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Sorry I haven't written in a while — the keyboards in Istanbul are a bit hard to type on because some of the letters and punctuation marks are in different places, and I just haven't spent too much time in front of the computer lately. Good thing I've been writing about my days in a journal. Here are some of the highlights…
The Blue Mosque
July 13, 2008
After our adventures in Jordan, we headed over to Istanbul on a very annoyingly timed 3:30 a.m. flight, which left us with no sleep for the night and brought us into Istanbul so early in the morning, we had to wait about 5 hours for our hotel room to be ready. In our waiting time, we had breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Tashkonak, on the rooftop patio, and took a short walk through Sultanahmet, the old part of the city where the Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque and plenty of the other tourist sites are. Then once our room was ready, we slept the rest of the day.
July 14, 2008
Once we were well rested, we started exploring Istanbul in earnest. We started out with the Little Aya Sofiya, which is a pretty church-turned mosque with a graveyard surrounding it and a pretty domed roof. Then we visited the tomb of a bunch of sultans, which we happened to come across. All their individual grave markers/sarcophagi were standing like little houses under a domed roof.
Next we went to the Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet Mosque, which is one of the most beautiful sights in the area. It has soaring minarets, domes everywhere you look and a lovely courtyard and garden. Inside it looks like a pretty standard mosque, though it does have some nice tile work, with mostly blue floral designs on the tiles. I'm glad I bought a head scarf when I was in Egypt so I didn't have to use a loaner.
We couldn't go in the Aya Sofiya, which is right across from the Blue Mosque, because it's closed on Mondays — we explored it a few days later — so we headed across the street to the Basilica Cistern, an ancient roman cistern with a hodgepodge of columns taken from across the city and a vaulted roof. There were some carp swimming around in the water, and in the far corner, there were two columns whose bases were upturned Medusa heads. The theory as to why one is on its side and the other is upside down is that the Romans, being Christians, meant to show that they were just using the blocks as building materials, not worshiping false idols.
Continuing our super-tourist day, we went to Topkapi Palace, a huge complex for the sultans and their families. The treasury had an interesting collection, with lots of rubies, emeralds and diamonds, and there were some very elaborately tiled walls in the harem. It was also neat to learn about the palace's history, complete with scheming concubines, murdered princes and the sultan's mother ruling the roost while the sultan walked around in silver-soled shoes.
We also walked around the hippodrome, which isn't much to see, except for two obelisks, a column and a fountain. It functions more as a pedestrian thoroughfare and makes a pleasant place to stroll.
The Basilica Cistern
July 15, 2008
We decided to head out of the city for a day to explore the Princes' Islands, a set of 9 Islands in the Sea of Marmara where people from Istanbul keep summer villas. The only transport allowed on the small, hilly islands are bicycles and horse cards, though there are some motorized vehicles allowed for the police, garbage men, etc.
We went to the biggest of the Islands, which we got to by ferry, and got some ice cream straight away, since it was a hot day. Then we started our walk to the monastery up in the mountains, which ended up being more of a church than a monastery, but maybe we missed something. The walk was really lovely — the big houses had huge gardens, and because of all the trees, we had lots of shade. There were also great views of the sea, the other islands and Istanbul.
When we finally got up to the monastery area, we had a nice lunch, explored the small Greek Orthodox church where people had left little trinkets, like watches and jewelry, in hopes that their prayers would be answered. There were also lots of white bags, papers and cloths tied to the trees and bushes on the path leading up the hill, which apparently also symbolize prayers.
July 16, 2008
We woke up to rain for the first time on our trip, but by the time we had breakfast and set up a lunch date with a friend who lives in Istanbul, it had stopped. Before lunch, we decided to tour Aya Sofiya, which is much more impressive from the inside than the outside. Outside, it looks old and staid compared to the blue mosque, but inside, it's all gold and there are some incredibly detailed mosaics in its gallery. It would have been amazing to see it in its original glory, with its large open spaces and soaring dome, which were unfortunately obstructed for us by scaffolding put up for reconstruction work.
By the time we were ready to leave, there was a thunder-and-lighting storm raging outside, so we ran to the nearby tram stop, getting soaked in the process, and trammed and funiculared to Taksim to meet our friend who took us out to a lunch of traditional Turkish food. We had dishes like "The Imam Fainted," a tasty cold eggplant dish, dolmas, stuffed peppers and pureed eggplant. I also had Turkish coffee with dessert — strong and bitter as expected.
July 17, 2008
It was time to see something of contemporary Istanbul, so we went to the Istanbul Modern, a great museum that showcases Turkish modern art. We were introduced to plenty of talented artists we'd never heard of, and toured the temporary "Design Cities" show, which showcased important works from cities that influenced popular design over the years. The museum also has a fantastic cafe overlooking the Bosphorus, though it seems like just about every restaurant in Istanbul has some sort of water view, which is always a nice touch. The rest of the day's tour included a trip up Galata Tower and down the Kamodo Steps.
July 18, 2008
We thought we might avoid it because of our crazy experience at the bazaar in Egypt, but we ended up going to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market anyway, and boy were we surprised. It wasn't crowded, the shopkeepers didn't hassle us too much, and the shops had some really interesting and colorful items. We also went in to a bunch of mosques, though at this point they all started looking a bit the same.
July 19, 2008
We had a nice relaxing day of sleeping in, then sat at a tea garden eating ice cream and baklava and playing checkers for most of the afternoon. Evan beat me every time.
July 20, 2008
We went to tour Dolmabahce palace — another home for the sultan's, though newer than Topkapi and in a European style. The grounds were beautiful, with manicured gardens, fountains and little ponds with lily pads and an expansive view of the Bosphorus. Touring the interiors of the buildings, though, we needed to go as a group with a guide. The groups were pretty big, and the palace's big rooms echoed and made it hard to hear our guide. We also kept running into the group ahead of us. Still, the building was impressive, with huge chandeliers, carved ceilings and a lot of trompe l'oeil painting. Touring the harem, our guide did a better job, though we had some rogue tourists who kept arguing with her and trying to strike out on their own.
After getting lunch at a vegetarian restaurant near Taksim, we took the metro to Levent to go to the mall. The Kanyon mall was huge, modern and gorgeous. It's an indoor-outdoor multi-level space with posh shops, curving walkways and a spherical movie theater. We shopped a bit and saw Hancock — with an intermission that included commercials (not cool to interrupt a movie so abruptly like that and then make us watch even more ads!).
July 21, 2008
Lazy day lounging at the hotel, researching Thailand and reading. We ordered in food with the help of the super-nice staff at the hotel and spent a lot of time using their free lobby computer.
View of the Bosphorus
July 22, 2008
It was time to get out of the city again and go on a Bosphorus tour. We caught the ferry at Eminonu and took it up to Anadolou Kavagi, where we climbed up a hill to a ruined castle, where we had great views of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, which were both a tranquil turquoise blue.
When we got down from the mountain, we caught a bus down to Kanlica where we had a strait-side lunch featuring the town's delicious yogurt, which really was better than any of the yogurt we had elsewhere in Turkey. We watched plenty of ships passing by and even saw a dolphin. By the time we were done with lunch, it was too late to visit any of the other sites we'd hoped to get to — just about everything around Istanbul closes at 4 or 4:30 — so we hopped on another bus to Uskudar, then took the ferry back to Eminonu.
We walked along the coast back to our hotel, passing swimmers and sunbathers on the rocks (there's no beach there).
July 23, 2008
One of Evan's brother's friends who we'd met for drinks earlier in the week played tour guide for us all day. She brought us to a Greek Orthodox neighborhood where we visited a church and an impressive large high school on top of a steep hill. We also toured Bosphorus University, which as its name suggests has some beautiful views, then had a long and relaxing lunch at a waterfront cafe in Ortakoy.
We spent the rest of our day in Istiklal, hanging out in a cafe reading while avoiding some rain, then going out for a makeup birthday dinner, since in Jordan we never had one, at a rooftop restaurant.
July 24, 2008
With our flight to Thailand in the evening, we had one last day to spend in Istanbul and I knew what I wanted to do — go to a hammam/Turkish bath. Evan didn't want to come, so he went on his own errands while I headed to the Cemberlitas Hammam, right near the Grand Bazaar. The Hammam dates back to the 1500s, and the men's side is supposed to be grander than the women's, though it was still a neat experience.
The main bathing room has a warm raised central platform, where most of the activity takes place. I started out relaxing there in my bath sheet while others were getting bathed around me, staring up at the small circular skylights in the pink domed ceiling, and soon an attendant came in to give me my bath. There was lots of water, soap and scrubbing with a loofah mitten. There was also a bit of a massage and I also had my hair washed in an adjacent alcove. The most surprising part of the experience, though, was that the attendants don't really wear much clothing. Like only bikini bottoms. The guide book did not prepare me for that — I thought I was the only one who was going to be exposed.
Well, I chalked this one up to being an interesting cultural experience, and I despite some initial anxiety, ended up enjoying myself and feeling squeaky clean and relaxed by the time I was done.
Evan and I spent the rest of the day relaxing at the Dervish Tea Garden, drinking tea and playing backgammon. I won every time.
When it was time to finally leave, we had a nice time at the airport, hanging out in the Turkish Airways lounge, which was really nice (we somehow managed to fly business class to Thailand — our longest flight!). There was a business centers with computers to use, a big dining/drinking area, a separate kids' room, a TV lounge and a sleeping lounge. The flight itself was fine — we both slept most of the way — though Turkish Airways has the worst business class food I've ever had, worse than most economy meals I've had. There were at least huge TVs, and on their flight monitor, we could check out the front and rear views from the airplane — it was quite cool to see it approach the airport and land!
