(ENI)–Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church, who died December 5 at the age of 79, will go down in history as the cleric who presided over Russia’s “second baptism” — the post-communist era which saw the liberation of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the restoration of battered church buildings and, even more important, of the church’s status as an institution at the very heart of the nation’s cultural and political life.
Much had to be done in the 1990s as the church, with no experience of a modern pluralist democratic society, struggled to preserve its traditional theology and practices in a rapidly changing nation. Patriarch Alexei approached the challenge cautiously, making the unity of his church his priority, and steering a careful path between the reforms advocated by progressive clergy and the deep-rooted conservatism of others.
Alexei’s ability to balance forces within the church was seen as perhaps his greatest asset. But, in the eyes of some of his critics, it was the root of his inability to provide strong leadership for the church.
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