Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsky: life and work of the hieromartyr, prayers

10.10.1937. – The legitimate primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the patriarchal locum tenens priest, was executed in the USSR. Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsky.

Metropolitan Peter

(in the world Pyotr Fedorovich Polyansky; 28.6.1862–10.10.1937) as the successor to church power from Patriarch Tikhon, he was the last legitimate head of the Church in the USSR who did not make a deal with the atheistic authorities.

He was born into the family of a priest in the village of Storozhevoye, Korotoyak district, Voronezh province. He studied at the Voronezh Theological Seminary, which he graduated in 1885 with the first class. He was appointed to the position of psalm-reader at the temple of the village of the Virgin in Korotoyak district.

In 1887, Peter became a student at the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1892 with a candidate of theology degree. During his student years, he was distinguished by his complacency, modesty, and goodwill, as his friend of those times, the future Soviet First Hierarch Sergius (Stragorodsky), wrote in his memoirs. In 1897 he received a master's degree in theology.

Since 1892 - assistant inspector of the Moscow Theological Academy, taught the Law of God at a private women's school in Sergiev Posad, and was secretary of the Water Rescue Society. In 1895 he was a church elder in his homeland, in the village of Storozhevoy, Voronezh diocese. For his special zeal in beautifying the parish Church of the Epiphany, he was awarded archpastoral gratitude.

In December 1896, he was appointed caretaker of the Zhirovitsky Theological School. He brought the school, according to the reviewer Nechaev, to a brilliant condition. Participated in the first All-Russian population census, served as a competitive member of the Guardianship of National Sobriety, and an honorary magistrate judge of the Slonim district. During his service he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav 3rd and 2nd degrees. During this period, he met Bishop Tikhon (Bellavin), the future Patriarch.

Since 1906 - junior assistant to the director of affairs of the Educational Committee at the Holy Synod in St. Petersburg; subsequently became a member of the Educational Committee, performing mainly the duties of an auditor of religious educational institutions. During his service in the Educational Committee, he examined the state of theological seminaries, diocesan women's schools in Kursk, Novgorod, Vologda, Kostroma, Minsk and a number of other dioceses, visited Siberia, the Urals, and Transcaucasia. After each such trip, he personally compiled a detailed report, which proposed possible measures to improve the condition of the examined school. Since 1916 - active state councilor. Was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir.

So, Peter successfully chose scientific and administrative activities for himself in the Church without taking holy orders. The revolution introduced a new dimension into his biography, connected with the spiritual responsibility assigned to him for the Church, which he could not refuse.

In 1918, after the Bolsheviks closed the Educational Committee, Pyotr Fedorovich was a member of the secretariat of the Local Council. For this he moved to Moscow. He worked as chief accountant in the Bogatyr cooperative artel. He lived in the house of his brother, the priest of the Church of St. Nicholas-on-Pillars Vasily Polyansky.

After the decree on the separation of the Church from the state and its robbery (January 23/February 5, 1918), the Bolshevik repressions gained momentum, pressure came from two sides: direct violence from above and the encouragement of pro-Soviet “renovationism” in the ranks of the clergy itself. Patriarch Tikhon was in great need of faithful people and invited Peter Fedorovich to take monastic vows, priesthood, bishopric and become his assistant in matters of church administration in conditions of repression. Peter accepted the offer, telling his relatives: “I cannot refuse. If I refuse, then I will be a traitor to the Church, but when I agree, I know that I will sign my own death warrant.”

. At the age of 58 he was tonsured a monk by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). On October 8, 1920, he was consecrated (by Patriarch Tikhon) and other bishops as Bishop of Podolsk, vicar of the Moscow diocese. Immediately after the consecration, Bishop Peter was arrested and exiled to Veliky Ustyug. There he lived first with a priest he knew, then in a lodge at the city cathedral.

Returning to Moscow, he became the Patriarch's closest assistant, was elevated to the rank of archbishop (1923) then metropolitan (1924) of Krutitsky and included in the Provisional Patriarchal Synod. At a meeting of bishops held in the St. Daniel Monastery at the end of September 1923, he spoke out against a compromise with the renovationists.

On December 25, 1924 (January 7, 1925), Patriarch Tikhon drew up a testamentary order, which stated: “In the event of our death, our Patriarchal rights and obligations, until the legal election of a new Patriarch, we present temporarily to the Most Eminent. Metropolitan Kirill. If for some reason it is impossible for him to exercise the said rights and obligations, they pass to the Eminence. Metropolitan Agafangel. If this Metropolitan does not have the opportunity to implement this, then our Patriarchal rights and responsibilities pass to His Eminence Peter Metropolitan of Krutitsky.”