Check out our Istanbul photos in Evan's Facebook album.


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The Fragility Forum brings together global practitioners and policymakers to exchange knowledge and experience on engaging in environments affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Held every other year, the Fragility Forum 2020 has been transformed into a Virtual Series to adapt to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Starting the week of June 8, the Fragility Forum Virtual Series will provide an online alternative to share practical solutions and concrete approaches to maximize the collective impact of humanitarian, development, security and peacebuilding actors to help prevent conflict, build resilience, and sustain peace.
The Virtual Series will last until August 31, 2020 and cover the topics initially planned for the Forum with an added focus on pandemics and the implications of COVID-19. Sessions are organized around the key themes of the World Bank Group's Fragility, Conflict and Violence Strategy, using formats such as podcasts, experts' interviews, workshops, trainings and live events.
If you are new to the Forum, register here to stay updated on the calendar as sessions get added.
Every week will feature three sessions: a 60-min, live event on Tuesdays at 9:00 am ET; two other sessions, recorded or live, will be uploaded directly to this platform. Formats will vary at the discretion of the session sponsor/s. Check the listing below to access all content. All recordings as well as discussion space will be available on this site for each session.
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New state lawmakers to be sworn in Wednesday
Constitutional officers up for vote
The newly elected Maine Legislature, now back under Democratic control, is starting business for the 2013-14 session.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Wednesday morning will administer the oath of office to the representatives and senators who were elected last month. Democrats won back majorities in the House and Senate, which were in Republican hands for the last two years.
In a series of largely ceremonial events, the new lawmakers will elect their presiding officers and later the attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and auditor.
Because Democrats now have a legislative majority, their candidates for those offices are virtually assured of winning on Wednesday. They include Matthew Dunlap for secretary of state, Janet Mills for attorney general, Neria Douglass for treasurer and Pola Buckley for auditor.
Republicans nominate Debra Plowman for secretary of state, and current Attorney General Bill Schneider and treasurer Bruce Poliquin to keep their positions. Republicans did not nominate anyone for the auditor position.


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Rome snowboards with Poprock technology. In creating our collection of reverse camber boards, our design objective was to dial-in the feeling of skate-style, pow-surfy snowboarding, while at the same time injecting it with specific pop-inducing technologies that would eliminate the dead-feel found in a lot of rocker boards. Loose and playful? Yes. But mushy and lifeless? Definitely not.


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Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow
Alexy II
|Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'
|Russian Orthodox Church
|10 June 1990
|Term ended
|5 December 2008
|Pimen I
|Kirill I
|17 April 1950
|3 September 1961
by Nikodim of Leningrad
|Personal details
|Birth name
|Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger
|23 February 1929
Tallinn, Estonia
|5 December 2008 (aged 79)
Peredelkino, Moscow, Russia
|Epiphany Cathedral at Elokhovo
|Russian Orthodox
|Vera Alekseeva (1950–1951)
|Coat of arms
Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, Russian: Патриарх Алексий II; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger[1] Russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ри́дигер; 23 February 1929 – 5 December 2008) was the 15th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Elected Patriarch of Moscow eighteen months prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, he became the first Russian Patriarch of the post-Soviet period.
Family history[2][edit]
Alexey Mikhailovich Ridiger's father Mikhail Aleksandrovich Ridiger (1900–1960), born in Saint Petersburg, was a descendant of a Baltic German noble family. His ancestor Captain Heinrich Nikolaus (Nils) Rüdinger, the commander of a Swedish fortification in Dünamünde, Swedish Livonia, was knighted by Charles XI of Sweden in 1695. After Swedish Estonia and Swedish Livonia became part of the Russian Empire in the aftermath of the Great Northern War in the beginning of the 18th century, another forefather of Alexy II, Friedrich Wilhelm von Rüdiger (1780–1840), adopted Orthodox Christianity during the reign of Catherine II of Russia. From the marriage with a Polish woman Sophie Dorothea Jerzębska[3] was born the future Patriarch's great-grandfather, Yegor (Georgi) von Rüdiger (1811–1848).[4]
After the Russian October Revolution in 1917, Alexey Ridiger's father Mikhail became a refugee and the family settled in Estonia, first in Haapsalu where a shelter was provided by priest Ralph von zur Mühlen.[5] Later Mikhail moved to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, where he met and married in 1928 to Yelena Iosifovna Pisareva (1902–1955),[4] who was born and later died there.[1]
Alexey Ridiger's father graduated from the theological seminary in Tallinn in 1940 and was ordained a deacon and later a priest and served as the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Tallinn. Later, he was a member and the chairman of the Diocesan Council in Estonia.
Patrilineal family tree[4]
|Heinrich Nikolaus (Nils) Rüdinger
(died 1711)
|Peter von Rüdinger
|Karl Magnus von Rüdinger
|Friedrich Wilhelm (Fyodor Ivanovich) von Rüdiger
|Yegor (Georgi) Fyodorovich Ridiger
|Aleksandr Yegorovich Ridiger
|Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Ridiger
|Mikhail Aleksandrovich Ridiger
|Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger
|Christine Elisabeth von Wickede
|Elisabeth Wiesner
|Charlotte Margarethe von Maltitz
(1758 – 1786)
|Sophie Dorothea Jerzębska
|Margarethe Hamburger
|Yevgenia Germanovna Gizetti
(died 1905)
|Aglaida Yulievna Balts
|Yelena Iosifovna Pisareva
Early life[edit]
Alexey Ridiger was born and spent his childhood in the Republic of Estonia that had become a Russian Orthodox spiritual center and a home to many Russian émigrés after the Russian October Revolution in 1917.[6] He was baptised to Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.[7]
From his early childhood Alexey Ridiger served in the Orthodox Church under the guidance of his spiritual father: Archpriest Ioann Bogoyavlensky.
Alexey Ridiger attended Tallinn's Russian Gymnasium.
After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940 Alexey Ridiger's family was listed for arrest in order to be deported from Estonia according to the Serov Instructions but were not found by the NKVD because instead of staying in their home they were hiding in a nearby hovel.[8]
During Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany (1941–1944) Alexey Ridiger attended with his father Mikhail, who had become an Orthodox priest on 20 December 1942, the German prison camps in Estonia offering salvation to the Russian prisoners of war. Such activities were tolerated by the German occupation authorities because it was seen as an effective anti Soviet propaganda. After Soviet forces returned to Estonia in the autumn of 1944, unlike the most of the people with Baltic German roots, the Ridiger family chose to stay in Estonia and didn't evacuate to the west.[8]
During the war Joseph Stalin had revived the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union.[9] Having been closed during the war time, after the Soviet annexation of Estonia the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn was reopened in 1945. Alexey Ridiger who had become a Soviet citizen[10] served as an altar boy in the cathedral from May to October 1946. He was made a psalm-reader in St. Simeon's Church later that year; in 1947, he officiated in the same office in the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Tallinn.[1]
He entered Leningrad Theological Seminary in 1947, and graduated in 1949. He then entered the Leningrad Theological Academy, and graduated in 1953.[11][12]
On 15 April 1950, he was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan Gregory (Chukov) of Leningrad, and on 17 April 1950, he was ordained a priest and appointed rector of the Theophany church in city of Jõhvi, Estonia, in the Tallinn Diocese. On 15 July 1957, Fr. Alexiy was appointed Rector of the Cathedral of the Dormition in Tallinn and Dean of the Tartu district. He was elevated to the rank of Archpriest on 17 August 1958, and on 30 March 1959 he was appointed Dean of the united Tartu-Viljandi deanery of the Tallinn diocese. On 3 March 1961 he was tonsured a monk in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.[11]
His name (secular Алексей, clerical Алексий) was not changed when he became a monk, but his patron saint changed from Alexius of Rome to Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow whose relics repose in the Theophany Cathedral in Moscow.
