Condolenceson the demise of His Beatitude Basil, Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland

CONDOLENCES ON THE DEMISE OF HIS BEATITUDE BASIL, METROPOLITAN OF WARSAW AND ALL POLAND

To His Eminence Archbishop Sawa of Bialystok and Gdansk

It was with profound sorrow that we received news of the demise of the Primate of the fraternal Polish Orthodox Church His Beatitude Metropolitan Basil.

On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church I express sincere condolences to the bishops, clergymen and flock of the Polish Orthodox Church with this great loss.

I offer my heartfelt prayers to the Master of life and death, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the repose of the deceased Primate in the mansions of the righteousness with the saints.

With love in the Lord,

+ Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia

Moscow, 12 February 1998

A telegram of condolences was sent to the church hierarchs and all faithful children of the Polish Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Basil of Warsaw and all Poland died on 11 February 1998 at the age of 84. On February 13, in the cathedral church of St.Mary Magdalene Equal-to-the-Apostles in Warsaw, Archbishop Sawa of Bialystok and Gdansk officiated at the Requiem Divine Liturgy and requiem service for the deceased. The Primate of the Polish Orthodox Church was buried at the Orthodox cemetery in Warsaw. Participating in the requiem divine services and in the burial on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church was Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk and Yuriev.