Alexy (Sergeev)

From a bourgeois family. In 1916 he graduated from the general education department of the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture , and in 1919 - the architectural department of the School of Architecture ^[1] .

In 1923 he entered as a novice in the Smolensk-Zosimov deserts of the Vladimir diocese ^[1] .

March 22, 1923 was elevated to the rank of deacon ^[1] .

The Smolensk-Zosimov deserts were soon closed and most of the brethren moved to the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery ^[1] .

In 1925, he was tonsured a monk at the Vysokopetrovsky monastery in Moscow by Archbishop Bartholomew (Remov) . January 16, 1927 was elevated to the rank of hieromonk ^[1] .

In the summer of 1929, the church in the Petrovsky Monastery was closed, and the monks moved to the church of St. Sergius on Bolshaya Dmitrovka ^[1] .

In 1932, Archbishop Bartholomew (Remov) was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite ^[1] .

On April 16, 1932, he was arrested for "conducting systematic anti-Soviet agitation." He was released one of the first of those arrested ^[1] .

Since 1932 he was rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Putinki , in Moscow.

In early 1933, he filed with law enforcement authorities that an illegal monastery and the Theological Academy had been created at the church of St. Sergius, and during the investigation he witnessed the accusation against the brethren and parishioners of the St. Sergius Church. In total, twenty-four people were arrested in this case - clergy and laity, including the venerable martyr Hieromonk Theodore (Epiphany) ^[2] .

On May 21, 1935, by decree of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius, Archimandrite Alexy was determined to be Bishop of Kashira , Vicar of the Moscow Diocese ^[3] .

June 2, 1935 in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Putinki , the consecration of Archimandrite Alexy to the Bishop of Kashira took place. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Sergius (Stragorodsky) and vicars of the Moscow diocese - Archbishop of Dmitrov Pitirim (Krylov) and Bishop of Bronnitsky Sergius (Resurrection) .

Since January 3, 1936 - Bishop of Serpukhov , Vicar of the Moscow Diocese ^[3] .

On August 18, 1937 he was appointed bishop of Vologda ; the decree is “suspended” due to the illness of the bishop.

Since August 25, 1937 - Bishop Egorievsky , Vicar of the Moscow Diocese .

Since September 14, 1937 - Bishop of Ivanovo .

In 1938, after he saw in the Soviet newspapers the name of the patriarchal locum tenens among “spies and saboteurs”, he hastened to announce a break with him and proclaimed “autocephaly” in Ivanovo. In 1939, banned in the priesthood and put on trial by the bishops. The prohibition act was signed by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) , Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) , Archbishop Palladius (Sherstennikov) .

However, he was soon taken back to the Moscow Patriarchate, settled in Moscow and already on August 22, 1940 participated in the ordination of Bishop Damaskin (Malyuta) . October 31, 1940 he was appointed bishop of Tula , with the assignment of bishop services in the Moscow church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki .

After the accession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR , the question arose about the organization of church life in these lands and the search for a candidate led to Bishop Alexy. By the decree of the Moscow Patriarchate of December 3, 1940, he was sent to Chisinau as the manager of the Orthodox communities of the Chisinau , Beltsy , Izmail and Chernivtsi dioceses for a period of 6 months. By the decree of the Moscow Patriarchate on May 12, 1941, he was appointed archbishop of Chisinau and Bessarabia with the leaving of the Ismail and Balti dioceses and with the assignment of management of the Chernivtsi diocese; it was titled as "exarch of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovinian" ^[4] .

After the invasion of German troops, in connection with the Red Army's abandonment of Moldova, the archbishop hastily left his diocese and was appointed to the Oryol and Kursk departments . It is known that under the Exaltation he served in the cemetery church of Orel ^[5] . When the enemy occupied Oryol on October 3, 1941, on October 14 of the same year he was assimilated the title of Archbishop of Tambov .

In February 1942, he was Archbishop of Ufa, but could not come to Ufa while living in Moscow .

Since July 13, 1942 - Archbishop of Ryazan, with permission to go to his diocese.

Since July 14, 1943 - the manager of the Kaluga and Tula dioceses .

September 8, 1943 he was a member of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church .

Since May 1944 - Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov .

He was awarded the medal " For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. ".

In the second half of 1945, he was sent by Patriarch Alexy to America to negotiate with Metropolitan Feofil (Pashkovsky) about the resumption of the canonical relationship of the North American Metropolis . On September 6, the Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov Alexy arrived in the United States. His reception was prepared and carried out by the clergy and laity of both the Moscow Patriarchate and the North American Metropolis, united in a special committee to meet the patriarchal envoy. In addition to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, American religious organizations showed considerable interest in the arrival of Archbishop Alexy, believing that his visit would contribute to the unification ^[6] .