On 14 August 1961, he was chosen to be the Orthodox Church Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia. On 23 June 1964, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop; and, on 25 February 1968, when he just turned 40 years old, he was elevated to metropolitan.[12]
In 1986 he was released from the post of the Chancellor, which he had held since 1961 and which allowed him to be based in the Moscow Patriarchy's headquarters, and transferred to Leningrad; the decision was effectively made by the Council for Religious Affairs and was later presented by Alexy as punishment for his letter in December 1985 to Mikhail Gorbachev with proposals of reforms to church-state relations. Shortly after Alexy's death, the then Chairman of the Council Kharchev strongly denied that and said the decision was aimed at "defusing the tense emotional atmosphere within Patriarch Pimen's inner circle".[13] In an earlier interview Kharchev suggested the removal had been requested by Patriarch Pimen "for a year".[14]
After the death of Patriarch Pimen in 1990 Alexiy was chosen to become the new Patriarch of The Russian Orthodox Church. He was chosen on Local Council on the basis of his administrative experience, and was considered "intelligent, energetic, hardworking, systematic, perceptive, and businesslike."[15] He also "had a reputation as a conciliator, a person who could find common ground with various groups in the episcopate."[16] Archbishop Chrysostom (Martishkin) remarked "With his peaceful and tolerant disposition Patriarch Aleksi will be able to unite us all."[17]
Patriarch Alexy II was "the first patriarch in Soviet history to be chosen without government pressure; candidates were nominated from the floor, and the election was conducted by secret ballot."[12]
Upon taking on the role of Patriarch, Patriarch Alexy became a vocal advocate of the rights of the church, calling for the Soviet government to allow religious education in the state schools and for a "freedom of conscience" law.[12] During the attempted coup in August 1991, he denounced the arrest of Mikhail Gorbachev, and anathematized the plotters.[12] He publicly questioned the junta's legitimacy, called for restraint by the military, and demanded that Gorbachev be allowed to address the people.[18] He issued a second appeal against violence and fratricide, which was amplified over loudspeakers to the troops outside the Russian "White House" half an hour before they attacked.[16] Ultimately, the coup failed, which eventually resulted in the breakup of the Soviet Union.[19]
In July 1998 Alexy II decided not to officiate in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of Saint Petersburg at the burial of the royal family executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, a ceremony attended by president Boris Yeltsin, citing doubts about the authenticity of the remains.[20]
Under his leadership, the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia who suffered under Communism were glorified, beginning with the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Metropolitan Vladimir, and Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazansky) of Petrograd in 1992.[21] In 2000, after much debate, the All-Russian Council glorified Tsar Nicholas II and his family (see Romanov sainthood), as well as many other New Martyrs.[22] More names continue to be added to list of New Martyrs, after the Synodal Canonization Commission completes its investigation of each case.[23]
Alexy II had complicated relations with John Paul II and the Roman Catholic Church. He had a dispute with Rome over the property rights of the Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine, which had emerged from Soviet control after the Gorbachev's liberalisation of Russia.[24] He nevertheless had good relations with Latin-rite Christians in France and was friends with Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who invited him to the country shortly before his death.[25]
Patriarch Alexy II repeatedly affirmed the traditional stand of the Orthodox Church and opposed the display of homosexuality in Russia, and in particular, opposed gay parades in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Church, according to the Patriarch, "has invariably supported the institution of the family and condemns untraditional relations, seeing them as a vicious deviation from God-given human nature". He also said, "I am convinced that gays' desire to organize a parade in Moscow will not help strengthen the family as the foundation of a strong state".[26] He also said that homosexuality is an illness, and a distortion of the human personality like kleptomania.[27][28]
Patriarch Alexy has also issued statements condemning anti-Semitism.[12]
On 27 April 2007, he was reported by some Russian media to be in grave condition and even dead,[29][30] though this was later shown to have been a hoax.[31][32][33][34] Patriarch Alexiy has stated that the motivation behind these rumors were to scuttle the upcoming reconciliation between the Russian Church inside of Russia with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.[35] "As you can see, I'm healthy, I'm serving, I'm alive," he is quoted as saying.[35] Despite his age, he appeared healthy, and had been leading an active pastoral life. He was frequently seen on Russian TV, conducting Church services, and meeting with various government officials.
In February 2007 a controversy erupted when Diomid, Bishop of Chukotka, condemned the ROC's hierarchy and personally Patrirch Alexy II for ecumenism, supporting democracy and misguided loyalty to the Russian secular authorities.[36][37] Bishop Diomid also took the position that taxpayer IDs, cell phones, passports, vaccination and globalisation were tools of the antichrist,[citation needed] and that the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church have "departed from the purity of the Orthodoxal dogma"[38] in its support of the Russian government and of democracy, as well as its ecumenism with other confessions. After a decision of the All-Russian Council, and Bishop Diomid's refusal to appear, he was defrocked in July 2008,[39]
Personal life[edit]
He married Vera Alekseeva,[40] the daughter of a priest from Tallinn Georgi Alekseev, later Bishop of Tallinn and Archbishop of Gorki, on 11 April 1950,[41][42][43] on the Tuesday of Bright Week when marriages are normally prohibited according to Church tradition; however, permission was granted by Metropolitan Gregory of Leningrad, at the request of Bishop Roman of Tallinn and the fathers of both the bride and groom (both of whom were priests, and who concelebrated the marriage together). Moskovskie Novosti has alleged that according to a denunciation written by a priest-inspector Pariysky to the Leningrad Council of Religious Affairs, the marriage had been expedited in order for Ridiger to become a deacon and avoid being drafted into the Soviet Military (marriage is impossible after ordination in Orthodoxy). Up until 1950, seminarians were given a deferment from the draft, but in 1950 this was changed, and only clergy were exempt. For reasons which have remained private, they divorced less than a year later.[41][43]
The Patriarch's private residence was located in the village of Lukino (near Peredelkino), now a western suburb of Moscow; it includes a 17th-century church, a museum, and a spacious three-storey house built in the late 1990s. According to the Patriarch's May 2005 interview on the residence's compound, nuns drawn from the Pühtitsa Convent take care of all the household chores.[44]
There was also a working residence in central Moscow—a 19th-century town mansion, which had been turned over to the Patriarchate by Stalin's order in September 1943. Both residences acted as living quarters and Patriarch's office at the same time. He commuted in an armored car and was under the protection of federal agents (FSO) since January 2000.[45]
The formal residence (infrequently used for some official functions) is located in the Moscow Danilov Monastery – a two-storey Soviet building erected in the 1980s.
He died on 5 December 2008, from heart failure, aged 79. He died 80 days short of his 80th birthday( February 23, 1929 – December 5, 2008), just being 1 single day older at death than the previous Russian Patriarch, who had died 81 days short of his 80th birthday( July 23, 1910 – May 3, 1990)
Awards and honors[edit]
- 2000 – Russia, the national Man of the Year prize and the Outstanding People of the 1990–2000 Decade.[46]
- 2003 – Estonian civilian order, the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class.[47]
- 2005 – The first laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation for humanitarian work.[48]
- 2006 – The Muslim Board of the Caucasus Allahshukur Pashazade, the highest Muslim Order of Sheikh ul-Islam.[49]
Patriarch Alexy II was an honorary member of the Theological Academies in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Crete, Greece. He was made Doctor of Theology honoris causa at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University in Debrecen, Hungary. He also was honored by St. Vladimir's Seminary and St. Tikhon's Seminary an at the Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage in the USA. He was given the title of honorary professor by the Omsk State University and the Moscow State University. He was given an honorary Doctorate of Philology by St. Petersburg University. He was given an honorary Doctorate of Theology by the Theological Faculty of the University of Belgrade. He was given an honorary Doctorate of Theology by the Tbilisi Theological Academy in Georgia. He received a Golden Medal from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the Kosice University in Kosice, Slovakia, and was an honorary member of the International Charity and Health Foundation.[50]
- Awards of the Russian Orthodox Church and other local churches
- Order of St. Andrew with a diamond star
- Order "Glory and Honor" (2005) [128]
- Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow, 1st class
- Order of St. Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, 1st class
- Order of St. Macarius the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, 1st class
- Order of St. Prince Vladimir Equal, 1st class (27 May 1968) and 2nd class (11 May 1963)
- Order of St. Sergius, 1st class (21 February 1979)
- Order of St. Innocent Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, 1st class
- Order of Saint Blessed Prince Dimitry Donskoy great, 1st class (2005)
- Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius, 1st class (Czechoslovak Orthodox Church, 20 October 1962)
- Order of St. John of Rila, 1st class (Bulgarian Orthodox Church, May 1968)
- Order of St. Mark (Orthodox Church of Alexandria, 1969)
- Order of the Holy Cross, 1st and 2nd classes (Jerusalem Orthodox Church, 1968, 1984)
- Order of St. George, 1st and 2nd classes (Georgian Orthodox Church, 1968, 1972)
- Order of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 2nd class (Antiochian Orthodox Church, 1 September 1981)
- Other orders Metropolitan Patriarch of Antioch
- Order of St. John the Martyr Archbishop of Riga, 1st class (Latvian Orthodox Church, 28 May 2006)
- Medal of 1,500th anniversary of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem (1965)
- Gold medal, 1st class the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (Greece, 25 September 1980)
- Gold Medal of the I degree Archdiocese of St. Catherine of Katerini (Greece, 4 May 1982)
- Medal "15 years of Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk dioceses" (Diocese of Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk, 22 March 2008)
- State awards of the Russian Federation
- Order of St. Andrew (19 February 1999) – for outstanding contribution to the spiritual and moral rebirth of Russia, to preserve peace and harmony in society
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (23 February 2004) – for outstanding contribution to strengthening peace and harmony between peoples, the restoration of historical and cultural heritage of Russia; 2nd class (11 September 1997) – for outstanding contribution to the achievement of unity and harmony in society and long-term peacekeeping efforts
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (22 February 1994) – for his great personal contribution to the spiritual revival of Russia and active peacemaking
- State Prize of the Russian Federation for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian action in 2005 (9 June 2006, presented 12 June).
- State awards of the USSR
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (22 November 1979)
- Awards of the Russian Federation
- Order of the "Key of Friendship" (Kemerovo region)
- Order of the White Lotus (Kalmykia, 1997)
- Departmental awards
- Commemorative Medal Gorchakov (Russian Foreign Ministry, 2002)
- Badge "For mercy and charity" (Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, 2003) [137].
