Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky is a domestic religious figure who is considered one of the main leaders and ideologists of the Renovationist schism. He was a member of the Renovationist Holy Synod until its direct self-dissolution in 1935. At the same time, he held important positions in the church hierarchy, for example, he headed the capital's theological academy, founded in 1923, as a rector. Soon after the start of the war against the Nazis, he received the church title of "First Hierarch of the Orthodox Churches in the USSR." A well-known Christian apologist and preacher, who earned a reputation as an orator in the early years of the existence of Soviet power, thanks to bright speeches at public debates with opponents of religion. In this article we will tell his biography.
Childhood and youth
Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky was born in Vitebsk on the territory of modern Belarus. He showed upborn in 1889. His father, whose name was Ivan Andreevich, taught Latin at the gymnasium. Later he became the director of this educational institution, a real state councilor, even received the title of a nobleman.
The mother of the hero of our article, Zinaida Sokolova, was from St. Petersburg. She is known to have died in 1939.
According to some reports, his grandfather was a baptized Jew, having received a surname from the temple of the Introduction, in which he served as a psalmist.
Education
Alexander Ivanovich Vvedensky received a versatile education. After high school, he studied at the Faculty of History and Philology at St. Petersburg University.
Then I decided to continue further education at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. He already came here as a prepared student, impressing his classmates and teachers with the knowledge.
For a month and a half in 1914, Vvedensky passed all the exams externally, receiving a diploma from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
Early spiritual career
In the same year, the hero of our article was ordained, becoming a presbyter. The ceremony was conducted by the Bishop of Grodno Mikhail (Ermakov). At the start of World War I, he was appointed regimental chaplain.
They say that already at his very first service he began to pronounce the text of the Cherubic Hymn. All those present were literally dumbfounded, because he did this with a characteristic howl and painful ex altation. Like it was a decadent poem…
In 1917, Alexander Ivanovich Vvedensky was amongorganizers of the Union of Democratic Orthodox Clergy and Laity. It was an association of religious leaders who advocated the need for radical reforms in the domestic church. It originated in Petrograd and existed until the early 1920s. Most of its participants became leaders of renovationism. Vvedensky in the Union served as secretary.
He also served on the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic, known as the Pre-Parliament, representing the so-called democratic clergy.
In 1919 he was appointed rector of the Church of Elizabeth and Zacharias, located in Petrograd. Eyewitnesses recall that the priest at that time was very popular, people literally followed him in droves. His every visit to the service became an event. He impressed with his brilliant education, besides, he was an amazing speaker.
Meetings he organized at private institutions drew large crowds to listen to him. When the authorities banned these gatherings, he continued to hold them on the church grounds. His speeches never touched politics. These peculiar sermons amazed the parishioners with their sincerity, deep faith of the priest, and voluminous erudition. One could feel his spiritual connection with the flock, which fell into ecstasy.
In 1921 Vvedensky became an archpriest.
Split
In May 1922, Vvedensky, together with several other representatives of the church, arrived at Samotek, where the patriarch was at that moment under house arrestTikhon. He accused the head of the Russian Orthodox Church of pursuing an irresponsible policy that provoked a confrontation between church and state. Vvedensky insisted that the patriarch resign during his house arrest. Tikhon did just that, handing over control to Metropolitan Agafangel of Yaroslavl.
A few days later, Tikhon instructed to transfer the clerical affairs of the patriarchate to a group of clergy, which included priests Sergiy Kalinovsky, Evgeny Belkov and Archpriest Alexander Vvedensky.
Further Tikhon's resolution was issued for his abdication. Ignoring the transfer of affairs to Agafangel, who continued to be in Yaroslavl, the priests turned to Bishop Leonid (Skobeev), asking him to lead the activities of their group. She was called the Higher Church Administration. A day later, Leonid was replaced at this post by Antonin (Granovsky).
Soon a symmetrical response followed from the supporters of the patriarch. Metropolitan of Petrograd Veniamin (Kazansky) declared Vvedensky, along with Belkov and Krasnitsky, to have fallen away from communion with the church for their arbitrariness. In fact, it was an excommunication, which Benjamin withdrew only when he was under threat of execution.
