Celebration events the 50th anniversary of the Bishop Chirotony of Patriarch Alexis I (Simanskiy) in 1963

Abstract

The personality of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy (Simansky) seems to be quite extraordinary even with a superficial review of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in modern times. Having occupied this responsible place for more than twenty-five years, he was able to achieve great success in the field of building up church life and establishing church-state relations. However, his persona played no less a role in the development of the dialogue between the Local Orthodox Churches and other confessional associations. A clear proof of the merits in this field is the impressive composition of the festive delegation that arrived on the day of the anniversary of the episcopal consecration of Patriarch Alexis — this event was celebrated in modern circles only as the triumph of the unity and ecumenical communion of the Orthodox with the heterodox. This article is devoted to an overview of the events of those significant July days, when in the field of Christian communion, the harvest of the long-term activity of the Russian First Hierarch flourished, as well as their relationship with world and Christian politics of the second half of the 20th century. In addition to clear evidence of the merits of Patriarch Alexy in the field of interfaith dialogue, the events associated with the celebration of the 50th anniversary reflected the ongoing changes in church-state relations — the period of the «thaw» affected the Russian Orthodox Church to a much lesser extent, but certain aspects require very close attention. Special attention is devoted to the emerging vectors of joint interaction of Christian confessions in the issues of rapprochement and counteraction to the threats of nuclear weapons.