Joyful Christianity of Alyona Kojevnikova

The death is one thing we can neither prepare for nor control. We arrived in this world only because others cared for us, and when we leave it, others must stand and take care of what remains. All of us who read these words have arrived in this life, and none of us has yet left it. We have no experience of that final passage.

This morning I received news that my dear friend, Alyona (Elena) Kozhevnikova, passed away last night in England. I first met Alyona in 1988 at the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus’ in New York. We reconnected many years later, already in this century, and since then our paths crossed again and again – I visited her home in England to interview her, she visited me in Jordanville, and the last time we met was in Serbia in 2021.

Alyona was born in 1943 in Yugoslavia to a family of White Russian émigrés. After escaping the Soviet Army advance into Yugoslavia with her parents, she spent her early childhood in displacement camps in the American zone of postwar Germany – Moenchehof and Schleissheim – where the life of the Russian Church Abroad became part of her earliest memories. Her family eventually emigrated to Australia in 1950, where the Church remained central to their life. Alyona later graduated from Melbourne University with a double major in Russian Language and Literature.

Her professional life was remarkable. She worked first for Radio Liberty in Munich, contributing to religious programming. Later she moved to the United Kingdom at the invitation of Keston College, a leading institution studying religious life under communism. At the same time, she co-authored and presented the weekly BBC Russian Service religious program together with Archbishop Basil (Rodzianko) and Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom). Her broadcasts became familiar to Orthodox believers in the Soviet Union long before they could openly discuss faith.

Her career took her again to Radio Liberty – this time as London correspondent and later Bureau Chief of the newly created RL Moscow bureau. She continued to co-author its religious program “Not By Bread Alone.” With security clearance from the UK Foreign Office, she served as personal interpreter for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, and other public figures. In her later years she settled in Rye (East Sussex), continuing her studies and translations, including the biography of Irina Ratushinskaya, Grey is the Color of Hope.

The last letter I received from her was in May. She had been invited to speak at a fundraiser for her parish held at the Reform Club in London. Preparing for her presentation she wrote:

“I chose as the theme of my talk the life of the parishes of the Church Abroad – the Church of the Dispossessed – as a witness of that life in dispersion for 82 years and 6 months, that is, my entire life from birth and baptism. I will pray to St Roman the Sweet-Singer for support and inspiration for the right words. Wish me luck!

With a hug, Alyona.

When we grieve, I think we often suffer less because the person has died, and more because we suddenly feel helpless. What has happened is no longer in our hands. It is true for me today. I will remember Alyona’s joyful Christianity – always profound and always open, never controlling or correcting, always receiving every person as an image of God. To carry this attitude forward would be the best way to honor her memory. May it be eternal.