- Medal "For contributions to the development of agro-industrial complex" I degree (Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, 2005) [138]
- Medal Anatoly Koni (Russian Ministry of Justice, 2000) [139]
- Foreign awards
- Order of "Glory" (Azerbaijan, 14 September 2005) – for services in the development of friendly relations between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Russia
- Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st class (Estonia, 29 September 2003)
- Order of the Three Stars, 1st class (Latvia, 27 May 2006)
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (Belarus, 26 March 2004) – for the fruitful work of rapprochement and mutual enrichment of national cultures, and his great personal contribution to the spiritual and intellectual potential of the fraternal peoples of Belarus and Russia
- Order of Francisc Skorina (Belarus, 23 September 1998) – for outstanding achievements in developing and strengthening friendly relations between nations
- Medal of Honour (Belarus, 2008)
- Medal of Francysk Skaryna (Belarus, 22 July 1995) – for outstanding contribution to the Orthodox Church in the spiritual revival of the Belarusian people
- Order of the Republic (Moldova, 12 November 2005)
- National Order of the Cedar (Lebanon, 6 October 1991)
- Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, 1st class (Lithuania, 1997)
- Order Dostyk, 1st class (Kazakhstan, 2002)
- Order of the Republic (PMR, 8 February 1999) – for his invaluable contribution in promoting the true Orthodox faith of our fathers, a huge, sustained attention, and displaying to the children of the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church of our State, and in connection with the 70th anniversary of the birth
- Community Awards
- Diploma of the Soviet Peace Fund (23 August 1969)
- Medal and certificate of the Soviet Peace Foundation (13 December 1971)
- Commemorative medal inscribed board of the Soviet Peace Fund (1969)
- Medal of the World Peace Council (1976) – in connection with the 25th anniversary of the peace movement
- Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee (1974) – in connection with the 25th anniversary of the Committee
- Diploma of the Soviet Peace Committee (November 1979)
- Certificate of Merit and a commemorative medal of the Soviet Peace Fund (November 1979)
- Commemorative medal of the World Peace Council (1981) – in connection with the 30th anniversary of the peace movement
- Honour Board of the Soviet Peace Foundation (15 December 1982) – for active participation in the fund
- Charter of the Soviet-Indian friendship
- KGB Certificate of Honour (February 1988)
- Honorary citizenship of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Sergiev Posad, the Republic of Kalmykia, of the Republic of Mordovia, of the Leningrad Region, the Republic of Karelia (2006), Dimitrov (2003), Murom (Vladimir Region, 2006), Kemerovo Region (2005) and Podolsk, Moscow Region (2001)
- Honorary degrees
- Honorary Doctor of the Baku Slavic University, [163]
- Honorary Doctor of Petrozavodsk State University (2000) [164]
- Planck's Order of St. Pervozvannogo
- Order "For merits before Fatherland" I degree
- Order "For merits before Fatherland" II degrees
- Order of Red Banner of Labor Order of Friendship Order of Friendship of Peoples
- Medal Anatoly Koni
- Medal for contributions to the development of agriculture
- Band to White Lotus (Kalmykia). Png
- Order of "Glory" (Azerbaijan)
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (Belarus)
- Order Skarina
- Order of Merit (Belarus)
- Medal of Francis Skorina rib.png
- Order of the Republic (PMR)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross Mary's Land
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Three Stars
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
- Dostyk Order of 1st degree
- Most of the National Order of the Cedar tape
- Order of the Republic (Moldova)
- Tape "15 years of the Diocese of Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk". Png
- Russian Federation State Prize
- Order "Glory and Honor"
- The Order of St. Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, I degree
- Order of St. Prince Vladimir Equal-I degree (ROC)
- Order of St. Prince Vladimir Equal-II degree (ROC)
- Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow, I degree
- The Order of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, a degree
- The Order of Saint Blessed Prince Dimitry Donskoy great I degree
- Order of St. Sergius I of a degree
- Honorary citizen of Moscow
Apology to Germany[edit]
During Alexy II's first official visit to Germany in 1995, the Patriarch publicly apologized for the "Communist tyranny that had been imposed upon the German nation by the USSR". The apology resulted in accusations by Russian Communists and the Russian National Bolshevik Party of insulting the Russian nation and treason.[51]
Opposition in the Russian Orthodox Church[edit]
Some activities, views and policies of Alexy II such as engaging in ecumenical dialogue (when Metropolitan, Alexy had been one of the presidents of the Conference of European Churches since 1964; in March 1987 he was elected President of the CEC Presidium and Advisory Committee, in which post he remained until November 1990)[52] with representatives of other religious groups[53] and publicly condemning antisemitism[54] were met with opposition by some in the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Alexy II responded by saying that such people do not represent the opinions of the church but expressed their own private views as free citizens instead.[55]
Work for the KGB[edit]
Patriarch Alexy II was a KGB agent according to multiple sources,[56][57][58][59][60][61] including Gleb Yakunin and Yevgenia Albats, who both were given access to the KGB archives.[58][62][63][64]
It is alleged that the Estonian KGB recruited Alexy as an agent on 28 February 1958, just days after his 29th birthday, assigning him the codename "Drozdov" (he had completed his dissertation on Metropolitan Filaret Drozdov). The report detailing his recruitment makes clear that the KGB viewed Alexy, then still a priest, as a high-flier. It had already earmarked him as a future Bishop of the Russian Orthodox diocese of Tallinn and Estonia. He was appointed to this post less than three years later.[65] Among his KGB assignments was one in 1983, when he was sent to the Pskov-Caves Monastery to "pacify" rebellious monks.[66]
In February 1988, exactly 30 years after his recruitment, the KGB chairman awarded him the Certificate of Honour.[63]
Alexander Grigoryev, a KGB officer in Leningrad under cover as Orthodox priest Fr Alexander was his case officer for a while.[67] According to Oleg Gordievsky, Alexy worked for the KGB for forty years, and his case officer was Nikolai Patrushev.[citation needed]
The Moscow Patriarchate has, however, consistently denied that Patriarch Alexy was a KGB agent.[68]
Konstantin Kharchev, former chairman of the Soviet Council for Religious Affairs, explained: "Not a single candidate for the office of bishop or any other high-ranking office, much less a member of Holy Synod, went through without confirmation by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB".[63] Professor Nathaniel Davis points out: "If the bishops wished to defend their people and survive in office, they had to collaborate to some degree with the KGB, with the commissioners of the Council for Religious Affairs, and with other party and governmental authorities."[69]
Patriarch Alexy acknowledged that compromises were made with the Soviet government by bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate, himself included, and publicly repented of these compromises:
"Defending one thing, it was necessary to give somewhere else. Were there any other organizations, or any other people among those who had to carry responsibility not only for themselves but for thousands of other fates, who in those years in the Soviet Union were not compelled to act likewise? Before those people, however, to whom the compromises, silence, forced passivity or expressions of loyalty permitted by the leaders of the church in those years caused pain, before these people, and not only before God, I ask forgiveness, understanding and prayers."[70]
According to Nathaniel Davis, when asked by the Russian press about claims that he was a "compliant" bishop, "Aleksi defended his record, noting that while he was bishop of Tallinn in 1961, he resisted the communist authorities' efforts to make the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city a planetarium (which, in truth, they did do elsewhere in the Baltic states) and to convert the Pühtitsa Dormition nunnery to a rest home for miners."[71] Official records show that the Tallinn diocese had a lower number of forced Church closings than was typical in the rest of the USSR during Patriarch Alexy's tenure as bishop there.[72] Timothy Ware notes, "Opinions differ over the past collaboration or otherwise between the Communist authorities, but on the whole he is thought to have shown firmness and independence in his dealings as a diocesan bishop with the Soviet State."[73]
Death and burial[edit]
Alexy died at his home at his Peredelkino residence on 5 December 2008, reportedly of heart failure.[74]
On 7 December 2008, Russian President Medvedev issued a decree which "enjoined" that on the day of the Patriarch's burial Russia's cultural establishments and broadcasters should cancel entertaining programs and assistance be furnished to the Patriarchate on the part of the federal and city governments for organization of the burial.[75] However, the order did not amount to a formal national mourning.[76]
On 9 December 2008, the Order for the Burial (funeral service) of the deceased Patriarch was presided over by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour,[77] whereafter he was interred in the southern chapel of the Epiphany Cathedral at Elokhovo in Moscow.[78]
During the service in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral, which was broadcast live by Russia's state TV channels, after Kathisma XVII had been chanted and Metropolitan Kirill set about doing the incensing round the coffin, he appeared to teeter and, being propped up by two bishops,[79] was ushered into the sanctuary and was absent for about an hour. Reuters reported: "Kirill was helped away by aides at one point and a Kremlin official said he had apparently fainted. The metropolitan later rejoined the funeral."[80][81] The ROC official spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin lashed out at the news media that had reported the incident "incorrectly" insisting that Kirill had not fainted, but merely had "felt unwell".[82]
Opinions about Alexy II[edit]
- According to Russia's Prime-minister Vladimir Putin: "Patriarch Alexy II had been a prominent figure in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as a great statesman <...> he made a very considerable contribution to relations between various faiths. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had friendly relations with representatives of all traditional faiths in Russia". Putin also acknowledged that Alexy II "did a great deal to help establish a new governance system in Russia".[83]
- On the day of Alexy II death the BBC said: "Patriarch Alexiy II had an extraordinary career, in which he switched from suppressing the Russian Orthodox Church to being its champion. A favourite of the KGB, he was promoted rapidly through the Church hierarchy, doing the Kremlin's bidding at a time when dissident priests were thrown into jail. As the Church's effective foreign minister, he helped cover up the repression of Russian Christians, defending the Soviet system to the outside world. He rose quickly through the ranks, being elected head of the Russian Orthodox Church at a crucial time, in 1990, with the Soviet Union on the path to collapse. Surprisingly, perhaps, he seized the moment, and went on to oversee the revival and flowering of the Church."[84]
- Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a leader in the American Jewish community, was asked by church officials to attend the Patriarch's funeral. In a statement, he stated that Alexy II "served as the ethical pulse of the religious community in the former Soviet Union under a regime that neither welcomed nor tolerated people of faith and the leaders of organized religion."[85]
- Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia: "I will always remember Alexius II as an especially wise man who was respected by people from the religious and secular worlds alike."[86]
- ^ a b c "PATRIARCH ALEXY II OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA Biographical note". orthodox.ee. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (1930). Baltisches Wappenbuch. Starke Verlag, Görlitz. pp. 376–377. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ The spelling of the names here is transliteration from Russian in the Patriarch's official biography – АЛЕКСИЙ II Orthodox Encyclopaedia (2000)
- ^ a b c Veedla, Aarne (4 February 2003). "Patriarhi suguvõsa saladused" (in Estonian). ekspress.ee. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ "Chronology" (in Estonian). Museum of Laanemaa. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ KISHKOVSKY, SOPHIA (6 December 2008). "Patriarch Aleksy II". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ "Metropoliit Stefanus ootab Aleksius Teiselt kahetsust - Eesti Päevaleht". epl.delfi.ee. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ a b Vahter, Aarne (4 February 2003). "Eestlane juhtis 80 miljonit õigeusklikku" (in Estonian). ekspress.ee. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ "Seventeen Moments in Soviet History". Soviethistory.org. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Corley, Felix (6 December 2008). "Patriarch Alexy II". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ a b ALEXY II, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA, BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE, biography, on the Moscow Patriarchate Official website.
