Russian Orthodox Church Council to elect Patriarch within six months

In accordance with the Rule of the Russian Orthodox Church, there will be an emergency meeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops, at which a Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne will be elected. The Locum Tenens will govern the Russian Church until a new Patriarch is elected, and will head the Funeral Commission.

The Holy Synod meeting will be hosted by the oldest member, Fr. Vladimir said. "Our elder is Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga," he said.

At the same time, the Moscow bishopric, in line with the church's charter, will be governed by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, he said.

Taking part in the Holy Synod's meeting are seven of its permanent members, i.e. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine, Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and All Moldova, and Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk.

One of these archbishops will be elected a locum tenens to govern the Russian Orthodox Church until a new Patriarch is elected.

The time for His Holiness, Patriarch Alexei’s funeral service will also be determined at the meeting of the Holy Synod.

In accordance with the Rule, the new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia must be chosen at a Local Ecclesiastical Council during the course of one-half of a year following the repose of his predecessor, which shall be in this case no later than May, 2009.


Public farewell ceremony for Patriarch Alexy II to start Saturday evening

A public farewell ceremony for the deceased Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia will start at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Saturday evening.

"Before the evening service, the patriarch's body will be transported to the main church of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and all those wishing will have the chance to bid farewell to the deceased Patriarch following the service," patriarchy spokesman Mikhail Moiseyev told Interfax.

Access to the Patriarch's body will be free round-the clock, Moiseyev said. The Gospel will be read and mourning services served at the church during the ceremony.

Patriarch Alexy II to be buried at Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia will be buried on the grounds of the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow on Tuesday, December 9, Metropolitan Kirill, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, said in a television program on Saturday.

Alexy II himself wished to be buried at the Epiphany Cathedral, where he had conducted services for years and where the relics of St. Alexy, the deceased patriarch's patron saint, are stored, he said.

One of Alexy II's predecessors, Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow and All Russia, is also buried at the Epiphany Cathedral, Metropolitan Kirill said.


Source:Pravoslavie.ru
Source:Interfax-Religion
Photos :Vesti.ru