The oldest cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church passed away in the Lord

THE OLDEST CLERIC OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH PASSED AWAY IN THE LORD

Protopresbyter Alexander Kiselev, the oldest cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church, passed away in the Lord on October 3, 2001, at the age of 92 short of a few days, at the Donskoy monastery in Moscow.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, who knew Father Alexander from his childhood, conducted a requiem service for the deceased at the Lesser Cathedral of the Donskoy monastery on the same day. After the service he delivered the following oration:

“Dear brothers and sisters, we are accompanying Protopresbyter Alexander Kiselev on the journey of all the earth. He began his pastoral service almost seventy years ago at St. Nicholas’ in Tallinn.

Circumstances forced him to emigrate to America, where he covered a long and hard way of emigration just as many and many of our compatriots did. But Father Alexander always remained a pastor, always did his best to give spiritual nourishment to those who needed his care. In America he published Russkoye vozrozhdenie (Russian re-birth) journal. People who needed spiritual support always gathered around him in the church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in New York.