Under the influence of church and public opinion, expressed by clergy and parishioners of the North American Metropolitan District, Metropolitan Theophilos agreed to a personal meeting with the patriarchal envoy, which took place on October 25, 1945 in the building of the American metropolis. At this meeting, Metropolitan Theophilus presented the following conditions for reunification to Archbishop Alexy: complete autonomy, his approval, Metropolitan Theophilus, head of the Church in America and non-interference of the Moscow Patriarchate in the internal affairs of autonomy. Archbishop Alexy, referring to the fact that the clauses are presented in English, demanded a separate translation of them into Russian and postponed the discussion until the next meeting. The patriarch telegraphed to his messenger: "I recognize the conditions of Metropolitan Theophilos as unacceptable" ^[6] .

On November 8, the second meeting of Archbishop Alexy and Metropolitan Theophilos took place. At it, the patriarchal representative put forward counterclaims to Metropolitan Theophilus: to recognize the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy (Simansky) as the head of the American Church; sever all relations with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anastasius (Gribanovsky), and convene the All-American Council in the near future ^[6] .

From the very beginning of his mission in North America, Archbishop Alexy (Sergeyev) sharply distanced himself from the Patriarchal Exarch Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) and did not even serve with him. It was believed that negotiations with Metropolitan Theophilus would thus be more successful. Assuring that he was endowed with special patriarchal rights, Archbishop Alexy completely removed Metropolitan Benjamin from managing the diocese and not only did not consult with him on “American issues”, but did not even listen to his opinion ^[6] .

On March 7, 1946, Archbishop Alexy (Sergeyev) left for Moscow, establishing instead a “commission” for reconciliation, headed by the Bishop, and soon by New York Archbishop Makarii (Ilyinsky) ^[6] .

On January 13, 1947 he was appointed Archbishop of Kursk and Belgorod .

On June 3, 1948 he was appointed Archbishop of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust , but did not obey the decree. On July 2 of the same year, he was dismissed to rest, and on August 24 he was again appointed to the same department.

When the control of the activities of religious organizations was tightened again in the country from the winter of 1948-1949, the arrests of clergy and closure of churches began again, Patriarch Alexy constantly urged the clergy to be cautious and restrained in their actions in order to exclude any possible harsh measures by the authorities.

Archbishop Alexy, not being a supporter of active bishop's ministry, did everything possible in the spirit of the requirements of the authorities. The trips of the administrator of the diocese were practically stopped; The archbishop considered the monthly publication of a newsletter on the church life of the diocese to be untimely, but he demanded from the priests to reduce the time of service, "because the workers come to the church who had previously been engaged in socially useful work." All applications of believers for the opening of churches were rejected and, conversely, statements-requirements of local authorities to close existing churches, as a rule, were resolved positively. In January 1949, he signed a decree on the diocese prohibiting priests from fulfilling religious demands at home, and finally, by his decision of April 19, 1949, recommended restricting the ringing of bells for Easter and “concentrating all the customs required by the church charter outside the church or cemetery the walls of the temples of the diocese ” ^[7] .

By the decision of the Synod of March 17, 1950, he was appointed Archbishop of Kalininsky and Kashinsky .

July 20, 1951 he was entrusted with the interim administration of the Great Diocese of Veliki .

On July 29, 1954, according to the petition, he was dismissed to rest, according to the decision of the Synod, "with the deprivation for the future of the right to occupy any episcopal department" ^[8] . Excerpts from the scandalous process during his administration of the Kalinin diocese were published in all regional and regional newspapers ^[9] .

However, from March 14, 1957 he was appointed Archbishop of Alma-Ata.

But already on February 20, 1958, by a decision of the Synod, despite his request for a two-month leave, he was fired at rest "because of a painful state."

He lived alone in Moscow. Died April 6, 1968 in Moscow after a long illness. The funeral service took place on April 8, 1968 in the Kalitnikovsky cemetery church in Moscow. At the same cemetery, he was buried.

• “Thieves and murderers in the church fence” // Truth about religion in Russia. M. , 1942. S. 335-352;
• “To the Altar of the Motherland” // Truth about religion in Russia. S. 148-162.

• Biography on the site "Russian Orthodoxy"
• Alexy // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2000. - T. I. - S. 673. - 752 p. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-006-4 .
• Alexy (Sergeyev Victor Mikhailovich)
• The Orthodox Church in Moldova in the context of the history of Moldovan-Romanian inter-church relations in the 20th century