Patriarch Tikhon died on March 25 (April 7), 1925. Since Metropolitans Kirill and Agafangel were then in exile, Metropolitan Peter immediately took over locum tenens duties after the death of Patriarch Tikhon. On April 9, he sent the following note to the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Kalinin:

“In entering into the administration of the Orthodox Russian Church, I consider it my duty, as a citizen of the USSR, to forward to you the attached copy of the act dated January 7, 1925, personally written by the deceased First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Tikhon, who, in the event of his death, transferred the Patriarchal rights and responsibilities to me as Locum tenens of the Patriarchal seat. Patriarchal Locum Tenens Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsky.”

On the day of the burial of Patriarch Tikhon, a meeting of 58 archpastors gathered for his funeral took place, which approved the powers of Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsky. As the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, he first of all established widespread assistance to prisoners and exiles. Receiving donated money after the service, he usually immediately gave it away to be sent to prisons, camps and places of exile.

The Bolshevik government, using all measures of administrative influence, tried to persuade Orthodox bishops to unite with pro-Soviet renovationism: those who persisted were arrested and expelled, those who hesitated were promised all sorts of benefits on the condition that they converted to renovationism. Metropolitan Peter resolutely opposed any compromises with the Renovationists. He addressed the archpastors, pastors and all the children of the church with a message that said:

“We must firmly remember that according to the canonical rules of the Universal Church, all... unauthorized meetings, like the Living Church meeting that took place in 1923, are illegal. Therefore, canonical rules prohibit Orthodox Christians from attending them, much less choosing their own representatives for the upcoming meetings.”
.

This message from Metropolitan Peter immediately restored a strong spirit in the Church and doomed the renovationist project, which had been carried out for so long, to complete collapse. The atheistic authorities, convinced that in the person of the new primate the Orthodox Church had an incorruptible and fearless leader, began to prepare for his removal.

Articles appeared in newspapers about the allegedly counter-revolutionary activities of Metropolitan Peter and his connections with foreign countries. At the same time, in the face of the already obvious threat of arrest, the GPU began to negotiate with Metropolitan Peter on the “legalization” of the Church on the conditions: 1) publication of a declaration prepared by the GPU on the recognition of Soviet power, 2) removal from service of bishops who disagree with this, 3) condemnation foreign bishops and 4) cooperation with the Soviet government represented by a representative of the GPU. For this, they promised the official registration of church administration and the immunity of those bishops who would be appointed to dioceses by agreement with the authorities. However, Metropolitan Peter resolutely refused these conditions. And in the future, the Metropolitan sharply rejected all such proposals from the GPU employee Tuchkov and even escorted him out of his chambers with the following words: “You are all lying; you don’t give anything, you only promise; now bother to leave the room, we will have a meeting.” The Bolsheviks could not tolerate this.

In November–December 1925, bishops belonging to the supporters of Metropolitan Peter were arrested. On December 9, he himself was arrested. According to the will left by Metropolitan Peter, in the event of his arrest, first Metropolitan Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod, then Metropolitan Michael, Exarch of Ukraine, and, finally, Metropolitan Joseph of Petrograd (located in Rostov) was to take over the administration of the Church as a deputy locum tenens.

During the investigation, Metropolitan Peter was kept in an internal prison on Lubyanka; in 1926 he was transferred to the fortress of the closed Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal, which was turned into a prison. During interrogation on December 18, 1925, he stated that the Church could not approve of the revolution: “The social revolution is built on blood and fratricide, which the Church cannot recognize. Only war can still be blessed by the Church, since in it the fatherland and the Orthodox faith are defended from foreigners.”

Immediately after the arrest of Metropolitan Peter, a group of nine bishops loyal to the authorities (led by Archbishop Gregory of Yekaterinburg and Bishop Boris of Mozhaisk), selected by the GPU, attempted to seize power in the Church. They announced that the activities of Metropolitan Peter were counter-revolutionary and that they were organizing themselves into a “Provisional Supreme Church Council” to govern the Church.

Being in solitary confinement and being completely cut off from the world, Metropolitan Peter had no information about the actual state of church affairs. Taking advantage of this, Archbishop Gregory and others, having received a meeting with Metropolitan Peter on November 1, 1926, handed him a report on the situation of the Church, in which they reported that Metropolitan Sergius cannot govern the Church, that Metropolitans Michael and Joseph refused, and church affairs require a new orders from Metropolitan Peter in order to avoid complete anarchy.

