4 августа 2010 года произошло достаточно An interesting and weighty solemn event - the opening of the monument to the Russian Patriarch. The city of Yoshkar-Ola distinguished itself with such a great gift for Orthodox believers. The initiator of this project was the highest official of the Republic of Mari El - Markelov L. I. It was executed by the famous Russian sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk, who became the author of other beautiful and majestic monuments located not only in this republic, but also in a number of other cities of Russia and then CIS. On the left bank of the river Malaya Kokshaga on Patriarchal Square, as a result, a monument to Alexy II - the fifteenth Patriarch of All Russia, who became the founder of the Yoshkar-Ola and Mari eparchy - was erected and now adorns the city.
New Diocese
In 1993, on June 11, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox ChurchKazan Diocese decided to allocate Yoshkar-Ola and Mari diocese. Patriarch Alexy II blessed to form this independent inheritance, which was headed by Archbishop John of Yoshkar-Ola (Timofeev).
July 24, 1993, a visit to Yoshkar-Oluthe head of the ROC, in order to July 25, 1993 in the village of Semenovka in the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, perform the traditional rite of episcopal consecration of the archimandrite, or the ordination of John to Yoshkar-Ola and the Mari bishop.
Monument to Alexius II (Yoshkar-Ola)
As a sign of this event and in memory of the Holy Onecreated a huge bronze composition hoisted on a granite pedestal, which was a single-figure composition. The Russian Patriarch stands upright in a cassock with a panagia on his chest, and on his head is a cockle with seraphims. In one hand he holds a staff, and with his other hand he throws a dove up as a symbol of peace, love and goodness. His gaze is fixed on the Resurrection Embankment, on which Orthodox cathedrals and churches are located (their construction dates back to the beginning of his ascension to the patriarchal throne).
It should be recalled that the head of Orthodoxy is also monumentally captured in Moscow, and on the island of Valaam, and in Minsk, and in Vitebsk, and in Tallinn.
Opening. Monument to Alexius II
На открытии со вступительным словом выступил President of Mari El - Markelov, who very wisely noted that the Russian people without the Orthodox faith is an empty place, that is why the destroyed temples are so vigorously built up and restored in cities and villages of Mari El.
Yoshkar-Ola is the capital of Mari El, beforeRevolution (1919) had the name Tsarevokokshaisk. Therefore, it was decided here to erect a monument to Patriarch Alexy II, because it was during his reign in general throughout Russia and in particular in the Republic of Mari El that dioceses, churches, monasteries, religious schools, etc., grew. And, not least, the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the spiritual life of Russia and its politics has dramatically increased.
After the opening remarks, the head of the republic andArchbishop John took off the veil, and everyone saw the extraordinarily beautiful and majestic monument to Alexy II - the most holy Patriarch, releasing a dove into the sky.
After Bishop John consecrated the monument and servedmemorial service about the Patriarch. Vladyka John noted in his speech that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexy II, with great love in his heart, took the Mari region and the people inhabiting it. Anyone who comes to this place will find comfort. And those who saw him and communicated with him, will again feel the love and warmth that his heart poured out. And may the Lord bless and strengthen people in the deeds called for by Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II.
Interesting facts from the biography
In the world, Alexey Ridiger was born 23February 1929. He belongs to the Russian noble family, who left the branch of the Baltic Germans who converted to Orthodoxy in the 18th century. His ancestor Friedrich von Ridiger under Catherine II was the first to be baptized with the name Fedor.
Father Patriarch Alexy II was ArchpriestMichael, who after the revolution was taken to Estonia. In childhood, Alexey, together with his father, often visited Valaam and dreamed of becoming a priest. Then after the war he graduated from the seminary and followed her academy in Leningrad.
Soon he became a servant of the Tallinn Diocese.When his mother died (in 1959), he took monastic vows with the name Alexei. The rite of passage was held in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In 1961, he became the Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, and then Metropolitan of the Leningrad and Novgorod departments. During this time, he secured the return of many Orthodox shrines (relics of St. Alexander Nevsky), relics and temples to believers. Under him, monastic life began to revive in the St. John’s Convent in Leningrad, the Valaam Monastery, the Nikolo-Vyazhischsky desert near Novgorod, and so on.
In 1989, he was elected People's Deputy of the USSR, and then, when the Patriarch Pimen introduced himself before the Lord, the Local Council elected the then Metropolitan Alexy in his place.
Vladyko passed away on November 5, 2008.The next day, in one of the metropolitan newspapers, it was written about him that the late Patriarch became the first representative of the Orthodox Church, who was able to closely align the interests of the state religious authority, which could no longer be separated.