- ^ a b c d e f Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s.v. Alexis II, http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005644/Alexis-II 19 January 2008
- ^ Патриарх демократической волны Nezavisimaya gazeta 17 December 2008.
- ^ К. М. Харчев : «Церковь повторяет ошибки КПСС» Konstantin Kharchev's interview published 29 December 2001.
- ^ Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p 85.
- ^ a b Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p 86.
- ^ Zhurnal Moskovskoi Patriarkhii, No. 10 (October), 1990, p.16, quoted in Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p 284.
- ^ Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p 96.
- ^ Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, 2nd Edition.(Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p 97.
- ^ "Romanovs laid to rest". BBC News. 17 July 1998. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
- ^ Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, New Edition, (London: Penguin Books, 1997), p. 164, see also New Martyrs, Confessors, and Passion-Bearers of Russia Archived 5 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sophia Kishkovsky, Russian Orthodox Church is set to mend a bitter schism, International Herald Tribune, 16 May 2007; Second day of bishops' council: Nicholas' canonization approved, Communications Service, Department of External Church Relations, Moscow Patriarchate, 14 August 2000
- ^ Maxim Massalitin, The New Martyrs Unify Us: Interview with Archpriest Georgy Mitrofanov, participant of the All-Diaspora Pastoral Conference in Nyack (8–12 December 2003) Archived 14 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Pravoslavie.ru, 13 December 2003
- ^ "Alexy II and dialogue". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "Le patriarche Alexis II est arrivé en France". Fr.rian.ru. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "Interfax-Religion". Interfax-religion.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Castle, Stephen. "Patriarch Alexy of Russia assails gays in speech at Council of Europe – International Herald Tribune". Iht.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Updated, Last (3 October 2007). "Gay people are ill, says Russian patriarch – Telegraph". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Патриархия: Алексий II жив, здоров и вернется к исполнению обязанностей уже на майские праздники. NEWSru.com 27 April 2007.
- ^ Патриарх между жизнью и смертью. Gazeta.ru 27 April 2007.
- ^ "MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE CONDEMNS MEDIA SPREADING RUMORS ON PATRIARCH'S HEALTH Interfax, 1 May 2007". Stetson.edu. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "PATRIARCH ALEXY II PHILOSOPHIC ABOUT RUMORS OF HIS "DEATH" Interfax, 1 May 2007". Stetson.edu. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "PATRIARCHAL PRESS SERVICE IDENTIFIES GUILTY IN SPREADING OF FALSE INFORMATION, Religiia v svetskom obshchestve, 3 May 2007". Stetson.edu. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Who Organized The Provocative Rumors on Eve of May 17?, "Postscript" TV program, 12 May 2007
- ^ a b "Russian Patriarch confounds rumors: 'I'm alive', Ecumenical New International, 5 May 2007". Speroforum.com. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "Russian church tells rebel bishop: repent or leave". Reuters. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ "Controversial bishop defrocked in Russia's Far East". RIA Novosti. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
- ^ ОБРАЩЕНИЕ ко всем архипастырям, пастырям, клирикам, монашествующим и всем верным чадам Святой Православной Церкви (in Russian). Retrieved 27 June 2008.
- ^ "Епископ Диомид предал анафеме па".
- ^ Алексеева Вера Георгиевна in "Энциклопедия Зарубежной России"
- ^ a b Wife of the Patriarch Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, by Evgeniy Sidorenko, Moscow News, № 21 (22 May 2001)
- ^ Евгений Сидоренко. Замужем за Патриархом Same article, but with the original photographs of the printed article.
- ^ a b Путь Первоиерарха Archived 12 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Nezavisimaya gazeta 17 December 2008.
- ^ "Интервью Святейшего Патриарха Алексия ежедневной газете "Газета". "Загородную резиденцию в полной мере ощущаю своим домом"". Patriarchia.ru. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Колода Российской Федерации. Archived 6 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine Коммерсантъ Власть. №44 [547] 10 November 2003.
- ^ "His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II Awarded". Russian Orthodox Church. 28 December 2000. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "International Religious Freedom Report 2004". US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Президент России". Document.kremlin.ru. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "Alexy II is awarded the highest Muslim Order". interfax. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia". RUC Representation to the European Institutions. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ Pospielovsky, Dimitry (1998). The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia. St Vladimir's Seminary Press. p. 394. ISBN 0-88141-179-5.
- ^ ЖМП (Russian edition of The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate), 1991, # 2, p. 61.
- ^ WCC News Release. "The ecumenical movement mourns the death of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia". WCC. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ Slater, Grant. "Russian Orthodox voice against anti-Semitism dies". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ Pospielovsky, pp.396–397
- ^ Alexiy Ridiger, by Yakov Krotov
- ^ Felix Corley (8 December 2008). "Patriarch Alexy II: Priest who stayed close to the Kremlin while guiding the Russian Orthodox Church into the post-Soviet era". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ a b Confirmed: Russian Patriarch Worked with KGB, Catholic World News. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
- ^ Russian Patriarch "was KGB spy" The Guardian 12 February 1999
- ^ Chekists in Cassocks: The Orthodox Church and the KGB Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine – by Keith Armes, Demokratizatsiya
- ^ The Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Aleksii II and the Russian State: An Unholy Alliance? Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine – by Leslie L. McGann, Demokratizatsiya
- ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West, Gardners Books (2000), ISBN 0-14-028487-7
- ^ a b c Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia — Past, Present, and Future. 1994. ISBN 0-374-52738-5, page 46.
- ^ Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy – Putin's Espionage Church Archived 9 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, an excerpt from a forthcoming book, "Russian Americans: A New KGB Asset" by Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy
- ^ The Drozdov Files: Patriarch Alexy II and the KGB https://www.academia.edu/37137680/The_Drozdov_Files_Patriarch_Aleksi_II_and_the_KGB
- ^ Cold War Lingers At Russian Church In New Jersey By Suzanne Sataline, Wall Street Journal 18 July 2007.
- ^ "Григорьев". neva.versia.ru. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Official spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchy Father Vsevolod Chaplin labeled such reports as "absolutely unsubstantiated" in a Wednesday interview with Interfax. "There is no data indicating that Patriarch Alexy II was an associate of the special services, and no classified documents bear his signature," he said. "I do not think that direct dialogue between the current patriarch and KGB took place," Father Vsevolod continued. However, "all bishops communicated with representatives of the council for religious matters in the Soviet government, which was inevitable, since any issue, even the most insignificant one, had to be resolved through this body. It is quite another matter that the council forwarded all its materials to the KGB," he said." Moscow Patriarchate Rejects Times Report of Alexy II'S Collaboration with KGB, Sept 20, 2000 (Interfax) "Chaplin, the church spokesman, said in March, "Nobody has ever seen a single real document that would confirm the patriarch used his contacts with Soviet authorities to make harm to the church or to any people in the church." Russia's Well-Connected Patriarch, Washington Post Foreign Service, 23 May 2002; "Father Chaplin said: 'In recent times many anonymous photocopies of all sorts of pieces of paper have been circulated. In none of them is there the slightest evidence that the individuals we are talking about knew that these documents were being drawn up, or gave their consent. So I don't think any reasonably authoritative clerical or secular commission could see these papers as proof of anything.'", Russian Patriarch 'was KGB spy', The Guardian (London), 12 February 1999
- ^ Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), p .96 Davis quotes one bishop as saying: "Yes, we – I, at least, and I say this first about myself – I worked together with the KGB. I cooperated, I made signed statements, I had regular meetings, I made reports. I was given a pseudonym – a code name as they say there... I knowingly cooperated with them – but in such a way that I undeviatingly tried to maintain the position of my Church, and, yes, also to act as a patriot, insofar as I understood, in collaboration with these organs. I was never a stool pigeon, nor an informer."
