On September 15, 2026, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow visited the Moscow City Duma, where he took part in events marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Church of the Holy and Pious Prince Alexander Nevsky.
The church is located on the grounds of the historic building of the Novo-Yekaterininskaya Hospital, near the Petrovsky Gates, which today forms part of the Moscow City Duma’s building complex. The Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, which holds the status of a Patriarchal metochion, belongs to the Moskvoretsky Deanery of the Central Vicariate of the Moscow Diocese and serves as a chapel of the Church of St. Maron the Hermit (of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos) in the Stariye Pany area of Moscow.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was welcomed by the Chairman of the Moscow City Duma, Alexei Shaposhnikov; the head of the Duma’s administrative service, Vadim Timofeyev; the head of Moscow’s Department for National Policy and Interregional Relations, Vitaly Sutskov; as well as Archpriest Alexander Marchenkov, rector of the Church of St. Maron the Hermit and of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at the Moscow City Duma.
Also present at the events were Metropolitan Grigory of Voskresensk, administrative head of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarch’s first vicar for the city of Moscow; Bishop Alexy of Ramenskoye, personal secretary to Patriarch Kirill; Vladimir Legoyda, chairman of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations; Federation Council senator Inna Svyatenko; as well as deputies and staff of the Moscow City Duma.
At the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, Patriarch Kirill led a moleben (service of intercession).
At the end of the service, Archpriest Alexander Marchenkov welcomed the Patriarch and presented him with the painting *Novokuznetskaya Street* by the artist A. F. Dvornikov, who had taken part in painting the church’s icons.
Address by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
Addressing those present, Patriarch Kirill spoke about Russia’s historical experience in the 20th century, the persecution of the Church, and what he described as the importance of Christian moral principles for personal and social life.
“It was with particular emotion that I served this brief moleben. My thoughts turned to that difficult past, when it would have been impossible even to imagine something like what we did today as a perfectly ordinary act. Representatives of state power — both legislative and executive — can today come freely to church, pray and receive communion, without this requiring any heroism. But it seems that to reach this point, and for the revival of Orthodox faith among our people to take place, we had to pass through terrible trials,” he said.
He then offered his own assessment of conditions in the Russian Empire in the early 20th century and of the events that followed the revolution.
“The Russian Empire was a great Orthodox power, a flourishing country, a superpower of the early 20th century. Every sphere of its life — the organization of the state, the development of science, technology and the economy — was on an upward trajectory. And suddenly a terrible collapse followed,” he said.
Referring to the revolutionary ideas of the era and to the slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” Patriarch Kirill sharply criticized the political and social developments that followed.
“The people believed in this folly. How did this happen? Educated people, who had finished secondary school and university. How could a great people, including its intelligentsia, be so easily deceived? A tragedy occurred: the cultural, moral and spiritual development of the homeland and its people regressed,” he stated.
The Patriarch also referred to the persecutions, imprisonments and exiles of the Soviet period, noting, in his view, that a pursued social goal cannot justify the use of violent or unjust means.
“We know how dearly our people paid. A terrible war followed, along with the destruction of the Church and of spiritual life; persecutions, repression, prisons and exile. The question arises: was it necessary to build a happy society, to send people to Kolyma, to execute or imprison them? Good cannot be achieved through evil,” he said.
Linking this historical reference to everyday life, he argued that the same rule should apply to personal ambitions.
“If someone wants to build a career using dishonest means, pushing aside or wronging someone else, they must never do so. One must never pursue personal gain unjustly,” he noted.
According to Patriarch Kirill, the Church’s teaching can help shape a society in which personal well-being is linked to the well-being of others.
“The road to a better future cannot pass through crime, sin, and especially through the sacrifice of someone else for the sake of our own prosperity,” he emphasized.
Closing his first address, he expressed the wish that the moral and spiritual principles derived from the word of God would form the foundation of personal, family, and social conscience.
“May the Lord keep each of us and guide us on this path, which leads each person to the Kingdom of Heaven,” he concluded.
Offering of a Relic of St. Alexander Nevsky
Patriarch Kirill presented the church with a fragment of the holy relics of St. Alexander Nevsky and an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Church honors were then awarded to individuals who contributed to the restoration of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at the Moscow City Duma.
The Patriarch awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, 2nd Class, to the Chairman of the Moscow City Duma, Alexei Shaposhnikov.
Mr. Shaposhnikov thanked the Patriarch on behalf of the deputies, staff, and parishioners for the gift of the holy relic.
“It is deeply symbolic that this relic arrived in the year of our church’s 150th anniversary, and ten years after your blessing for its restoration. It is also symbolic that the name of Alexander Nevsky is inseparably linked with the defense of the homeland and service to one’s country and people,” he said.
The Chairman of the Duma also asked for the Patriarch’s blessing for the deputies, staff and parishioners of the church.
