The figure of Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin) is in many ways a landmark, a key figure in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century. In this sense, its role can hardly be overestimated. About what kind of person Tikhon, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, was, and how his life was marked, will be discussed in this article.
Birth and education
Tikhon was named the future head of Russian Orthodoxy during his monastic vows. In the world, his name was Vasily. He was born on January 19, 1865 in one of the villages of the Pskov province. Belonging to the clergy, Vasily quite naturally began his church career by entering a theological school, and after graduating from it he continued his studies at the seminary. Finally, having completed the seminary course, Vasily leaves for St. Petersburg to complete his education within the walls of the theological academy.
Return to Pskov
Vasily graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy with a degree in theology as a layman. Then, as a teacher, he returns back to Pskov, wherebecomes a teacher of a number of theological disciplines and the French language. He does not take holy orders, because he remains celibate. And the disorder of personal life according to the canons of the church prevents a person from becoming a clergyman.
Monastic tonsure and ordination
Soon, however, Vasily decides to choose a different path - monasticism. The tonsure was performed in 1891, on December 14, in the seminary church of Pskov. It was then that Vasily was given a new name - Tikhon. Bypassing tradition, already on the second day after tonsure, the newly-baked monk is ordained to the rank of hierodeacon. But in this capacity, he did not have to serve long. Already on the next episcopal service, he was ordained a hieromonk.
Church career
From Pskov, Tikhon was transferred in 1892 to the Kholmsk Seminary, where he served as an inspector for several months. Then, as a rector, he was sent to the Kazan Seminary, at the same time receiving the rank of archimandrite. Tikhon Bellavin remained in this position for the next five years, until, by the decision of the Holy Synod, he was elected to the episcopal ministry.
Bishoping service
The episcopal consecration of Father Tikhon took place in St. Petersburg, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Vladyka's first chair was the Kholmsko-Warsaw diocese, where Tikhon acted as vicar bishop. The next major appointment was only in 1905, when Tikhon was sent with the rank of archbishop to manage the diocese. North America. Two years later, he returned to Russia, where the Yaroslavl department was placed at his disposal. This was followed by an appointment to Lithuania, and finally, in 1917, Tikhon was elevated to the rank of metropolitan and appointed administrator of the Moscow diocese.
Election as Patriarch
It should be recalled that from the time of the reform of Peter the Great and until 1917, there was no patriarch in the Orthodox Church of Russia. The formal head of the church institution at that time was the monarch, who delegated supreme power to the chief prosecutor and the Holy Synod. In 1917, the Local Council was held, one of the decisions of which was the restoration of the patriarchate. According to the results of voting and lot, Metropolitan Tikhon was elected to this ministry. The enthronement took place on December 4, 1917. Since that time, his official title has become this - His Holiness Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Patriarch ministry
It's no secret that Tikhon received the Patriarchate at a difficult time for the church and state. The revolution and the resulting civil war split the country in half. The process of persecution of religion has already begun, including the Orthodox Church. The clergy and active laity were accused of counter-revolutionary activities and subjected to the most severe persecution, executions and torture. In an instant, the church, which had served as the state ideology for centuries, lost almost all of its authority.
Therefore, St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, bore enormous responsibility forthe fate of believers and the church institution itself. He tried with all his might to ensure peace, calling on the Soviet authorities to stop repression and the policy of open opposition to religion. However, his exhortations were not taken into account, and St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, often could only silently observe the cruelty that was manifested throughout Russia in relation to the faithful, and especially the clergy. Monasteries, temples and educational institutions of the church were closed. Many priests and bishops were executed, imprisoned, sent to camps or exiled to the outskirts of the country.
Patriarch Tikhon and the Soviet government
Initially, Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, was extremely determined against the Bolshevik government. Thus, at the dawn of his service as patriarch, he made a sharp public criticism of the Soviet government and even excommunicated its representatives from the church. Among other things, Tikhon Belavin, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, said that the Bolshevik managers are doing “satanic deeds”, for which they and their offspring will be cursed in earthly life, and in the afterlife, “fire of Gehenna” awaits. However, this kind of church rhetoric did not make any impression on the civil authorities, most of whose representatives had long and irrevocably broken with all religiosity and tried to impose the same godless ideology on the state they were creating. Therefore, it is not surprising that, in response to the call of Patriarch Tikhon, to mark the first anniversary of the October Revolution with an end to violence andThe authorities did not respond to the release of the prisoners.
