Day of the canonization of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1989)
October 9
St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1917-1925) led the church in a terrible era of persecution of the faith after godless revolution. In those years, in the words of the saint, "eclipsed in the Christian conscience folk start of construction of the state and the public; weakened and faith itself, raging godless spirit of this world "...
Life and Fate of St. Tikhon help understand the hidden meaning of Tyutchev's lines: "Blessed are those who visited this world in its fateful moments! Be invited to partake / as interlocutor ... "- the spiritual feast, feast of thought, as a witness of historical events, and martyr martyr ... Patriarch Tikhon was such a witness and confessor, exposer and prophet.
The personality of St. Tikhon, is a rare humility and meekness, gentleness, kindness and love. A graduate of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, he proved himself worthy to academic and administrative, pastoral and missionary endeavors. Heading the Orthodox Church in America as archbishop, St. Tikhon did a lot in the promotion of Orthodoxy on this continent, in the building of temples and the improvement of his huge diocese in charitable aid immigrants from Russia. He was duly elected an honorary citizen of the United States of America.
Short dashed lines denote the major milestones of his life and the lives of his illustrious.
St. Tikhon graduated Toropetskiy religious school, then the Pskov Theological Seminary and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Seminarians jokingly called Vasily Belavin "bishop", and fellow students at the Academy, as if anticipating his future ministry, called him "Patriarch".
Walls Presentation Monastery 1918
Three and a half years, Vasily Belavin taught dogma, moral theology, and French at the Pskov Theological Seminary. Then he took monastic vows with the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon Zadonskiy, and was ordained to the priesthood. Soon he was appointed inspector of Chelm Seminary (now the city of Chelm in Poland), and a year later became its rector in the rank of Archimandrite.
In October 1897, on the 33rd year of life in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery of St. Petersburg was consecrated him bishop of Lublin with the appointment of a vicar Kholmsky-Warsaw diocese.
Only a year spent at St. Tikhon its first chair, but when he came to the decree of his transfer to the Aleutian and North American department, accompanied him with tears - the kind of love he has found in the population.
In Petrograd, 1920
In 1907, St. Tikhon was appointed to the chair of ancient Yaroslavl, where a kind bishop gained a deep love of believers, and was elected an honorary citizen of Yaroslavl.
In December 1913, the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church appointed him archbishop of Vilnius and Lithuania.
In July 1917, the Moscow Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity elected Archbishop Tikhon of Vilna to Moscow and elevated to the rank of Metropolitan. Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow and Kolomna immediately after the election has started preparation of the Local Council.
On the Princely Council
In August 1917 Russian Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church has restored the patriarchate. Patriarch was elected by lot Metropolitan Tikhon. He handed the staff of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, and a white hood Patriarch Nikon. These jewels belonged so different in the nature of its activities Primates, anticipated some way and contradictions in the activities of the St. Tikhon.
From the beginning of his ministry primatial St. Tikhon was doomed to become a propitiation for the sins of the Russian people, put down his life for his friends.
The Attitude to Patriarch Tikhon by the Soviet authorities eloquently propaganda clichés floated during his lifetime, "Tikhon - from beginning to end, a protege of the counterrevolution, her advocate and the pioneers. Tikhon - a symbol of the Black Hundreds and the banner of the most impenetrable reaction is a wolf in sheep's clothing "and so on. D.
The Presidium of the Local Council of 1917-18 g
It is appropriate to recall that when St. Tikhon knew about the murder of the royal family, he immediately at the meeting of the Local Council of the funeral Liturgy during which fearlessly denounced the perpetrators of the crime. Six months earlier, in his historic "Message of anathematization doers of iniquity, and a persecutor of the Orthodox faith and the Church" January 19, 1918, Patriarch Tikhon accused persecutors of the truth of Christ, open and secret of her enemies in the growth of fratricidal warfare.
Patriarch denounced their shame as monsters of the human race, called on to recover from the madness: "Wake up, fools! Stop your massacres, because what's going on you - not only cruel thing, this is truly a case of Satan, who is liable for the fire geenskomu you in the future life, the afterlife, and the offspring of a terrible curse in this life, earthly. "
Message of Patriarch Tikhon was read throughout Russia. The majority of believers, according to the recollections of those years, the message has caused a profound moral relief and satisfaction.
Anathema - is a sacred act that otemlet blessing of the Church on the life of the flesh for the salvation of souls, captures the fact that the man fell away from the Church, is her enemy. St. Tikhon died without removing this anathema. He is not expected to frighten retribution beyond the grave Bolshevik atheist, he just did his duty Primate of the Church - to build millions of Orthodox Christians, that the Bolsheviks - the servants of the devil.
Civil war in Russia acquired features typical of the religious wars of the European Middle Ages. She gave birth to the bloody excesses, and with both sides. Red Terror provoked white, and vice versa. For Russia, it was equally frightening and destructive. A Tsvetaeva has wonderful poems: "White was - was red: Blood stained. Was red - white steel: Death whitened. "
That is why the Church has been called to stand above the fray. St. Tikhon was at the height of this vocation. When he came to the leaders of the White movement and asked to bless the White Army, t. E. Part in the fratricidal civil war, Patriarch Tikhon they refused.