Metropolitan Peter, not suspecting betrayal, based on this report the resolution “On the surrender of the administration of the Church to the board of Archbishop Nicholas of Vladimir, Dmitry of Tomsk and Gregory of Yekaterinburg.” At this time, Archbishop Nicholas was in prison, and Archbishop Dmitry was in Tomsk and could not come to Moscow. Archbishop Gregory, knowing all this, kept silent in order to become the master of the situation himself. However, Metropolitan Peter conditioned his resolution on the impossibility of Metropolitan Sergius to govern the Church. And this gave Sergius and the entire Church the right to reject the betrayal of Archbishop Gregory.

At the same time, the GPU launched many more intrigues, threats, and misinformed Metropolitan Agafangel and other bishops, trying to undermine the church leadership and achieve the issuance of a declaration of loyalty. Metropolitan Peter from Suzdal was transferred to Moscow to the GPU prison, where Tuchkov invited him to renounce his Locum Tenens position. Peter resolutely did not agree to this and then, through his cellmates, conveyed to freedom that “he would never, under any circumstances, leave his ministry and would remain a member of the Orthodox Church until his death.”

On November 5, 1926, he was sentenced to 3 years of exile. In December he was transported through transit prisons to Tobolsk, in February 1927 he was taken to the village of Abalak, where he was kept in the Abalak monastery controlled by the renovationists. At the beginning of April he was arrested again and taken to Tobolsk prison. Then he was sent beyond the Arctic Circle, to the shore of the Ob Bay in the village of He, where he was deprived of medical care. Peter could hardly tolerate the northern climate, especially the polar night. In response to his requests for medical assistance, on May 11, 1928, by resolution of the Special Meeting of the OGPU, the period of exile was extended by two years.

During this time, on December 12, 1926, the Deputy Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), was arrested. After his arrest, the duties of Deputy were briefly performed by Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh), and after the soon-following arrest of Metropolitan Joseph, Archbishop Seraphim (Samoilovich). But the security officers in custody managed to break Sergius, who was released and on July 16/29, 1927, issued a Declaration of Loyalty to the atheistic government, demanding that the clergy sign appropriately. Metropolitan Peter refused to accept this Declaration and then in December 1929 was able to send a letter to Sergius in which, in particular, he wrote: “I am informed about the difficult circumstances developing for the Church in connection with the crossing of the boundaries of the ecclesiastical authority entrusted to you. I am very sorry that you did not bother to let me in on your plans for governing the Church.”

At the end of his exile on August 17, 1930, Metropolitan Peter was arrested again. He was held in prisons in Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg. He again refused to relinquish the title of Patriarchal Locum Tenens, despite threats to extend his prison sentence. In November 1930, a criminal case was opened against him on charges that, while in exile, he “conducted defeatist agitation among the surrounding population, talking about the imminent war and the fall of the Sov. power and the need to fight the latter, and also tried to use the Church to stage a fight against the Owls. power."

Prisoner and very weak in health, the legitimate first hierarch of the GPU tried in every possible way to worsen the conditions of detention, hoping for his “natural” death. He was forbidden to walk in the common courtyard - they were replaced by a short exit into a small damp courtyard, where the air was filled with fumes from latrines. Excruciating pain occurred after every meal. At night I suffered from asthma attacks. The stuffiness of the prison cell often caused fainting, during which the prisoner lay for hours on the cold prison floor. He was paralyzed: his right arm and leg were paralyzed. The arm subsequently recovered, but the leg never recovered, causing difficulty in walking. Despite this, the Primate of the Church continued to refuse to resign.

Metropolitan Peter wrote: “In essence, locum tenens is of no interest to me personally; on the contrary, it keeps me in the shackles of oppression all the time... But I must take into account the fact that the solution to this issue does not depend on my initiative and cannot be an act of my sole will. With my title I am inextricably linked with the spiritual interests and will of the entire Local Church. Thus, the question of disposing of the Locum Tenens, as not being a personal matter, is not subject to personal discretion, otherwise I would turn out to be a traitor to the Holy Church.”

July 23, 1931 At a special meeting of the OGPU, Metropolitan Peter was sentenced to 5 years in a concentration camp, but was left in prison in an internal isolation ward. No responses were given to inquiries about his whereabouts. At the same time, believers were confident that he continued to live in polar exile. Peter was transferred to the Verkhneuralsk prison as a secret prisoner (instead of his name he appeared under No. 114). The guards were forbidden to take him to places where he could meet other prisoners. His term of imprisonment ended on July 23, 1936, but two weeks before that, a special meeting of the NKVD of the USSR decided to extend Metropolitan Peter’s imprisonment for another 3 years. It was obvious that Metropolitan Peter did not have long to live.

