The figure of Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavina) in many waysis a landmark, the key in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the XX century. In this sense, its role is difficult to overestimate. The fact that he was a man Tikhon, the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, and what was marked by his life, will be discussed in this article.
Birth and education
Tikhon the future head of Russian Orthodoxy wasnamed during monastic tonsure. In the world, his name was Basil. He was born on January 19, 1865 in one of the villages of the Pskov province. Belonging to the clergy, Basil quite naturally began his church career with enrollment in a religious school, and after graduation, he continued his studies at the seminary. Finally, after completing the seminar course, Vasily leaves for St. Petersburg to complete his education at the Theological Academy.
Return to Pskov
St. Petersburg Academy Vasily graduated fromdegree of theology candidate in layman status. Then, as a teacher, he returns back to Pskov, where he becomes a teacher of a number of theological disciplines and French. He does not accept holy orders, as he remains unmarried. And the disorder of personal life according to the canons of the church prevents a person from becoming a priest.
Monastic tonsure and ordination
Вскоре, однако, Василий решается выбрать иной the way is monasticism. The tonsure was made in 1891, December 14, in the seminary temple of Pskov. It was then that Vasily was named a new name - Tikhon. Passing the traditions, already on the second day after the vows, the newly minted monk is ordained to the rank of hierodeacon. But in this capacity he had to serve not for long. Already on the next episcopal ministry, he was ordained a hieromonk.
Church career
From Pskov, Tikhon was transferred in 1892 toKholm seminary, where he served as inspector for several months. Then, as 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 the decision of the Holy Synod was elected to the episcopal ministry.
Hierarchal ministry
Father Tikhon's episcopal consecration was held inSt. Petersburg, in the monastery of Alexander Nevsky. The Kholmsko-Warsaw Diocese became the first ruler of Vladyka, where Tikhon served as vicar bishop. The next major appointment was only in 1905, when Tikhon was sent with the rank of archbishop to manage the diocese of North America. Two years later he returned to Russia, where the Yaroslavl Department was given 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 governor of the Moscow Diocese.
Election as patriarch
It should be recalled that since the reform of PeterThere was no great patriarch in the Orthodox Church of Russia until 1917. The formal head of the church institute at that time was the monarch, who delegated the 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 the voting and the lot for this ministry, Metropolitan Tikhon was elected. The enthronement took place on December 4, 1917. From that time on, his official titling became such - Holy Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Patriarchal ministry
It is no secret that Tikhon received the Patriarchate indifficult time for church and state. The revolution and the civil war caused by it split the country in half. The process of persecution of religion, including the Orthodox Church, has already begun. Priests and active laypeople were accused of counter-revolutionary activities and subjected to the most severe persecution, execution 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, the Patriarch of Moscow, carriedtremendous responsibility for the fate of believers and the church itself. He tried his best to ensure peace, calling on the Soviet authorities to halt 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 towards believers, 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 sent to the outskirts of the country.
Patriarch Tikhon and the Soviet authorities
Originally Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, wasopposed to the Bolshevik government extremely strongly. Thus, at the dawn of his ministry as a patriarch, he spoke out with harsh public criticism of the Soviet government and even excommunicated his representatives from the church. Among other things, Tikhon Belavin, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, said that the Bolshevik managers were doing “satanic affairs”, for which they and their offspring would be cursed in earthly life, and in the afterlife - waiting for “Gehen fire”. However, this kind of church rhetoric did not make any impression on civilian power, most of whose representatives had long and irrevocably broken with all religiosity and tried to impose this same godless ideology on the state they were creating. Therefore, it is not surprising that the authorities did not respond to the call of Patriarch Tikhon to mark the first anniversary of the October Revolution with the cessation of violence and the release of prisoners.
St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, and the Renovation Movement
One of the initiatives of the new government against religionconsisted in the initiation of the so-called renovation split. This was done in order to undermine church unity and break up believers into opposing factions. This allowed later to minimize the authority of the clergy among the people, and consequently, to minimize the influence of religious (often politically tinged with anti-Soviet tone) sermons.
Renovators raised the banners of the idea of the Reformationn church, has long been in the air of Russian Orthodoxy. However, along with the reforms of purely religious, ceremonial and doctrinal renewers, they strongly welcomed the political changes. They categorically identified their religious consciousness with a monarchical idea, emphasizing their loyalty to the Soviet regime, and even recognized, to some extent, legitimate terror against other, non-renewal, branches of Russian Orthodoxy. Many representatives of the clergy and a number of bishops who refused to recognize the authority of Patriarch Tikhon joined the renovation movement.
Unlike the patriarchal church and other schismsThe renovationists enjoyed the support of the official authorities and various privileges. Many temples 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 side, so it quickly became widespread among the people and the only legitimate from the point of view of secular legislation.
Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, in turn,refused to recognize his legitimacy on the part of church canons. The internal ecclesiastical conflict reached its climax when the renovationists at their cathedral deprived Tikhon of the patriarchate. Of course, he did not take this decision and did not recognize it. However, from that time he had to contend not only with the predatory behavior of the godless government, but also with the schismatic co-religionists. The latter circumstance strongly aggravated his position, since the formal accusations against him were not connected with religion, but with politics: Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, suddenly became a symbol of counter-revolution and tsarism.
Arrest, imprisonment and release
Against this background, another incident occurredwhich shook the public, not only in Russia, but also abroad. It is about arrest and imprisonment, which St. Tikhon, the patriarch of Moscow, underwent. The reason for this was his harsh criticism of the Soviet government, the rejection of Renovationism and the position taken by him in relation to the process of seizing church property. Originally Tikhon, the patriarch of Moscow, was summoned to court as a witness. But then he very quickly found himself in the dock. In the world, this event caused a resonance.
Representatives of the Catholic Church, heads of manyOrthodox local churches, the Archbishop of Canterbury and others spoke out against the Soviet authorities in connection with the arrest of the patriarch. This demonstration process was supposed to weaken the position of the Orthodox Church before the Renovationists and break any resistance of the believers of the new government. Tikhon could receive liberation only by writing a letter in which he had to publicly repent of his anti-Soviet activities and support of the counter-revolutionary forces, as well as express his loyalty to the Soviet regime. And he took this step.
В результате большевики решили две проблемы – neutralized the threat of counter-revolutionary actions by Tikhonov and obstructed the further development of Renovationism, since even a completely loyal religious structure was undesirable in a state whose ideology was based on atheism. Having balanced the forces of Patriarch Tikhon and the Higher Church Administration of the Renovation Movement, the Bolsheviks could expect that the forces of the believers would be directed at fighting each other, rather than with the Soviet authorities, who, taking advantage of this state of affairs, could reduce the religious factor in the country to complete destruction of religious institutions.
Death and canonization
The last years of Patriarch Tikhon’s life wereaimed at preserving the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church. To this end, he made a number of compromises with the authorities in the area of political decisions and even church reforms. His health after imprisonment was undermined, contemporaries claim that he is very old. According to the life of Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, he died on the day of the Annunciation, on April 7, 1925, 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 laymen 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, he was glorified in 1989 at the Council of the ROC MP.