- ^ From an interview of Patriarch Alexy II, given to "Izvestia" No 137, 10 June 1991, entitled "Patriarch Alexy II: – I Take upon Myself Responsibility for All that Happened", English translation from Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), p 89. See also History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, by St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco, 31 December 2007
- ^ Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), p. 89f
- ^ Nathaniel Davis, A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy, (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), fn. 115, p. 272
- ^ Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, New Edition, (London: Penguin Books, 1997), p. 164
- ^ "Russian Orthodox Church leader Alexy II dies – 2" (in Russian). Moscow: RIA Novosti. 5 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ Указ Президента № 1729/2008 Archived 20 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine kremlin.ru
- ^ (in Russian)Печаль без траура: Медведев велел ограничить развлекательные мероприятия в день похорон Алексия II NEWSru.com 8 December 2008.
- ^ (in Russian)Патриарх Алексий завершил свой земной путь NEWSru.com 9 December 2008.
- ^ "Russia bids farewell to patriarch". BBC NEWS. Moscow. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ "ФОТОГАЛЕРЕЯ: Пути Местоблюстителя... Митрополит Кирилл и его "школа"". Portal-credo.ru. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ "Russians bid farewell to Patriarch at grand funeral". Moscow: Reuters. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 January 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Упокоился с миром (in Russian). Moscow: Gazeta.ru. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ В Московском патриархате опровергли слухи о том, будто митрополит Кирилл потерял сознание во время отпевания патриарха Алексия (in Russian). Moscow: Interfax. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ "Death of Alexy II a tragic and sorrowful event – Putin" (in Russian). Interfax. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
- ^ "Double life of Russia's patriarch". BBC. BBC News. 5 December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Rabbi Schneier attends Alexy II funeral". JTA. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ "President Ilves sent a message of condolence to Dmitri Medvedev". Office of the president. 8 December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
External links[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patriarch Alexy II.
- Patriarch Alexey, petersburgcity.com
- "Alexy II in France to meet Orthodox followers". Russia Today. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007.
- A 2008 Eulogy.
|Eastern Orthodox Church titles
|Preceded by
| Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia
|Succeeded by
- 1929 births
- 2008 deaths
- Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow
- Eastern Orthodox monks
- Eastern Orthodoxy-related controversies
- State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates
- People from Tallinn
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from Estonia
- Baltic-German people
- Russian people of German descent
- Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class
- Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class
- Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova)
- Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class
- Recipients of the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow
- Recipients of the Order of Francysk Skaryna
- Recipients of the Order of St. Sava
- Recipients of the National Order of the Cedar
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
- Russians in Estonia
- KGB officers


text:
Roast Beef, Red Onions, Horse Radish Sauce, Provolone Cheese, Lettuce & Tomato
> PLEASE CHOOSE ONE <Ranch Blue Cheese Fat Free Ranch French Italian Greek Fat Free Italian Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette Caesar No Dressing
The location and menu you have chosen is currently closed and unavailable for immediate orders.
You may continue to place your order, but the earliest time the order will be ready is:
Delivery : Friday, December 4 @ 12:00PM
Pickup : Friday, December 4 @ 11:30AM
I understand. Continue my order...


text:
As many Kansas City radio deejays desperately search for the couple in that photo up above, one commenter pointed us to a Craig's List posting from last week which may lead to some answers — or more questions.
Here's the link posted soon after the Chiefs were demolished by the Raiders in the final regular season game.
chiefs got spanked...now it's my turn! we are fucking in our van in lot g at the chiefs game! would you like to join us? please be in shape and ready to fuck! we are disease free but kinda high still, no...none to share...sorry...we are a above average looking couple and go at it for hours!
* Location: lot g
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
These types of casual encounters are common in every major city but it does seem a little implausible that there was more than one couple going at it during the Chiefs game in the parking lot. If so, no wonder the 12th man sounded so drained.
Gentlemen, grab your deerstalkers. There's a mystery afoot.


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A Scout's-Eye View of the GameI recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Indiana Pacers scout Kevin Mackey and learn how a professional basketball talent evaluator watches a game. First, we went to a Division I college basketball game; later, I took notes as Mackey evaluated a videotape of a Division I college basketball game featuring a prospect. For obvious reasons, I promised not to mention the names of any of the players or teams; in any case, the point is not so much what Mackey thinks of a given player but rather how he thinks about basketball in general and player evaluation in particular. Mackey is perhaps best known for coaching the Cleveland State Vikings to a Sweet 16 appearance in 1986, including an upset over the third-seeded Indiana Hoosiers. Mackey also has head coaching experience in various pro basketball minor leagues, where he coached many future NBA players, including Darrell Armstrong, Mark Blount, Michael Curry and Adrian Griffin. Mackey led the Atlantic City Seagulls to three consecutive USBL championships.
"Seasons begin and end, but player personnel is year-round."
The above quote is one of the first things that Mackey tells me and it is well worth remembering. Mackey must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the players currently on the Pacers' roster so that he can properly evaluate whether or not a prospect can help the team. The first thing that a scout must consider is talent: can this player play at the NBA level and contribute in a meaningful way? Physically, a scout is looking for players who have an NBA body and NBA athleticism. Next, a scout evaluates if the player can do these things at the NBA level: (1) shoot; (2) get open; (3) rebound; (4) pass.
However, just because a player has NBA level talent does not mean that he will be an effective NBA player. This is something that a lot of fans—and players—do not understand. Putting up big numbers and filling highlight reels with slam dunks do not prove a player's NBA worthiness. It is vital to observe the action off of the ball: (1) does the player understand what he is supposed to be doing? (such as setting a screen, cutting, double-teaming, playing help defense); (2) is the player unselfish or is he just trying to pad his own statistics?
As Mackey puts it, some players "suck their thumbs" when they don't have the ball; their body language clearly communicates that their main interest is scoring and that they are unwilling to do anything else to help the team. Other important characteristics to observe include the player's attitude toward his coach, his interactions with his teammates and his response to adversity, which could come in the form of missed shots, physical play, a blown call or a mistake by a teammate. These kinds of things are difficult to pick up during a television broadcast; only in person can a scout gauge a player's presence/dominance.
Mackey says that most players are not equipped to play both ends of the floor and sometimes it is difficult to project how a player's skills will translate from college to the pros. For instance, will a great college shooter be able to get his shot off in the pros? A scout must determine if the player's positives at one end of the court outweigh his negatives at the other end. Mackey notes, "Toughness translates from one level to the next. You look for toughness."
Mackey became a scout after a long coaching career, so part of his mindset is to evaluate a player based on what it would be like to coach him; other talent evaluators are ex-players and their experiences on the court shape their perspectives of how a player should move, look and perform. One former player turned NBA talent evaluator insists, "Players tell you if they can play by how they move." He always arrives at games early so that he can observe how fluidly players move during pre-game warmups. I couldn't help but bring up a football example: Bernie Kosar, who quarterbacked the Cleveland Browns to three AFC Championship games but moved so awkwardly that it looked like he could not chew gum and walk at the same time. Of course, there are always exceptions, this talent evaluator concedes, but in general great athletes have a presence and move with a certain grace and fluidity.
When Mackey and I arrive at our seats, he explains that he is focusing on four players in this game, two from each team. Mackey builds a "book" on each player—a combination of their statistics and observations about their strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. He says, "Players have DNA"—unique traits that form their identities as athletes. What if a player who is lightly regarded plays extremely well? Then Mackey has to determine if the player just got hot for one game, had a favorable matchup or has in fact improved his skills. He will make a note to follow this player's performance for the rest of the season. If the player was completely off of the radar, the likelihood is that he just had one good game and will soon revert back to his normal level.
During the game, Mackey fires off comments in a staccato style. After a careless turnover, he says that you "throw a football but you pass a basketball." He waits until stoppages of play to jot down notes so that he doesn't miss any game action, observing that this part of his job is similar to what a beat writer does while covering a game.
Mackey says of one player that he is small, but, pointing to a stat sheet showing his team-leading scoring average, that he must be doing something right to score this much. Mackey nods approvingly when this player makes a two dribble move and nails a three-pointer. Still, it doesn't take long for Mackey to identify his weaknesses: he must get tougher and learn how to drive to his left.
When a different player drops some passes and fumbles the ball a couple times, Mackey exclaims, "He has hands like feet." A minute later, Mackey says, "You can find guys like that under a bridge. I bring in guys like that (to training camp), I won't have a job."
After watching the game for about ten minutes, Mackey says that the four guys he is looking at are limited and that his highest projection for players in this game would be the CBA or the NBDL. The best of the bunch, relatively speaking, is a player who has NBA size and is a good open shooter. The problem is that he is not tough—he doesn't fight through screens on defense. Still, after he makes a few shots, Mackey says that he "shoots the deep ball. That's an NBA talent." Because of his build and his ability to shoot, there is a slight possibility that he could develop into a useful NBA player.
Mackey dismisses the most athletic player of this quartet with the acronym "JAG"—just another guy. Playing the devil's advocate, I point out that his team runs no plays for him. Mackey agrees, but says that how well a player rebounds tells you a lot because that is based solely on the player's effort, drive and toughness: "You don't need your mother or your coach or your teammates" to help you get rebounds. This player has obvious physical gifts but he is not doing much and is having little impact on the game. Later, when we look at a halftime boxscore, Mackey circles the number of rebounds by this player's name and shakes his head; if a reasonably athletic player is not dominating the boards against college players, what chance does he have to succeed in the NBA?
