The Patriarch's Speech

Омск Life Famously Joseph Stalin restored the patriarchy of Moscow that was initially abolished by Peter I in his many attempts to ‘westernize” Russia. Then, with the fanaticism of the Communist Revolution, Christianity itself was essentially abolished especially in public life. For all the crimes committed against the Church during Stalin’s time in power he kept his word, and even after WWII was over, he did not change his mind about the restoration. And thus, the Church and its leadership found themselves in a rather ironic and unique position of having been fully restored into a society built around the concept of ‘state atheism’. This obviously required a lot of balancing and careful wording of one’s faith, having to stay true to the word of God and yet appease hungry secular censors of the Communist state apparatus. And so, we would like to share with you a translation of the speech given by Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow and All Russia, at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Please enjoy this short read of his speech as you may find it fascinating. The year 1967 was not that long ago and yet Russians lived in a completely different reality as you will see. “Beloved fathers, brothers and sisters in the Lord! 50 years ago, a Great Revolution took place in our country, which radically changed people’s relationships and was of exceptional importance for the history and life of all mankind. On the coming day of this jubilee, it...