Pope John Paul II has left this world. Candles for the repose of his soul have been lit across Russia both in Catholic cathedrals and Orthodox churches.
In his message of condolences, Vladimir Putin called the late pontiff an "outstanding figure of our times" and praised his pursuit of a noble goal: "to establish society on the principles of humanism and solidarity."
The Kremlin has come a long way since the fall of 1978, when the archbishop of Krakow was elected the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Brezhnev's ideologists immediately saw a new instrument of imperialism in the Polish-born pontiff that could shake the foundations of the communist camp.
If we disregard the conspiracy theory, their political predictions were largely prophetic. In one of his first speeches, John Paul II boldly attacked the iron curtain. He called on mankind "to open the door to Christ." "Open the borders of states, political and economic systems, wide expanses of civilizations and cultures to His grace," the pope appealed. "Do not be afraid!"
The totalitarian rulers of Russia, on the contrary, started to fear Catholicism even more. It was driven underground and was treated as a conservative sect. Roman Catholic churches destroyed in the 1920s only saw a glimpse of their future revival in April 1991, at the height of perestroika, long after Russia had tasted the forbidden fruit of democracy.
Two years earlier, right after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the pope received a Communist Party leader for the first time in the Vatican's history: Mikhail Gorbachev.
Many Western theologians hurried to call that meeting a long-awaited capitulation of scientific atheism before religion in their long rivalry for the right to be considered the main driving force of human evolution.
This was an erroneous conclusion as far as Russia was concerned. Seven decades of Communist Party rule had instilled the gene of atheism in the nation. Curiously, even today, in a country that has gone through drastic changes, atheist views are regarded as another attribute of the freedom of conscience.
The real significance of Gorbachev's historical meeting with the pope was that it started the revival of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia. Moscow established official diplomatic relations with the Vatican during John Paul II's papacy. In February 2002, the pope's office assigned a higher status to Catholic missions in Russia, transforming them from apostolic administrative offices, or, essentially, temporary structures, into fully-fledged dioceses.
At present, Bishop Joseph Werth, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Russia heads a community uniting 300 Catholic congregations with more than 500,000 Catholics, including Russia's most prominent Catholic, Minister of Economic Development German Gref.
Today, the bishop is as welcome in the Kremlin as Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, Mufti Gainutdin, Chief Rabbi Lazar and head of Old Believers Church Metropolitan Andrian. The Russian authorities see a foundation of Russia's unity and an antidote to religious extremism in tolerance among various denominations.
"[Our] relations with the Russian state have improved significantly, in general, thanks to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who often defends the Catholic Church from attacks," Bishop Josef Werth says.
Normally, the Catholic Church has to defend itself from the attacks of the Russian Orthodox Church, the predominant denomination in Russia. The Orthodox Church accuses Catholics of disrespectful proselytizing, or simply "stealing" parishioners from the Orthodox Church on its territory.
Another apple of discord between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church is the tension around Greek-Catholics in Ukraine (they are also called the Uniates) that has been growing for decades. The Uniates plan to establish their own patriarchy in Kiev and have appealed for the Vatican's blessing.
These antagonisms to a great extent prevented John Paul II from visiting Russia and meeting with Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II. The spiritual leader of 800 million Catholics, who made 250 foreign visits, passed away never having celebrated Mass on Red Square.
Nevertheless, there is a less sorrowful side to grief, as it brings people closer together. The pope's death inspired thoughtful words of reconciliation from the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church. In his message of condolences, Patriarch Alexy II expressed hope that "the new period in the history of the Roman Catholic Church will help re-establish mutual respect and fraternal Christian love between our Churches."
Facing new evils, the world's two largest Churches do not have the right to reject dialogue, to reject the idea of Christian unity. This is part of unwritten legacy left to us by a great man of virtue who has left our world.