St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, and the renewal movement
One of the initiatives of the new government against religion was to initiate the so-called renovationist split. This was done in order to undermine church unity and break believers into opposing factions. This made it possible to subsequently minimize the authority of the clergy among the people, and, consequently, to minimize the influence of religious (often politically colored in anti-Soviet tones) sermons.
Renovationists raised to the banner of the idea of the reformation of the Russian church, which had long been in the air of Russian Orthodoxy. However, along with purely religious, ritual and doctrinal reforms, the Renovationists welcomed political changes in every possible way. They categorically identified their religious consciousness with the monarchical idea, emphasizing their loy alty to the Soviet regime, and even recognized terror against other, non-renovationist, branches of Russian Orthodoxy as legitimate to some extent. Many representatives of the clergy and a number of bishops joined the renovationist movement, refusing to recognize the authority of Patriarch Tikhon over them.
Unlike the patriarchal church and other schisms, the Renovationists enjoyed the support of the official authorities and various privileges. Many churches and other church immovable and movable property were placed at their disposal. In addition, the repressive machine of the Bolsheviks most often bypassed the supporters of this movement, so it quickly became massive among the people andthe only legal under secular law.
Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, in turn, refused to recognize his legitimacy from the church canons. The intra-church conflict reached its climax when the Renovationists at their council deprived Tikhon of the patriarchate. Of course, he did not accept this decision and did not recognize its force. However, from that time on, he had to fight not only with the predatory behavior of the godless authorities, but also with schismatic co-religionists. The latter circumstance greatly aggravated his situation, since the formal accusations against him were connected not with religion, but with politics: St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, suddenly turned out to be a symbol of counter-revolution and tsarism.
Arrest, imprisonment and release
Against the backdrop of these events, another incident occurred that stirred up the public not only in Russia, but also abroad. We are talking about the arrest and imprisonment that St. Tikhon, the Patriarch of Moscow, underwent. The reason for this was his sharp criticism of the Soviet government, the rejection of renovationism and the position he took in relation to the process of seizing church property. Initially, Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, was called to court as a witness. But then he very quickly found himself in the dock. This event caused a resonance in the world.
Representatives of the Catholic Church, the heads of many Orthodox local churches, the Archbishop of Canterbury and other persons sharply criticized the Soviet authorities in connection with the arrest of the patriarch. Thisthe show trial was supposed to weaken the position of the Orthodox Church in front of the renovationists and break down any resistance of the believers to the new government. Tikhon could only be released by writing a letter in which he had to publicly repent for his anti-Soviet activities and support for counter-revolutionary forces, and also express his loy alty to the Soviet regime. And he took this step.
As a result, the Bolsheviks solved two problems - they neutralized the threat of counter-revolutionary actions on the part of the Tikhonovites and prevented the further development of renovationism, since even a completely loyal religious structure was undesirable in a state whose ideology was based on atheism. By balancing the forces of Patriarch Tikhon and the Higher Church Administration of the Renovation Movement, the Bolsheviks could expect that the forces of believers would be directed to fight each other, and not with the Soviet government, which, taking advantage of this state of affairs, would be able to reduce the religious factor in the country to a minimum, up to total destruction of religious institutions.
Death and canonization
The last years of Patriarch Tikhon's life were aimed at preserving the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church. To do this, he made a number of compromises with the authorities in the field of political decisions and even church reforms. His he alth after the conclusion was undermined, contemporaries claim that he was very old. According to the life of Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, he died on the day of the Annunciation, April 7, 1925year, at 23.45. This was preceded by a period of prolonged illness. At the burial of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, more than fifty bishops and more than five hundred priests were present. There were so many lay people that even in order to say goodbye to him, many had to stand in line for nine hours. As Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, was glorified in 1989 at the Council of the Russian Orthodox Church MP.