In July, Vvedensky signed a petition to pardon the leaders of the Petrograd clergy. The authors of this document bowed before the Bolshevik court, recognizing the current government. They asked the Executive Committee to mitigate the punishment of churchmen who were sentenced to capital punishment.
Leading the Union
In October, the hero of our article began to lead the Union of Communities of the Ancient Apostolic Church. It was one of the structures of renovationism. Her tasks included raising the issue of church reform, the fight against bourgeois churchism, as well as the return of the true principles of Christianity, which supposedly had been forgotten by the majority of Christians by that time.
In the spring of 1923, Vvedensky becomes an active participant in the Local Holy Council, which became the first Renovationist. It was signed a decree on the deprivation of monasticism and the dignity of Patriarch Tikhon.
In May he was elevated to the rank of bishop. It is noteworthy that at that time Vvedensky was married, but among the Renovationists this was not considered an obstacle to obtaining this church rank. After he got married again.
In 1924, the Renovationist episcopate instructed Vvedensky to conduct foreign affairs, elevating him to the rank of Metropolitan of London. In this way, the Renovationists made an attempt to get parishes outside the USSR. However, the plan failed. Vvedensky himself became a member of the renovationist Holy Synod, was on the presidium until its self-dissolution in 1935.
In October 1925, he was elected "comrade chairman" at the Third All-Russian Local Council. At the meeting, he read a report on the current state of the Orthodox Church, accusing representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate of having connections with the headquarters of the monarchists abroad and receiving directives from them.
Then I read a note from the Renovationist "bishop" Nikolai Soloviev, who was an adventurer. The message itself is now consideredobviously false. In it, Patriarch Tikhon was accused of having sent a document to the foreign monarchist headquarters, in which he blessed Kirill Vladimirovich to the Russian throne. It was a political move that the authorities used as a pretext to arrest Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky), who was Patriarchal Locum Tenens.
Characterizing Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky, people who personally knew him during this period claimed that he was subject to passions and impulses. He loved money, but at the same time he could not be called mercenary, since he constantly handed them out. His main weakness and passion were women. He was fond of them literally to the point of losing his mind.
At the same time, he was passionate about music, every day he spent 4-5 hours at the piano. He often repented, publicly calling himself a sinner. Over time, vulgar traits in character began to appear more and more clearly in him. It was some kind of childish vanity, love of gossip, and also cowardice. This last quality, combined with vanity, turned him into an opportunist who swore allegiance to Soviet power. In his heart, Vvedensky continued to hate the Bolsheviks, but at the same time he served them faithfully.
Renewal
Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky begins to play a key role in renovationism. This is a direction in Russian Orthodoxy at the beginning of the 20th century, which was formed after the February Revolution. His goal was the "renewal" of the Church. It was supposed to democratize all its institutions, administration, as well as the worship services themselves.
A Renovationist split took place, in which supporters of Vvedenskyopposed Patriarch Tikhon. At the same time, they declared unconditional support for the Bolshevik regime, as well as all the transformations that they carried out.
As a result of the split in the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1920s, renovationism began to play a big role, receiving support from the authorities. This movement is usually considered in line with the attempts of the communists to modernize Russian Orthodoxy, which they later abandoned.
From 1922 to 1926 it was the only Orthodox church organization in the RSFSR officially recognized by the authorities. Some parishes recognized other local churches. Renovationist Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky reached his greatest influence in 1922-1923, when about half of Russian parishes and episcopates submitted to Renovationist structures.
It is noteworthy that at the very beginning, renovationism was not clearly structured. Individual representatives of the movement even remained in confrontation with each other.
From 1923 to 1935, in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Russian Church operated, led by the Chairman. The first was Evdokim Meshchersky, and then he was successively replaced by Veniamin Muratovsky and Vitaly Vvedensky. After the self-dissolution of the Synod in 1935, it was led by Vitaly Vvedensky, and since 1941 by a prominent church leader Alexander Vvedensky.
Renovationism suffered a serious blow during the Stalinist repressions of 1937-1938. In the autumn of 1943, the state decided to liquidate the Renovationists. Representatives of this movement began to be massively convincedreturn to the bosom of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the death of Vvedensky is considered the official end of renovationism. Although formally there were still unrepentant Renovationist hierarchs. The last of them was Filaret Yatsenko, who died in 1951.
