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Funeral service for His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia was celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

9.12.2008 · Архив 2005-2009, События  

On 9 December 2008, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with the assembly of hierarchs and clerics at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It was followed by the funeral service for the deceased Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

Paying last respects to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy were delegations of all Local Orthodox Churches. The delegation of the Church of Constantinople was led by His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew; the Church of Alexandria by metropolitan Peter of Aksum; the Church of Antioch by bishop Nifon of Philippopilis, representative of the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East in Moscow; the Church of Jerusalem by metropolitan Hesychios of Kapitolias; the Georgian Church by His Holiness and Beatitude Patriarch-Catholicos of All Georgia Iliya II; the Serbian Church by metropolitan Amfilohiy of Crna Gora and Primorje, chairman of the Holy Synod; the Romanian Church by His Beatitude Patriarch of Romania Daniel; the Bulgarian Church by metropolitan Dometian of Vidin; the Church of Cyprus by metropolitan Georgios of Paphos; the Church of Greece by His Beatitude Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece; the Church of Albania by His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania; the Church of Poland by archbishop Szymon of Lodz and Poznan; the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia by His Beatitude Metropolitan Christopher of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; the Orthodox Church in America by archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada.

Russian President D. Medvedev and Russian Prime-Minister V. Putin arrived in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour for the funeral service.

Attending the service were members of the Russian government, the State Duma deputies, members of the Russian Federation Council, other statesmen and leaders of the regions.

Also attending the funeral service to bid farewell to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia were President of Belarus A. Lukashenko, President of Moldova V. Voronin, President of Serbia Boris Tadic, President of Armenia Serge Sarkisian, Ambassadors of the USA, the Great Britain, France, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece and other countries, as well as representatives of the governmental, public and religious organizations from Russia and other countries.

The funeral service for the late Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was celebrated by His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the Patriarchal Locum Tenens of the Moscow Patriarchal Throne Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad together with the Primates and representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, members of the Holy Synod, and other archpastors of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The prayer of absolution was read in the end of the service, and those present gave their last kiss to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church at the place of his repose at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Yelokhovo.