The ability to catch the ball, hold on to it and make a play is rare but very important--players who have great hands are few and far between. Mackey says that hands "are a talent. Good players hang on to the ball." The small guard with the decent scoring average drives to the hoop but has the ball stripped away. He may have been fouled but nothing was called. I ask Mackey about that: When he was coaching, what would he say if he was chewing out a player for losing the ball and the player responds by saying that he was fouled? Mackey replies simply that coaches don't want to hear excuses. If the referee did not blow his whistle then there was not a foul and the player must be tough enough to retain possession. If a player has any trouble dealing with the level of contact in college basketball then no scout is going to even consider recommending him as an NBA prospect. Players must be able to accept a lot of contact and still finish at the basket in order to play at the NBA level.
Most of the early action involves perimeter players until a reserve big man checks into the game and receives some touches in the post. To be a legitimate NBA prospect, a post player must be able to catch, turn and shoot in traffic. Not long after he enters the game, this post player drops a poorly thrown pass. I ask Mackey if he holds that against the post player or against the guard who threw the pass. Mackey answers that it was the guard's fault but notes that a great receiver—an upper echelon post player like Tim Duncan--would have batted the ball to the floor and then controlled it. Mackey says that Moses Malone had small hands, so he would sometimes bat the ball until he could grab it. If a skilled player can get a hand on the ball then he will usually find some way to catch it, so this poorly thrown entry pass tells Mackey two things: the guard is not a good feeder of the post and the player he passed to does not have superb hands.
A few possessions later, the post player receives an entry pass that he can handle. His moves around the hoop are so mechanical and plodding that I thought that I was watching an old Godzilla movie made with stop action photography. Mackey puts it a different way: he has no "stuff" around the basket and is "not clever" with his low post moves. A good post player moves crisply and decisively and if the defense cuts off his primary move then he immediately goes to a counter move—stop his baseline hook shot and he spins to the middle for a short jumper. Instead, this player tries to use his size to muscle up a shot. When he is stopped short he has no counter move.
After the game, Mackey says that he does not need to see any of these players again this season; if they are smart, they will stay in school, develop their skills--and earn a degree, because none of them is a serious NBA prospect at this point. Next year, Mackey will probably watch them play again to see if any of them have substantially improved.
Before we watch any tape, Mackey points out some "NBA questions" that he has written on the grease board that hangs on one of his office walls. They are:
--Accomplishments to date
--NBA physical tools
--Skill set
--Size for position
The first two can be classified as "background"—what a player has done until now in high school, college and/or international play. Mackey calls the last three "want to" traits—intangibles such as whether the player will play hard, not back away from physical contact and continue to have a good work ethic if he gets a big contract. Understanding is another intangible—does he make the right pass, is he in the right position, does he recognize situations on the court.
Mackey says that he has not listed the questions in order of importance but, for instance, if a player does not have NBA physical tools or athleticism then he really needs a great skill set to compensate. Steve Kerr is an example of this—he lacked athleticism, but could really shoot and had a good understanding of how to play. Earl Boykins, T.J. Ford and Eddie House are examples of players who are undersized but possess outstanding quickness.
The major advantage of film study over watching a game live is the ability to rewind plays. The two disadvantages are bad camera angles at times (in terms of what the scout wants/needs to observe) and not getting the chance to feel a player's presence and see his interactions with teammates, coaches and referees. The only way to get a complete picture of a prospect is to combine film study with in-person observations of a prospect. Tapes of college players may either be recorded from regular broadcast television or broken down into clips consisting exclusively of a certain player's offensive or defensive sequences from a particular game.
Mackey has selected the tape that we are watching to look at one player in particular—let's call him "the prospect." Early in the game, the prospect takes two dribbles and then hits a jumper in the lane—Mackey rewinds the tape and says that this is an NBA caliber move. The prospect gets where he wants to go on the court, plays under control and is not in a hurry. Mackey likes the way that he uses his off arm to ward off the defender but without doing it so blatantly that he commits a foul. Later on, the prospect scores a basket and draws a foul by giving the defender his hip while protecting the ball. I suggest that his moves are stronger, quicker and more decisive than any moves made by the players in the game that we watched in person and Mackey heartily agrees.
All teams have a book on numerous prospects prepared by Marty Blake's scouting service. This book contains thumbnail biographies and various statistics. Mackey turns to the page in the book about the prospect and notes some concerns that he has about him, the foremost being his poor free throw percentage—actually, his shooting percentages from all ranges (FG, 3-point FG and FT) are not great. His shooting form is not the best but Mackey is not worried about that. He says that the most important thing in becoming a good shooter is repetition. Larry Bird and Reggie Miller did not have classic form but perfected their deadly shooting via countless hours of repetition.
What Mackey wants to determine is how effectively the prospect would fit in with the Pacers' players. Can he make other people on the team better by driving to the hoop, drawing the defense and dishing the ball to open shooters? Mackey says that sometimes a player plays better than his numbers might indicate. College coaches move players around to different positions to get wins. This is understandable—winning games is their job—but often leads to players performing in roles that are different from what their roles would be in the NBA, hindering a true evaluation of them. The style that a team plays affects a prospect's statistics, as does the quality of his teammates. Statistical analysis is very much in vogue in baseball and is rapidly gaining popularity in NBA circles. Mackey agrees that it is an important part of the puzzle but says that the "eyeball is number one."
On a couple occasions, the prospect dribble drives, penetrates and then makes passes to open shooters that are not converted into baskets. Those would be good NBA plays that NBA quality shooters would convert into baskets, but because his teammates missed the shots the prospect's assist totals do not accurately convey his ability as a playmaker. Mackey likes that the prospect handles the ball well and is an athletic kid. Mackey rewinds the tape again when the prospect gets a strong offensive rebound and converts. Soon after that, he makes another NBA caliber driving move and finishes at the hoop with his left hand. Later, the opposing team tries to apply some ball pressure against the prospect, but he is not fazed. Mackey notes that he's not a jet, but he uses his body to protect the ball and has a good handle. He uses size to get into the lane and understands how to pass the ball. On defense he is able to keep ball handlers in front of him and is in the right position most of the time. Mackey summarizes the prospect's performance: "He can come in and play with grown men; he'll pass the ball"—as opposed to a player who would come into camp shooting all the time and irritating veteran players.
Getting Ready for the Draft
All of the information from the team's scouts is assembled together before the draft. Technological improvements have helped make scouting more sophisticated and there are fewer secrets now because of it—for the teams that take advantage of the opportunities that the new technology presents. Specifically, there are high quality DVDs or videotapes available of almost any serious prospect that a team may be considering; advances in computer technology make it easy to break down a game tape and extract all of that player's key offensive or defensive plays for examination. I mention that a few years ago my favorite part of the NBA draft was when a team would draft some foreign player that only Hubie Brown had heard of and then Brown would break down that player's game while TNT showed some grainy black and white footage that looked like a bad home video. Mackey says that sometimes you still may end up with grainy footage of foreign players, but much less frequently than in the past.
In some cases, a team's scouts will disagree about how to evaluate a given player and that player's ability to fit in with the team. More information is gathered when players are brought in by the teams for interviews. These interviews may be conducted by a group of scouts or by one scout individually. If a scout is not present for an interview he can submit a question that came up based on what he saw/researched. For instance, "Why did Player X not play until his senior year of high school?" The answer may reveal academic, legal or family problems that could be red flags about this player. Other parts of the final evaluation process include a medical examination, psychological profiling and the coach's assessment of what the team needs.
Teams conduct many mock drafts to try to anticipate what the other teams will do and to figure out which players are most likely to be available to them. Of course, Mackey would not say for publication what the Pacers think about this year's draft but he says that the Pacers did 35 mock drafts at various times leading up to the 2005 draft and that Danny Granger—a player who the Pacers really liked--was never available. The interesting thing about the process is that different teams have different needs and different aversions to perceived risk. Mackey believes that questions about Danny Granger's knee may have caused his draft status to drop. The Pacers were delighted to get him with the 17th overall pick in the first round. Early in the season, even before Granger received much playing time, Mackey raved to me about his toughness. Granger averaged 7.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg and was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team, just missing the cut for First Team status.
The Pacers—and 29 other NBA teams—hope to select another Granger in the 2006 draft. Their scouts are working 365 days a year to find him.
Labels: Indiana Pacers, Kevin Mackey
posted by David Friedman @ 6:22 PM


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HOUSTON — — Standing in the Houston Texans' backfield with his arms raised toward the sky, Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs celebrated after slamming quarterback Matt Schaub to the ground.
It was the exclamation point of Suggs' surprisingly speedy return from a partially torn right Achilles tendon suffered in late April during the weekend of the NFL draft.
Although the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year wasn't happy with the Ravens' 43-13 debacle of a loss to the Texans on Sunday at Reliant Stadium, Suggs did serve notice that he has recovered from a serious injury initially expected to sideline him until much later in the season.
"It's not the start I wanted," said Suggs, who started and played more than half of the Ravens' 76 defensive snaps. "Of course, I wanted to come back for a win. I had to come back against a good team because we all know how important those games in November and December are, and I didn't want to be still knocking the rust off when it comes down the stretch to those big games.
"I had to go against a team that was going to challenge me the most, and that was Houston. When you step in the shower, you're going to get wet, and it rained. Down the stretch, there's no excuse. I don't want to hear none of that come November, December. I want to be all of Terrell Suggs for them."
Even after grappling with Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown off and on for four quarters on a surgically repaired tendon, Suggs emerged unscathed.
Besides bolting through a gap in the first quarter to sack Schaub for an 8-yard loss, Suggs contributed four tackles, two quarterback hits and a pass deflection in his first game of the year.
"He's a great player," cornerback Jimmy Smith said. "Him being out there trying to help us win meant a lot to the defense. We played with a lot of emotion."