Another went through the so-called Renovationists opposed themselves Tikhon's Church. They were really a "fifth column" inside the Russian Orthodoxy. And Patriarch Tikhon had to say: "I can not pay rent to the State Church."
Under the pretext of helping the starving in the Volga region was made an attempt to defeat the godless state of the Church. Patriarch Tikhon blessed sacrifice church valuables, but spoke out against attacks on shrines.
March 16, 1922, Lenin wrote a secret letter to the members of the Politburo, in which he called to accuse the Church of concealing church valuables and "relentless energy" to deal with her. Patriarch Tikhon on the orders of Lenin was arrested in May 1922 to June 1923 was imprisoned.
God knows what pressure and what "psychotronic treatment" undergone imprisoned Patriarch! In June 1919 and in December 1923 attempts were made to kill him, the second assassination attempt was martyred his faithful attendant of Jacob runners. Despite the persecution, St. Tikhon went on to take the people in the Donskoy Monastery, where he lived in seclusion, and people went steady stream.
In a letter dated July 1, 1923 after his release from detention under the pressure of world public opinion, St. Tikhon wrote, "have now received the opportunity to resume his interrupted work service to the Holy Orthodox Church, and conscious of his offense before the Soviet authorities, expressed in a number of our passive and Activism, as stated in the indictment of the Supreme Court, t. e. to resist the seizure of church property in favor of starving, anathematization Soviet power, the appeal against the Brest peace, and so on. e., we are indebted to the Christian and archpastor Sem repent and grieve [...] The Russian Orthodox Church is apolitical and does not wish to be neither white nor red. It must be and will be unified and Apostolic Church, and any attempt by anyone whatsoever hand plunge the Church into the political struggle must be rejected and condemned. "
Truly remarkable words. But, as the Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk (Nechaev), comparing with the Church Easter eggs: "She on top of the red and white inside." And in fact, it is certainly not the red and white, it has the whole spectrum, all the colors of the rainbow. In my opinion, the saint was right and when the godless government betrayed anathema, and then, when he said that now he is not an enemy of Soviet power.
confiscation of church valuables
I must admit that at that time there was a metamorphosis of power, it has evolved into creative power. And anathema to play its positive role. Was to lift the New Economic Policy (aka "NEP"), the situation changed radically. Instead of chaos and devastation to establish normal economic life. People sighed with relief. And the voice of the people, as you know, God's voice, and the Patriarch heard it.
One can argue about whether betrayed Patriarch Tikhon anathematized the Soviet regime as such, not as usurpers of power, the Bolsheviks, and as a symbol of socialism and communism. But there is no doubt that the Soviet government hated Patriarch Tikhon. The circumstances of his death remain unclear, perhaps, the Patriarch was poisoned.
Last agonizing year of his life he pursued and the patient invariably served on Sundays and holidays. March 23, 1925, he made the last Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Great Ascension, and in the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord rested with a prayer on their lips.
Patriarch Tikhon has combined all the best that has given Orthodoxy - fearless for himself, he was not afraid for others, for the common good of incurring the reproach insufficient hardness. Deeply rooted in the Orthodox tradition, to the bone Russian Patriarch Tikhon was remarkably free from the burden of historical and national prejudices. Glorification of Patriarch Tikhon obliges Moscow Patriarchate to be truly Tikhonov, te. Fearless in the face of the powers that be and firmly following the promises of the Lord.
October 9, 1989 at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church is done praise in the assembly of saints Patriarch Tikhon. But after 3 years, while finding of the relics of St. Tikhon, which took place on February 22, 1992, Patriarch Alexy II Patriarch Tikhon called martyr. Yes, he was the saint and martyr, confessor, and an apostle, and Passion-righteous, for Christ's sake blissful ... Almost all the feats of holiness united in the person of Patriarch Tikhon.
Glorification of St Tikhon was accomplished on October 9, the feast day of the Apostle John the Divine love, and this is obvious Providence of God. "Children, love one another! - Builds the Apostle John. - This is the commandment of the LORD, if will keep it, and pretty. "Just invitingly as the commandment of love of God, heard the last words of Patriarch Tikhon: "Only on the rock of healing evil good builds unbreakable glory and majesty of our Holy Orthodox Church, and elusive even for enemies will be her holy name, the purity of her feat Chad and ministers. Follow Christ! Do not change him. Do not be tempted, do not destroy blood vengeance and his soul. Do not be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good! "
How true these words sound saint now, especially these days, when we remember the tragic days of confrontation between the legislative and executive power in Russia in October 1993, which nearly led to a new civil war! ..
Sainted Father Tikhon, pray for us! ..
Valentin A. Nikitin,
Ph.D., Academician. Natural Sciences, a member of the Union of Russian Writers