At the end of 1936, false information about the death of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens spread in Moscow, as a result of which on December 27, 1936, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) assumed the title of Patriarchal Locum Tenens. A memorial service was celebrated for Metropolitan Peter.

At this time, repressions against the Church intensified and even spread to the loyal Sergian clergy: they fulfilled their role by handing over their disloyal brethren for destruction, and no more power was needed. The so-called “godless five-year plan” was underway with the goal of completely destroying the Church. In July 1937, Stalin ordered the execution of all confessors in prisons and camps. In accordance with this, a new criminal case was opened against Metropolitan Peter on the following charges: “While serving a sentence in the Verkhneuralsk prison, he shows himself to be an irreconcilable enemy of the Soviet state, slandering the existing political system... accusing him of “persecuting the Church,” “its leaders.” Slanderously accuses the NKVD authorities of being biased towards him, which allegedly resulted in his imprisonment, since he did not accept the NKVD’s demand to renounce the rank of Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne.”

On October 2, 1937, the troika of the NKVD in the Chelyabinsk region sentenced the Patriarchal Locum Tenens to death. On October 10 at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he was shot - according to various versions, in the NKVD prison in Magnitogorsk or at the Kuybas station. The burial place remains unknown.

The Russian Orthodox Church abroad refused to recognize Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) as the legitimate primate of the Church under the still living Locum Tenens Peter. After Sergius issued the Declaration of July 29, 1927, demanding signatures of loyalty, the ROCOR switched to an autonomous existence on the basis of Patriarchal Decree No. 362 of November 7/20, 1920. In all subsequent years, the ROCOR commemorated the imprisoned Metropolitan Peter as the legitimate first hierarch until his death, even without knowing exactly his fate. (It was only during the years of so-called “perestroika” that the exact date of his death became known.)

In 1981, Metropolitan Peter was canonized by the Russian Church Abroad among the whole host of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. In the Moscow Patriarchate, his glorification occurred in 2000 with the compilation of a separate patriarchal life, which emphasizes the legality of his transfer of powers to Metropolitan Sergius. The MP still refuses to glorify Metropolitan Joseph (Petrov) and many of the catacombs who did not recognize Metropolitan Sergius and consider them “schismatics.”

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Life of Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsky

Many Orthodox priests suffered from Bolshevik terror in the post-revolutionary years. It was at this time that Peter Polyansky, who had a spiritual education but did not become a monk, changed his life dramatically, becoming a priest, a bishop, then a metropolitan and locum tenens.

Polyansky was involved in church and educational work for many years, was a cheerful, friendly, charming person, and did a lot for the spiritual education of young people. Accepting the priesthood in the twenties did not promise either wealth or a happy life. Polyansky knew that he was dooming himself to difficulties and repression, but he could not leave the church. The saint chose his fate consciously, realizing that he would share the fate of thousands of other Orthodox priests.

Origin

Peter was born in 1862 in the Voronezh province. My father served as a priest in the parish of the village of Storozhevoye and raised his children in Orthodox traditions. The brother of Peter Polyansky was a cleric of the Moscow church.

He received a spiritual education - he graduated from the Voronezh Seminary, then entered the Moscow Theological Academy. Many children of priests chose this path. Peter was cheerful, prone to pranks and pranks, and easily made friends and acquaintances. He was not particularly persevering or serious.

He graduated from the Moscow Academy in 1892. By decision of the academic council, he became a candidate of theology and was left to work as an assistant inspector.

Life before ordination

Peter Polyansky combined spiritual and secular service and easily got along with people. His acquaintances considered him friendly and compliant, ready to help. In all areas of his work, Polyansky made friends, and at the same time coped brilliantly with any responsibilities.

Milestones of Peter's work biography:

He taught girls the law of God in a girls' school.
He became a church warden in his native village in 1895.
He worked as a teacher of Greek at the theological school in Zvenigorod.
In 1896 he became the caretaker of a religious school in the village of Zhirovichi. According to the inspectors, Peter brilliantly established work at the school.
He took part in the population census, for which he received the gratitude of the king.
In 1897 he defended his master's thesis.
In 1899 he received the Order of St. Stanislaus.

