On August 4, 2010 there was a rather interesting and significant solemn event - the opening of a monument to the Russian Patriarch. The city of Yoshkar-Ola distinguished itself with such a magnificent gift for Orthodox believers. The initiator of this project was the highest official of the Mari El Republic - L. Markelov. He was performed by the famous sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk, who became the author of other beautiful and magnificent monuments located not only in this republic, but also in a number of other cities of Russia and then the CIS. On the left bank of the Malaya Kokshaga River on Patriarch Square, in the end, a monument to Alexy II - the fifteenth Patriarch of All Russia, who became the founder of the Yoshkar-Ola and Mari diocese - was erected and now adorns the city.
New diocese
In 1993, on June 11, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Kazan diocese decided to allocate the Yoshkar-Ola and Mari diocese. Patriarch Alexy II blessed the formation of this independent inheritance, which was headed by Archbishop John of Yoshkar-Ola (Timofeev).
On July 24, 1993, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church arrived in Yoshkar-Ola in order to perform the traditional rite of bishop ordination of the archimandrite, or the consecration of John to the Yoshkar-Ola and Mari bishop, on July 25, 1993 in the village of Semenovka in the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God.
Monument to Alexy II (Yoshkar-Ola)
As a sign of this event and in memory of His Holiness a huge bronze composition was created, which was placed on a granite pedestal, which was a single-figure composition. The Russian Patriarch stands at full height in a cassock with a panagia on his chest, and on his head is a cockle with seraphim. In one hand he holds a staff, and with the other hand he throws a dove upward as a symbol of peace, love and goodness. His gaze is fixed on Voskresenskaya embankment, on which Orthodox churches and churches are located (their construction dates back to the beginning of his accession to the patriarchal throne).
It is worth recalling that the Primate of Orthodoxy is also monumentally imprinted in Moscow, and on the island of Valaam, and in Minsk, and in Vitebsk, and in Tallinn.
Opening. Monument to Alexy II
At the opening, the opening address was made by President Mari El - Markelov, who very wisely noted that a Russian person without the Orthodox faith is an empty place, which is why in the cities and villages of Mari El, the destroyed temples are so energetically rebuilt and restored.
The city of Yoshkar-Ola is the capital of Mari El, before the revolution (1919) it was called Tsarevokokshaysk. Therefore, it was decided to erect a monument to Patriarch Alexy II here, because it was during his reign as a whole throughout Russia and in particular in the Republic of Mari El that there was an increase in dioceses, churches, monasteries, theological educational institutions, etc. And, importantly, the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the spiritual life of Russia and its politics has sharply increased.
After the opening remarks, the head of the republic and Archbishop John threw off the veil, and everyone saw an unusually beautiful and majestic monument to Alexy II - His Holiness Patriarch, releasing a dove into the sky.
After bishop John consecrated the monument and served a memorial service for the Patriarch. Vladyko John noted in his speech that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexy II, with great love in his heart took the Mari Territory and the people living in it. Every person who comes to this place will find comfort for himself. 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 to which the Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II called.
Interesting facts from the biography
In the world, Alexei Ridiger was born on February 23, 1929. It belongs to the Russian noble family, which emerged from the branch of the Baltic Germans who converted to Orthodoxy in the 18th century. His ancestor, Friedrich von Riediger under Catherine II, was the first to be baptized with the name Fedor.
The father of Patriarch Alexy II was Archpriest Michael, who after the revolution was taken to Estonia. As a child, Alexey and his father often visited Balaam and dreamed of becoming a priest. Then, after the war, he graduated from a theological seminary and after it an academy in Leningrad.
Soon he became a minister of the Diocese of Tallinn. When his mother died (in 1959), he was tonsured a monk named Alex. The rite of passage took place in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In 1961, he became bishop of Tallinn and Estonia, and then metropolitan of the Leningrad and Novgorod departments. During this time, he achieved the return to believers of many Orthodox shrines (relics of St. Alexander Nevsky), relics and churches. Under him, monastic life began to revive in the St. John’s Convent in Leningrad, the Valaam Monastery, the Nikolo-Vyazhishchi desert near Novgorod, etc.
In 1989, he was elected People's Deputy of the USSR, and then, when Patriarch Pimen introduced himself to the Lord, the Local Council elected the then Metropolitan Alexy in his place.
Vladyka died on November 5, 2008. The next day, in one of the capital’s newspapers, it was written about him that the late Patriarch became the first representative of the Orthodox Church, who was able to closely bring together the interests of the state religious authority, which is no longer possible to separate.