THE VISIT OF PATRIARCH ALEXY II OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA TO TOLYATTI ON OCTOBER 14, 1999: CHRONOLOGY OF THE EVENT

The first visit of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to Tolyatti on October 14, 1999 is of interest to researchers, as it fully reflected the realities of state-church relations of those years: rapprochement of a secular state by its Constitution with one of the religious denominations and the emerging trend of clericalization of the Russian society. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the events chronology of the visit of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to Tolyatti on October 14, 1999 and to assess its significance for the Orthodox Church life of the city. Materials and methods. Implementation of the research tasks was achieved through the use of documents from Tolyatti archive, the current archive of Samara Diocesan Administration and the personal archive of the author, who was one of the authors of the “Program of stay of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia in Tolyatti and at the Volga Automobile Plant on October 14, 1999.” The research methodology includes the method of analyzing documents, and the method of synchronous comparison with documentary material was used in working with periodical press materials. Research results. The article examines the results of the first visit of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to Tolyatti on October 14, 1999. The preparation of the visit, its organizational component and the program of the Patriarch’s stay in Tolyatti are analyzed. It is proved that the arrival of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia on October 14, 1999 was a significant event for Tolyatti. It is claimed that the Patriarch was accepted as one of the highest officials in the Russian Federation. Conclusions. The visit of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to Tolyatti helped to solve a number of problems for Stavropol deanery of Samara diocese, which geographically included Tolyatti: the construction of Orthodox churches and land allocation for them accelerated. In the period from 1999 to 2003, 10 churches and parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church were opened, i.e. their number doubled. This visit reflected the trend of convergence of church and state authorities and the emerging trend of clericalization of the Russian society.