Metropolitan's diary
Since 1929, Vvedensky has been keeping a diary en titled "Thoughts on Politics". It is believed that these records were necessary for him in case of arrest. He hoped that they would be found in his papers, which would help him alleviate his plight.
In this diary, he writes about Stalin as a "genius man", supports the defeat of the opposition within the party. At the same time, he criticizes the intelligentsia, accusing them of double-dealing. It is in this that he sees the reason for distrust of the Soviet government.
At the same time, he laments that there are not enough sincere supporters of communism around. Even among the renovationists, according to him, there are not enough of them.
Prohibition of preaching
An important place in the biography of Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky is occupied by the leadership of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior until its closure in 1931. After that, he becomes rector of the Church of Peter and Paul, located on Novaya Basmannaya Street. The Theological Academy of the Renovationists was also located there.
In 1935, remaining a metropolitan, he marries a second time. Shortly after this, it becomes known about the closure of the St. Nicholas Church. Then he goes to the Church of the Savior on BolshayaSpasskaya street. Since December 1936 he has been serving in the church of Pimen the Great in Novye Vorotniki.
At the same time, he is told that the rights of religion in the USSR are significantly limited. According to the new Stalinist constitution, clerics are prohibited from preaching, while religious worship is allowed.
According to contemporaries, immediately after this, the preaching gift seemed to have left Vvedensky. All his sermons after 1936 left a painful impression. Brilliant insights disappeared, and the fiery temperament irretrievably faded away. The Metropolitan turned into an ordinary priest, who long and boringly expounded for a long time already known and familiar truths to everyone. At that time, Vvedensky was severely degraded.
It is believed that in 1937 he was almost arrested several times, but still remained free. Perhaps due to the patronage of some high-ranking officials. At that time, for several months, his life and freedom were threatened.
First Hierarch
The hero of our article received the title of First Hierarch in April 1940. Shortly after the start of the war, he arbitrarily declared himself patriarch. A solemn enthronement was even staged.
Not only the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church reacted negatively to this, but also the Renovationist clergy. So he relinquished the title a month later.
From October 1941 to the end of 1943, he remained in evacuation in Ulyanovsk. During this time, he managed to effectively recreate many renovationist church structures on the ground. For example, he performed episcopal consecrations,led the departments left without rectors. During this period, many churches were opened as renovationist, especially in the Tambov region and Central Asia.
Liquidation of renovationism
At the end of 1943, the Soviet government decides to get rid of the Renovationists, who did not justify the hopes placed on them. All representatives of this movement are beginning to return en masse to the Moscow Patriarchate. Vvedensky is trying to keep the bishops, whom the authorities are practically forcing to go under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate. All these attempts fail.
In March 1944, he writes a letter to Stalin, in which he declares his readiness to take part in the national feat. He donates his bishop's cross studded with emeralds. In the response of the Generalissimo, which was published in the Izvestiya newspaper, Stalin thanked him on behalf of the Red Army. But at the same time, he calls him not the First Hierarch, which Vvedensky certainly counted on, but Alexander Ivanovich.
A month after the capitulation of Nazi Germany, a request is made to accept him into the Moscow Patriarchate. In September, they answered him that they were ready to see him exclusively as a layman. He was offered a position as an ordinary employee in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy. Because of this, Vvedensky decided not to return to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In the summer of 1946, the hero of our article dies at the age of 56 in Moscow from paralysis. The funeral service is led by Renovationist Metropolitan Philaret Yatsenko. Eyewitnesses recall that it took place in the church of St. Pimen, which was overcrowded. At the same time, many older parishionersspoke extremely negatively about the deceased due to the fact that all the wives of Vvedensky gathered at the coffin. Virtually no one in the crowd was baptized.
The service did not start for a long time. Even more surprising was the fact that the organizers of the ceremony were waiting for the Russian revolutionary, the first woman minister in the history of Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai, who had returned from Sweden shortly before. There, since 1930, she was first the plenipotentiary representative of the USSR in the kingdom, and then the plenipotentiary and extraordinary ambassador. She stood next to Vvedensky's wives.
Alexander Ivanovich was buried at the Kalitnikovsky cemetery with his mother.
After his death, renovationism finally sunk into oblivion. In 1950, the Vvedensky archive was burned by order of the head of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, Major General Georgy Karpov.