Playing well over his usual playing weight of 260 pounds, Suggs' stamina wasn't his strong suit. However, he did display a burst of quickness and was able to physically set the edge when the Texans ran directly at him.
"Sometimes it seemed like it was holding up, sometimes it seemed like it just wasn't quite there yet on different plays," Suggs said. "We're just feeling it out. I walked on, I walked off. I know a lot of people's questions was whether or not I was rushing back. I don't think I rushed back."
Suggs played roughly 30 snaps in the first half while dividing playing time with Courtney Upshaw, Paul Kruger and Albert McClellan. He remained in the game after halftime but played more sparingly.
It was a bigger workload than even coach John Harbaugh had anticipated for the five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher considering that Suggs only returned to practice Wednesday and was activated Saturday from the reserve/non-football injury list.
"It looked to me like he played really well," Harbaugh said. "He was probably in surprisingly good football shape for as little football as he's played. He's going to be a plus for us, and he's only going to get better. I didn't think he'd play a full game.
"I don't know exactly what the numbers were, but we were on the field a lot on defense so it must have been a good number of plays. We weren't keeping track. The plan was not to give him a pitch count. The plan was to take it one series at a time, three to four plays at a time, and see how he held up."
Suggs underwent surgery on May 8 with Charlotte, N.C., specialist Dr. Robert Anderson performing the procedure.
The defensive standout's presence did catch some of his teammates off guard.
"Pretty surprised," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "Obviously, I'm not him, but I would have said, 'OK, we have a bye [next week]. Let's just sit him out for another one.' Pretty impressive obviously that he was able to get back that quick. I didn't think there was any way it was possibly going to happen."
Yet it did, and it wasn't a sluggish performance.
"I have to tip my hat off to him," said Brown, one of the top left tackles in the game. "It's amazing to see a guy bounce back from an injury like that so quickly. He looked like he didn't miss a beat. He's still quick, strong, fast and still very instinctive. That was a heck of an effort to get back from an injury like that."
Hours before kickoff, Suggs jogged around the field and did agility drills under the watchful eyes of Harbaugh, defensive coordinator Dean Pees and head athletic trainer Mark Smith. He was able to convince them that it was safe for him to get back on the field.
Outspoken with a colorful personality, Suggs' swaggering return immediately raised the decibel level around the defending AFC North champions.
"First way you know he's here is when you hear him in the locker room," wide receiver Torrey Smith said. "He's the loudest person everywhere he goes, so we're definitely happy to have him back and to see him make some plays even though he's still working back."
Ranked third in the NFL in total defense last season when Suggs registered a career-high 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles, the Ravens were 26th in total defense heading into Sunday.
They're also without middle linebacker Ray Lewis (torn triceps) and cornerback Lardarius Webb (torn anterior cruciate ligament) after both players had surgery last week.
"That guy is a force," free safety Ed Reed said of Suggs. "For us to lose Lardarius and Ray and have that guy come back is huge."
Now, the Ravens are banking on Suggs providing confidence and leadership for a reeling defense that allowed 420 yards and 27 first downs Sunday.
"I was happy for him, he was disrupting some things," cornerback Cary Williams said. "As the year progresses, he's going to get better and he'll get back into rare form. I don't think we lost any swagger on the field, but Suggs brings his own unique personality. It's great for the secondary to see him out there being productive. He's become a premier leader on the team."


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(CNN) -- The Gaza crisis is an alarm bell for incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, promising a bumpy ride.
Analysts say incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's support for Israel could create challenges in her new role.
As Clinton prepares to become the top U.S. diplomat, a symbol for U.S. policy around the globe, she inherits from the Bush administration a dangerous and unpredictable world of which the violence in Gaza and southern Israel is just one reminder.
Outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is winding down her diplomatic responsibilities and has briefed Clinton and President-elect Barack Obama about what is playing out in the Middle East. Those talks are private and Team Obama is scrupulously sticking to its "only one president at a time" mantra when it comes to international policy.
But the ground keeps shifting and events in and around Gaza will force the new secretary of state to deal with questions about the Mideast sooner than she and her advisers might have hoped.
"We'll have to see what the landscape is like by January 20," said David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Makovsky is co-author of a book coming out later this year, "Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction in the Middle East."
"There's going to be a desire to think the new administration is better," he said in a telephone interview with CNN. "An administration that prioritizes the Arab-Israeli conflict will be seen as a breath of fresh air."
The weeks before Inauguration Day on January 20 could hold new Mideast surprises. Even if a cease-fire is hammered out by then, it will still be fresh and untested, and anger over the latest violence will be raw.
"It's probable this will be a long-festering crisis," said James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation, where he is senior research fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs.
The new secretary of state will face the same dilemma as the current one.
"I don't think Hamas will change its ways or its policy of terrorism," Phillips said. "The U.S. power to affect the outcome is limited as long as Hamas is determined to continue its policy of confrontation."
The Bush administration treaded lightly on the Mideast for nearly seven years before shifting into high diplomatic gear with the Annapolis peace conference in November 2007. That culminated with pledges from the U.S., Israel and the Palestinian Authority that a final agreement would be reached before President George W. Bush left office.
That optimism faded during 2008, because of what former Mideast peace negotiator Aaron David Miller labels "weak leaders combined with tough issues."
And crises such as Gaza tend to distract from other issues.
Edward Djerejian, diplomat and director of the Baker Institute at Rice University, says jumping from one crisis to another can distract decision-makers and muddle U.S. policy.
He says Clinton and the Obama team must look at how to resolve crises not just in the Middle East but across the Muslim world.
"What I mean by that is going from crisis management to crisis resolution -- not just putting out fires that erupt all the time in the Middle East, but really making an effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the Israeli-Syrian peace treaty (and) the Israeli-Lebanese peace treaty," Djerejian said in a CNN interview.
Clinton is seen as staunchly pro-Israel.
As the junior U.S. senator from New York, she represents one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the world. She told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last year that Obama shares her view that the United States will stand by Israel "now and forever."
When she takes over at the State Department, Clinton also must grapple with the perception in the Muslim world that the United States gave Israel a green-light to attack Hamas in Gaza by placing blame on Hamas for rocket attacks on southern Israel.
The Israeli military action has had the unintended consequence of pushing some moderate Arab governments back in the pro-Hamas camp.
Hisham Melhem, prominent Lebanese journalist and correspondent in Washington for Al-Arabiya television, says the "the Israeli rampage" on Gaza has rattled moderate Arab governments that might dislike Hamas and Israel.
"So what you have is an Arab estrangement from Hamas, particularly the Egyptian, Saudi, Jordanian (governments) at the same time they are outraged at the Israeli attack and the high toll in civilian casualties," Melhem said.
The new U.S. administration must consider how the Israeli war against militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 ended up strengthening Israel's foes, Melhem said.
"We will probably end up in a way similar to '06, in the sense Hamas will be emboldened and Israeli will be criticized by the international community and it will not solve the problem of Hamas," Melhem said.
The next secretary of state must remember, says Melhem, that as U.S. clout in the region has declined, Iran is standing taller.
"By supporting Israel in an unqualified way, (the U.S. is) emboldening not only Iran but Iran's supporters and friends in the Arab world like Hezbollah and Hamas," Melhem said.
Clinton has personal and political experience in how easy it is to get burned by the complexities of Mideast policy.
In 1999, she almost derailed her bid to become a U.S. senator when she kept quiet as Suha Arafat, wife of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, accused Israel of using poison gas against Palestinians and poisoning the water supply.
Clinton later managed to squelch the controversy by calling the charges "excessive rhetoric."
On the positive side, Rice and Bush launched the latest rounds of talks between the U.S. and the Palestinians, and Israel has been reaching out to other neighbors, including Syria.
When the Gaza file thuds down on her State Department desk following expected Senate approval of her nomination, Clinton will confront many of the same issues that have stymied her predecessors, and then some.
Among her first decisions will be whether to visit the region, something many have urged Rice to do in her final days.
"Going to the region would not substantially advance the chances for peace as long as Hamas continues to be wedded to its terrorism policies," warns Phillips of the Heritage Foundation.
"What is needed is for Western and Middle Eastern countries to put more pressure on Hamas to observe the cease-fire."
All About Hillary Clinton • American Israel Public Affairs Committee • Middle East Conflict • Barack Obama • George W. Bush


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Hi. My name is Rick Brannan, and I'm one of the newly-minted Logos bloggers.
I've worked for Logos for 12 years (wow … that's primary and secondary school combined!) and will start year 13 in August. I work in the Design and Editorial (D&E) department. D&E is focused on making tools for scholars to produce new data sets, and producing those data sets for use in Logos Bible Software.
My role in D&E is mostly comprised of stuff having to do with Greek. That means I'm the lucky guy who gets to work on stuff like:
- The Works of Philo: Greek Text with Morphology
- The Apostolic Fathers in Greek and English
- Old Testament Greek Pseudepigrapha with Morphology
And a bunch of other stuff I can't quite tell you about yet. It's safe to say that Bob is doing his best to keep me busy! But if you keep reading the Logos Bible Software Blog (tell your friends!) or aggregate the RSS feed, I just might slip up and tell some secrets before we make public announcements of things.
In related news, some of you may know that I do keep a personal blog called ricoblog. I'll still continue to blog there, though stuff having to do with Logos Bible Software will be posted here instead of at ricoblog.
Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to blogging for Logos, and hope these entries will be helpful to your study of God's Word and your use of Logos Bible Software.


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