Patriarch Aleksey II (1929 – 2008)

Aleksy II, the Russian Orthodox patriarch who led a revival of the Church after the fall of Communism and built close ties to the Kremlin under Vladimir V. Putin, died Friday at his residence in Moscow, news agencies reported.

The patriarch was 79, and the Church did not disclose the cause of death. He had long suffered from heart problems.

- The New York Times, December 5, 2008

Покой, Господи, души усопших раб Твоих.

Сам един еси безсмертный, сотворивый и создавый человека. Земнии убо от земли создахомся, и в землю туюжде пойдем, якоже повелил еси, создавый мя, и рекий ми: Яко земля еси и в землю отыдеши, аможе все человецы пойдем, надгробное рыдание творяще песнь: Аллилуия, аллилуия, аллилуия.

Give rest, O Lord, to the soul of Thy servant.

Thou alone art immortal, who didst make and mould man. But we mortals were formed from earth, and to the earth we return, as Thou who created me did command and say to me, "Thou art earth, and to the earth shall thou return," where all we mortals are going, and for a funeral dirge we make the song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Legendary Actress Laid to Rest

On October 15, Latvia bid farewell to legendary film and theatre actress, Vija Artmane. Fan and mourner alike gathered early morning in the capital's Nativity Cathedral for the funeral, presided over by Metropolitan Alexander Kudryashov. She was laid to rest at the Protection of the Mother of God cemetery. Andrejs Strokins captured the entire event on camera.

Born to a Baltic German father and a Polish mother, Alida Franzevna Artmane was raised in a village near Tukums on July 21, 1929. Fond of wild flowers, she spent her childhood playing the fields, learning to make flower arrangements and dolls. At 10, she became a shepherdess, tending a herd of cows for five years. She graduated from high school a year after the Second World War ended, and had dreams of becoming a lawyer, but thankfully, her passion for acting prevailed and she moved to Riga to study at the Daile Theatre Second Studio. Changing her name to Vija, she was critically acclaimed for her performance as Anna Karenina in the eponymous play by Leo Tolstoy; she also starred in Tolstoy's 'War and Peace', in Gogol's 'Dead Souls', and other classic Russian plays.

She achieved nation-wide fame for her role in the 1963 film, 'Rodnaya Krov', as a loving mother. Her subsequent film career was highlighted with such roles as Veda Kong in 'Tumannost Andromedy', as Catherine the Great in 'Yemelyan Pugachyov' and as Julia Lamber in 'Teatris'. Vija Artmane was honoured with the title, National Actress of Latvia and was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1969. The Culture Ministry of Latvia awarded her for her contribution to theatre and cinema in 1999. She converted to Holy Orthodoxy sometime in the early 2000s and her memoirs were published in 2003. She is survived by two children, a son and a daughter.

Блажени, яже избрал и приял еси, Господи. Память их в род и род.

Blessed are they whom Thou hast chosen and taken, O Lord. Their memory is from generation to generation.

A note to non-Orthodox readers: placed on the forehead of the deceased is a paper chaplet bearing the words of the Trisagion, representing the crown of victory at the end of the contest. The coffin is never closed, because we believe the body to be an honourable and even a holy thing. For us, the body is not something to be hidden away or hurriedly disposed of, and should be treated with reverence. One sometimes gets the impression that in closed-casket funerals, the deceased is the only person who is not present and does not matter.

Metropolitan Alexander Kudryashov presided over the funeral

"Сам, Господи, упокой душы усопших рабов Твоих Вия: в месте светле..."

Give rest, O Lord, to the soul of Vija, in a place of light...

Hundreds of Rigans turned out to say goodbye to Vija

A last kiss

Во блаженном успении вечный покой подаждь, Господи, усопшым рабом Твоим, имена, и сотвори им, вечную память.

Give rest eternal, O Lord, in blessed repose, to the soul of Thy departed servant, and make her memory eternal.

ВЕЧНАЯ ПАМЯТЬ!

The Face of 20th Century Russia

Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn
(1918 - 2008)

AsiaNews.it's Stefano Caprio offers his obituary:

Religion is a primary element in the message of Solzhenitsyn, a man of faith but hardly sectarian, and a great admirer of the simplicity of the people and of moral rigor, just like Tolstoj, and deeply involved in the turbulent experience of everyone's life, like Dostoevskij. His prophetic, solitary figure allowed him to avoid both excommunication and marriage, leaving room for everyone to participate in his own journey of conversion, beginning from the rediscovery of the dignity of man and culminating in consent to Christian revelation in its historical expression. For him, a follower of the 19th century Slavophiles, this religion was nonetheless Orthodox and national, without any concession to ecumenical rhetoric and the Western banalization of Christianity, of which he was an implacable and uncompromising critic.

Вечная память!

RIP Archbishop Christodoulos

Archbishop Christodoulos (1939 - 2008)

He was the rock star of priests. Greek Orthodox leader Archbishop Christodoulos surfed the Web, cracked jokes and made a point of welcoming people who had AIDS. He mended an age-old rift with the Vatican by receiving Pope John Paul II in 2001 - the first visit to Greece by a pope in 1,300 years. He urged young people to come "as you are, earrings and all," and dramatically upped church attendance. Despite criticism for his sometimes shrill nationalism and willingness to meddle in politics - as when he called the Turks "Eastern barbarians" or attacked NATO's bombers of Serbia as "pawns of Satan" - he remained one of his nation's most popular figures. He was 69 and had cancer.

