchal locum tenens. He was circling the bier, incense-burner in hand, as the opening canticle of the funeral canon was sung. As he approached Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Metropolitan Cyril turned pale and tripped. White as a sheet, he was led to the altar by two bishops. Once in the altar, he was given a chair and his feet were lifted onto another. The Patriarch's doctor, on duty at the Patriarchal residence in Peredelkino on the fatal day, came running to take Cyril's blood pressure, and other doctors gave him an IV. Archbishop Anastasius of Kazan was fainting close to the bier at that time. He joined Metropolitan Cyril in the altar, supported by two deacons. Archbishop Alexis of Orekhovo-Zuyevo fainted a few minutes later. "There's bishop fallout!" Deacon Andrei Kurayev, nicknamed The Deacon of All Russia for his popularity as writer and public speaker with a biting tongue, exclaimed with a smirk. Another unconscious bishop was brought to the altar at that instant. Metropolitan Cyril recovered forty minutes later and rejoined the celebrants.
Natalya Galimova