Since 1906, Peter began serving in the capital in the Educational Committee of the Holy Synod. He inspected religious educational institutions throughout Russia, became famous for his lack of acquisitiveness, and did not accumulate wealth in his position as a bread earner.

He received the rank of state councilor in 1916, which corresponded to the ranks of general in the army. After the revolution, the Educational Committee was abolished, Peter moved to Moscow and began working in the secretariat of the Local Council.

Colleagues recalled working with Polyansky with warmth and gratitude. Peter was a large man; in appearance, he was a typical Russian man who loved to joke and eat delicious food; he looked like a merchant in the depictions of Russian classics.

The saint lived alone all his life and had no desire for family life. Polyansky’s acquaintances are sure that if he had chosen a church career and taken monastic vows in his youth, he would have quickly risen to the rank of bishop. Peter was successful in any job, everywhere he worked with passion and achieved significant success.

Becoming the head of the church

After moving to Moscow, the saint again began to communicate with Patriarch Tikhon, whom he knew from working together. In 1920, Vladyka asked Peter to become a monk, a priest and help him manage the affairs of the church.

The saint knows that, having been ordained, he dooms himself to persecution by the authorities and quick death, but he cannot refuse the help of the church. Peter makes a decision, realizing that this is the will of God, he is unable to resist it.

The saint took monastic vows in 1920, then he was ordained Bishop of Podolsk. This was followed by a three-year exile. Returning to Moscow, the bishop is involved in the affairs of the church and becomes the closest associate of the Patriarch.

The authorities continue to actively fight against religion, and the ranks of church hierarchs are thinning. Bishops and metropolitans are arrested one after another and sent to camps on trumped-up charges.

In January 1924, Peter became Metropolitan of Krutitsky and managed the affairs of the Moscow diocese. At this time, the Patriarch was already seriously ill, Peter often visited him in the hospital, consulting on all church matters.

In the testamentary document, His Holiness the Patriarch indicates the names of 3 possible candidates for the Patriarchal throne. Peter's name comes third, but it is he who becomes the locum tenens after the death of Tikhon, since the other two metropolitans find themselves in exile.

Activities at the position

In 1925, the Council of Bishops approved Peter as locum tenens. The saint found himself at the head of the church at a terrible time for the country and the laity. Parishes were left without priests, churches were closed and burned.

The saint did not make a deal with the authorities and began a decisive struggle against renovationism. He considered the main task of the church to be supporting all victims of repression. The Metropolitan transferred money to prisoners, tried to make life easier for exiled priests, and preserve churches for parishioners.

Diplomacy turned out to be unusual for the previously accommodating Peter. The Metropolitan condemned renovationism and recognized the actions of its supporters as illegal, going against church foundations. Supporters of cooperation with the Bolsheviks found themselves isolated - the flock stopped going to churches where the renovationists conducted services, and the clergy refused to communicate with them.

Metropolitan Peter did not believe the promises of the OGPU to support a church more loyal to the authorities; he called on the priests not to cooperate with the Bolsheviks and to refuse concessions. In response to the decisive steps of the locum tenens, the Soviet government took the usual actions - launched slanderous articles in newspapers about the counter-revolutionary activities of the metropolitan and the betrayal of the working people.

During his short tenure as locum tenens, Peter conducted services in churches and monasteries of the Moscow diocese and met with the laity.

The Bolsheviks considered their main task to discredit the church in the eyes of citizens. They supported the schism in every possible way and looked for supporters among the highest church hierarchs. He headed the anti-church activities of the Tuchkov government.

Arrests

In December 1925, Metropolitan Peter was arrested. The reason was formal - the locum tenens was accused of refusing to deprive him of the rank of Metropolitan of Kyiv. In fact, the authorities have entered a new phase of the fight against Orthodoxy, depriving the church of its primate.

The saint was kept in Lubyanka prison and persuaded to cooperate with the authorities. But the metropolitan refused to recognize the legitimacy and goodness of the revolution, pointing out that the church could not bless the civil war.

Tuchkov himself repeatedly interrogated the metropolitan, tried to achieve approval for a change in the leadership of the church, and the elimination of hierarchs who were inconvenient for the authorities. In prison, the healthy and cheerful Peter quickly grew old and turned into a frail and weak person. But they failed to intimidate and convince the Metropolitan.

In November 1926, the saint was sentenced to exile in Tobolsk and sent to prison. Then they put him in prison again, after countless interrogations, the exile was extended and sent to the far north.