TIME February 11, 2008

Archbishop Vsevolod of Skopelos (1927 - 2007)

Блажени, яже избрал и приял еси, Господи...

It is with a profound depth of sadness that we hereby inform you of the repose, this evening of 16 December 2007 in the 80th year of his earthly pilgrimage, of His Eminence Archbishop Vsevolod, Eparch of the Western Eparchy of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and Titular Hierarch of Skopelos of the Holy Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

- The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

This beloved bishop - among this blogger's favourite - was a true ecumenist and bridge builder. As his brother bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America have written:

"Archbishop Vsevolod is well known amongst the world’s ecumenical leaders and in particular the on-going dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. He has represented our Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in all his ecumenical activities, in particular over the past ten years in repeated attempts to bring about ecclesiastical unity in his native Ukraine."

Ecclesiastical unity in Ukraine... may his efforts see fruition soon.

We'll miss you, Владыко Vsevolod.

Вечная Память!

Patriarch Teoctist of Romania Reposes

Patriarch Teoctist (1915 - 2007)

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - The head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who made history when he invited the late John Paul II to his Orthodox country in 1999 but was criticized for being too close to former Communists, died Monday. He was 92.

Patriarch Teoctist died of a heart attack following surgery on his prostate gland earlier Monday, doctors at the Fundeni hospital told Realitatea TV.

- The Guardian, Monday July 30, 2007 6:01 PM

Born to Dumitru and Marghioala Arăpaş in 1915, Toader Arăpaşu was the 10th of 11 children. He became a monk when he was 20, ascending to the position of patriarch of the Romanian Church in 1986.

After the revolution that overthrew Nicolae Ceauşescu in 1989, he promoted religious education, founding new theological seminaries, medium schools for church singers, for social assistants preparation, for historical monuments restaurateurs along with organizing foreign scholarships. In addition, he introduced religious education for all grades in school.

His reign will be best known for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1999, the first visit of the Roman pope to an predominantly Orthodox country after the Great Schism. It will, however, be marred by accusations and criticisms of the patriarch for allegedly supporting the fascists in his youth, and collaborating with communists during his reign.

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has confirmed the date of burial was to be Friday, August 3, 2007 at 11:00 (GMT+2) and is to take place at the Patriarchal Cathedral (also known as the Cathedral of Ss Constantine & Helena). Metropolitan Daniel Ciobotea of Moldova will head the Romanian Church until a successor is chosen.

Memory Eternal!

Rest in Peace, Father Elias

Father Elias Wen
(1896 - 2007)

The servant of God, Father Elias Wen, fell asleep in the Lord at 2:30PM PDT on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at age of 110 years old. He was the oldest living Orthodox priest to date.

Father Elias Wen (Chinese: 文子正; Pinyin: Wén Zǐzhèng) was born in China, 1896. At the age of seven, he converted to Holy Orthodoxy at the Chinese Orthodox Mission in Peking. Between 1905 to 1925, he studied at the Mission, entering seminary in 1916. He was ordained a deacon in 1924, and a priest seven years later.

In 1946, he became rector of the Cathedral of the Mother of God, Surety of Sinners, serving under the Archbishop of Shanghai, St John Maximovich. Along with several members of the clergy, including St John, he fled to Hong Kong in 1949, when the communists came to power. He was later assigned to the Cathedral of the Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow, in San Francisco in 1957, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Until the age of 100, Father Elias conducted all Sunday and holiday services at the Cathedral, and sang on the kliros daily, morning and evening. It has been difficult for Father Elias to make the trip to the Cathedral the last few years, so the Cathedral clergy visits him and administers the Holy Mysteries to him at home. Father Elias walks unaided, his mind is sound, but he has difficulty with his sight and hearing.

In the words of Father Elias, the greatest punishment for him is being unable to sing on the kliros on a daily basis.

Memory Eternal!

Ростропович ушёл...

Requiescat in Pace
Mstislav Rostropovich (1927 - 2007)

Сегодня плачут не только искренние поклонники прекрасной музыки. Сегодня плачет сама Музыка. ("Today, not only sincere admirers of fine music weep - music itself weeps today.")

So wrote Andrey Shcherbakov in his eulogy for the cellist and conductor for Pravda. With his passing, Russia, and indeed the world, has lost one of its greatest cellist as well as one of the greatest muses of the 20th century.

Mstislav Rostropovich played the cello with grace and vitality - and lived his life offstage the same way. He was one of modern Russia's most compelling figures, admired both for his musical mastery and his defiance of Soviet repression.

As a cellist, he was responsible for the creation of hundreds of new works, many from some of the greatest composers of the day.

As a conductor, Rostropovich was flamboyant and energetic, known for his extraordinary ability to speak directly to every member of the audience.

He is to be buried on Sunday in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery - where the graves of his teachers Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev also lie - after a funeral in Christ the Savior Cathedral, which recently saw the farewell of Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin.

Slava, you will be missed.