“Good Cannot Be Built Upon Evil”
In his response, Patriarch Kirill returned to the question of the relationship between ends and means.
“One cannot do good by evil means — this is where divine logic lies. If someone believes they can push another person off their path and thereby benefit, they must understand that this cannot lead to a good outcome. We must never pursue good ends, even on a national scale, through means that are evil, dangerous or sinful,” he said.
Referring once again to the Soviet period, he argued that the pursuit of social well-being cannot justify harming other people.
“In Soviet history, people were imprisoned and arrested in order, for example, to create prosperity in Kamchatka or Chukotka. But we know that this experiment did not succeed. One cannot act supposedly for the good while causing harm to someone else,” he said.
According to the Patriarch, historical experience shows that the development of the state, science, culture, technology and economy must be linked to moral principles.
“There can be no good built upon evil. May God, having taught us through this difficult historical experience, help us as a people and as a country to build a prosperous future on a moral, spiritual, technological, scientific and economic level, without ever sacrificing human lives or the truth of God,” he said.
“I thank you from my heart for your work,” he added.
Church Honors
Patriarchal honors were also awarded to Archpriest Anatoly Varnavsky, a cleric of the Church of St. Maron the Hermit responsible for services at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky; to Vadim Timofeyev, head of the Duma’s administrative service; and to several officials and staff of the Moscow City Duma.
Archpriest Anatoly Varnavsky and Vadim Timofeyev were honored with the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, 3rd Class.
I. V. Chezryakova was honored with the medal of the Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Princess of Moscow; M. V. Putskov with the medal of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky; and E. A. Luneva with the medal of the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga.
Patriarchal certificates were awarded to N. N. Kokorev, V. S. Kuznetsov, R. V. Likhota, N. P. Otekin and A. V. Redkin.
Further Remarks on Faith and the Soviet Period
Before leaving the church, Patriarch Kirill once again addressed those present, expressing the hope that the church and the Orthodox faith would be preserved for future generations.
“We must pray to the Lord that this church be preserved until the end of the ages, as we ask in our prayers, and that the Orthodox faith be preserved in the hearts of our people,” he said.
He went on to express his view of atheism, which he described as “a terrible contamination originating from the devil,” arguing that wherever atheism prevails, in his opinion, there can be no substantial spiritual, moral, or even material progress.
At the same time, he stressed that this should not lead to negative treatment of people who do not believe in God.
“This does not mean that we should treat people who do not believe in God badly. We must pray for these people, so that at some point the Lord may open their minds and hearts to accept the divine truth. Under no circumstances should we insult them, as has happened at times in history, nor should we exalt ourselves,” he noted.
The Patriarch further expressed the hope that, after the historical trials faced by the Russian people, the country’s spiritual and moral life and social well-being would be strengthened.
“We believe that the Lord, having led our people through extremely difficult trials, will strengthen our spiritual and moral life and social well-being, so that both we and future generations of Russians may be able to fully thank the Lord for all the blessings He has offered and continues to offer our country. May the Lord keep you all,” he concluded.
Visit to the Photographic Exhibition
Patriarch Kirill then went to the building of the Moscow City Duma, where he visited a photographic exhibition titled “150 Years of the Church of the Holy Great Prince Alexander Nevsky: A Restored Sanctuary of Moscow.”
The tour was conducted by the Chairman of the Duma, Alexei Shaposhnikov, who presented the Patriarch with a book dedicated to the church’s 150th anniversary.
After the exhibition, the Patriarch held a brief meeting with Mr. Shaposhnikov and then proceeded to the event hall, where deputies and staff of the Duma had gathered.
Following the Duma Chairman’s welcome address, Patriarch Kirill spoke to the participants about matters concerning the life of the Church and society, as well as Church–state relations, with particular reference to the Moscow region.
At the end of the visit, he presented the Duma’s library with a collection of his own works, after which there was a commemorative photograph and conversation with the participants in the events.
History of the Church
The Church of the Holy and Pious Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky was consecrated in 1876. The well-known Moscow architect Alexander Alexeyevich Nikiforov, one of the founders of the renowned Moscow Architectural Society, converted the workshop building of the Novo-Yekaterininskaya Hospital into a church.
During the Soviet period, the building was used as the hospital’s machine shop, boiler room, and storage facility. Its interior was destroyed, new partitions were built, the window openings were bricked up, and the spaces were tiled.
During restoration work carried out between 2013 and 2015, later additions were removed, and restoration was carried out on the façades, the stone ornamentation, the cornices, and the base of the building. Windows and doors were also installed based on surviving models, and a cross was erected.
Based on archival documents, the interior layout and elements of the church’s flooring were also restored.
After the Moscow City Duma relocated in 2015 to the renovated complex of the former Novo-Yekaterininskaya Hospital, the church reopened and today stands within the interior grounds of the Duma complex.
In March 2016, the church was visited by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and on May 28, 2019, the rite of the minor consecration (blessing) of the church was performed.
