Funeral of Patriarch Alexy II
Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Russia, 2012. A football match at the old Rotor stadium was the last before it was demolished to make way for a new arena built for the 2018 World Cup.
Volgograd, one of Russia’s most neglected and impoverished major cities, was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Stalingrad. Beyond the Mamayev Kurgan memorial with its monumental statue “The Motherland Calls” and the Volga River, the local football club Rotor remains the city’s main attraction.
This report is about the city through its fans, for whom football is a true escape.
During the funeral service for Patriarch Alexy II at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
People who came to pay their respects lined the entire route from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where the funeral service was held, to the Epiphany Cathedral (Yelokhovo), where the burial took place.
The coffin being carried out of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
During the funeral service for Patriarch Alexy II at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
A section of the roadway near the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was covered with white roses along the path of the hearse.
As the coffin of Patriarch Alexy II was being lowered, bishops, priests, and seminarians rushed forward to throw a handful of earth into the open grave. At that moment, a portrait of the late Alexy II nearly fell. In the background is a copy of Andrei Rublev’s icon The Trinity.
The entrance to the burial at the Epiphany Cathedral (Yelokhovo) was closed to the faithful, who remained outside.
