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Patriarch Alexy I (Alexius I, Russian: Патриарх Алексий I, secular name Sergey Vladimirovich Simansky, Russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Сима́нский; November 8 [O.S. October 27] 1877 – 17 April 1970) was the 13th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) between 1945 and 1970.
On July 29, 1927, Metropolitan Sergei Stragorodsky, acting as de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church, signed a statement of unconditional loyalty to the Soviet State. The statement was co-signed by all members of the Holy Synod, and Archbishop Alexy of Khutyn.[1]
As Metropolitan of Leningrad
He ran the diocese for much of the next seven years while Metropolitan Arsenius Stadnitsky was in prison or exile. In 1933 Alexius served briefly as Archbishop of Novgorod (for several months) and then metropolitan of Leningrad.
In the early hours of September 5, 1943, Metropolitan Alexius together with Metropolitan Sergius and Metropolitan Nicholas (Yarushevich) met with Joseph Stalin in the Kremlin where a historic decision was made regarding the fate of the Church in the state ruled by the militantly atheist Communist party. In the midst of World War II Stalin decided to allow the Russian Orthodox Church to legally function again after two decades of severe persecution. Restrictions on the Patriarchate of Moscow were relaxed somewhat and many churches throughout the Soviet Union were re-opened. Stalin tried to appeal to patriotic feelings of the Russian people especially the peasantry (backbone of the Red Army), many of whom grew up in still deeply religious families.
When Patriarch Sergius died on May 15, 1944, Metropolitan Alexy took his place as Patriarchal locum tenens. In his first statement after assuming control of the Church, the Metropolitan assured Stalin of his "profound affection and gratitude" and vowed to "safeguard the Church against mistakes and false steps".[2]
In 1946 Alexius I presided over the controversial "re-unification" of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with ROC seen by many as a takeover forced by the Stalinist government.
Also in 1946, Patriarch Alexius called on all Catholics in the Soviet Union to reject all allegiance to the Pope: "Liberate yourself! You must break the Vatican chains, which throw you into the abyss of error, darkness and spiritual decay. Hurry, return to your true mother, the Russian Orthodox Church!"[3]
Pope Pius XII replied: "Who does not know, that Patriarch Alexius I recently elected by the dissident bishops of Russia, openly exalts and preaches defection from the Catholic Church. In a letter lately addressed to the Ruthenian Church, a letter, which contributed not a little to the persecution?"[4]
After the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953, the Patriarch composed a personal statement of condolence to the USSR's Council of Ministers. It read, "His death is a heavy grief for our Fatherland and for all the people who inhabit it. The whole Russian Orthodox Church, which will never forget his benevolent attitude to Church needs, feels great sorrow at his death. The bright memory of him will live ineradicably in our hearts. Our Church proclaims eternal memory to him with a special feeling of abiding love."[7]
In 1955, Patriarch Alexius declared, "The Russian Orthodox Church supports the totally peaceful foreign policy of the Soviet Union, not because the Church lacks freedom, but because Soviet policy is just and corresponds to the Christian ideals which the Church preaches."[8]
From 1959 however, the Russian Orthodox Church also had to endure a new wave of persecution, mostly carried out on the orders of the new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
In 1965, Fathers Gleb Yakunin and Nikolai Eschlimann wrote an open letter to Patriarch Alexius. According to Evgeny Barabanov, "They showed convincingly how a significant part of the governing episcopate, with voluntary silence or cunning connivance, had assisted the Atheists to close churches, monasteries, and religious schools, to liquidate religious communities, to establish the illegal practice of registering christenings, and had yielded to them control over the assignment and transfer of priests."[10]
The letter was published as samizdat ("self-published", i.e., underground press). In May 1966, Patriarch Alexius ordered both priests suspended from the ministry. Soviet dissidentAleksandr Solzhenitsyn sharply criticized the treatment of Fathers Gleb and Nikolai in his own open letter to Patriarch Alexius.
Supporters praise Alexius I for working hard to ensure the survival of the Christianity in Russia, advocating peace and inter-church unity. Metropolitan Pitirim Nechaev, who was the patriarch Alexy I's subdeacon: "The Patriarch was an amazing man. Until the last few days, he retained the clear shine of his eyes and the firmness of his handwriting. In worship—and in life—he was inimitable; it was impossible to repeat him. An interesting detail: in the service, he was immediately visible, optically the eye focused on him, although he was <...> of incomplete average height. With the beginning of contacts with foreign Churches, Patriarchs from the East began to come to us, majestic, who did not know what repression was, but when they stood in the same row, our Patriarch stood out among them for his spiritual greatness. This inner content set him apart from all the hierarchs. <...> The Patriarch's character was very contrasting — I would say fiery. When he was angry, he flared up, became terribly angry, but then he always got very upset about it and regretted what had happened. Besides, he had a great sense of humor."[11] Metropolitan Eulogius Smirnov, who also was a subdeacon of Alexy I, remembered: "He was a sufferer, who served God in the most turbulent and difficult time for both the Church and the Fatherland. And he survived that time. We believe that the Lord helps such workers of the field of Christ. And along with the memory of them, the Lord bless us all with unforgettable blessings. His Holiness the Patriarch shows a sign of true Christian love. The one whom God encourages always has love in his heart."[12].
His opponents often accused him of complicity with the Soviet authorities. A leading critic of Patriarch Alexei's leadership was Father Gleb Yakunin who claimed in his books and articles that the postwar hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church was controlled by KGB informants.
^Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin (1999), The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB, Basic Books. Page 486.
^Walter Kolarz (1966), Religion in the Soviet Union, St. Martin's Press, New York. Page 65.
Imperial Moscow University: 1755-1917: encyclopedic dictionary. Moscow: Russian political encyclopedia (ROSSPEN). 2010. p. 21. ISBN978-5-8243-1429-8 – via A. Andreev, D. Tsygankov.
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