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Russian Baptists mourn the passing of Alexei II
M o s c o w -- Within hours after the death of Alexei II, the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia on 5 December, a letter of condolence appeared on the website of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (RUECB). In it, the Union’s President Yuri Sipko praises the Patriarch’s “massive, unifying role in the creation of peace and consensus during the travail of Russian society in the 1990’s. In those days, the voice of the Russian Orthodox Church was a voice of reconciliation and hope. We prize highly the courage and resolution which Partriarch Alexei II demonstrated during the formation of the New Russia.” This refers in part to his role during the attempted putsch of August 1991. The Patriarch had then spoken out clearly in support of democracy and the rule of law, in support of both Michael Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.
Rev. Vitaly Vlasenko, the RUECB’s Director of External Church Relations, was interviewed by Moscow’s major NTV television station on 7 December. On that and other occasions, Vlasenko lauded the deceased Patriarch for his courageous and controversial stance on moral values. An example of that was a session of the European Union’s Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg/France on 2 October 2007. In that speech and the ensuing discussion, Alexei had labelled homosexuality a sin and warned that an unduly broad understanding of tolerance and individual rights undermines Christian morality. In a press release on 15 October 2007, the RUECB agreed with Alexei and added that Christians need to “publicly uphold and fortify Christian moral values”. Both stated then that Christianity must secure a place for itself in the public arena.
Vlasenko, who met on numerous occasions with Alexei, praised him on his efforts to further interconfessional dialogue. As recently as 2 October, the Orthodox-Protestant-Catholic “Christian Inter-Confessional Advisory Committee for the CIS-Countries and Baltics” (CIAC) had reconvened after a hiatus of nearly seven years. Alexei had also been instrumental in fostering Orthodox-Baptist dialogue, which consisted in part of two theological consultations in late 2006 and early 2007. At a meeting with Neville Callam, the General-Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance in Moscow on 18 June, the Patriarch had encouraged the continuation of these consultations in the foreseeable future.
Rev. Vlasenko added: “The Patriarch had a very elegant and warm style. He always spoke to us kindly and remembered us Baptists very well. We felt like the Christian wisdom of the ages emanated from him. We hope very much that his successor will continue down the road of understanding between our two churches – the route which Alexei himself had embarked upon.”
Initial signs are encouraging. Interim head of the church until the election of a new Patriarch will be Kirill, the Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. Kirill, who also heads the Moscow Patriarch’s Office for External Relations. Kirill has had frequent contact with Russian Baptist leaders and headed the Orthodox delegation at the above-mentioned Orthodox-Baptist consultations.
Source: William Yoder, Ph.D.
Department for External Church Relations, RUECB
Photo of President Yuri Sipko and Alexei II in Moscow on 18 June 2008.
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