All the time the Metropolitan was deprived of communication and was in a cramped cell. Peter would have preferred to stay in the camp, where it was physically more difficult, but he could talk to people. The authorities sought from the metropolitan to voluntarily resign from the rank of locum tenens, and for this they promised to return freedom.

Reference: referring to the will of Patriarch Tikhon, the Church Charter and personal responsibility, the saint refused to ease his fate, did not renounce his rank and remained in prison.

Execution

In 1936, the Metropolitan was informed of the decision of a special commission to extend the term of imprisonment; the Holy Father realized that he would not be released. Peter was transferred to the Verkhneuralsk prison, where he was listed under number.

The Moscow diocese was informed of the death of Metropolitan Krutitsky, a new locum tenens took charge of the church, and a memorial service was celebrated for the saint.

In 1937, Stalin decided to free the prisons and camps from priests, giving a period of 4 months. A new accusation was quickly fabricated against Metropolitan Peter - he was conducting subversive work among prisoners, expressing slanderous fabrications against the authorities, the NKVD, accusing the Bolsheviks of persecuting the church.

The NKVD troika sentenced the Metropolitan to death. On October 2, 1937, the sentence was carried out. The place of death and burial of the saint is not precisely known.

Education[edit]

In 1885 he graduated from the Voronezh Theological Seminary with first class. In 1892 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate of theology degree, received for his work “Explanation of the first letter of St. Apostle Paul to Timothy." In his student years, according to the recollections of his fellow student, Metropolitan Evlogii, he was distinguished by his complacency, complaisance, and goodwill. Since his studies at the academy, he was friends with the future Patriarch Sergius (Stragorodsky). Master of Theology (1897, dissertation topic: “The First Epistle of St. Apostle Paul to Timothy. Experience in historical and exegetical research”).

Veneration in Orthodoxy

Metropolitan Peter led the church in difficult years for Orthodoxy, when the state took the path of eradicating religion. The saint devoted all his strength to overcoming the schism, tried to defend the integrity of Orthodoxy, and defended priests and laity.

The Hieromartyr is glorified for his steadfastness of faith, fearlessness in the face of tormentors, and readiness to fight to the end for the ideals of Orthodoxy. The saint accomplished a feat - he became a priest, anticipating his death and knowing what a difficult path he would have to go through.

Patriarchal Locum Tenens[edit]

In 1924, Patriarch Tikhon drew up a will, which stated: “In the event of our death, we present our Patriarchal rights and obligations, until the legal election of a new Patriarch, temporarily to His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill. If, for any reason, it is impossible to exercise the said rights and obligations, they pass to His Eminence Metropolitan Agafangel. If this Metropolitan does not have the opportunity to implement this, then our Patriarchal rights and responsibilities pass to His Eminence Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsky.”

On the day of the burial of St. Tikhon, April 12, 1925, a meeting of the archpastors gathered for his funeral took place; Having familiarized themselves with the text of the Testament, the bishops decided to submit to the will of the deceased High Hierarch. Since Metropolitans Kirill and Agafangel were in exile, the duties of Patriarchal Locum Tenens were assigned to Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsa.

As a locum tenens he helped many prisoners and exiles. Receiving donated money after the service, he usually immediately gave it away to be sent to prisons, camps and places of exile. He gave the blessing to parish clergy to donate to imprisoned clergy. He often celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Moscow parish and monastery churches, including the St. Daniel Monastery.

He resolutely opposed any agreements with the renovationists, who held their own council in 1925, to which they invited representatives of the Orthodox Church. He addressed the archpastors, pastors and all the children of the church with a message that said: “We must firmly remember that according to the canonical rules of the Universal Church, everything... unauthorized meetings, like the Living Church meeting that took place in 1923, are illegal. Therefore, canonical rules prohibit Orthodox Christians from attending them, and even more so from choosing their own representatives for the upcoming meetings.” As a result, the absolute majority of Metropolitan Peter's clergy and flock refused to compromise with the Renovationists. Representatives of renovationism accused him of having relations with church and political emigration (including recognizing, together with Patriarch Tikhon, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich as the “direct and legitimate heir to the throne”), of counter-revolutionary sentiments and anti-government activities.

He refused to agree to the conditions of the punitive authorities (GPU), under which they promised to normalize the legal position of the Church. The conditions included the publication of a declaration calling on believers to be loyal to the Soviet regime, the elimination of bishops disliked by the authorities, the condemnation of foreign bishops and contact in activities with the government represented by a representative of the GPU.

In November - December 1925, bishops belonging to the supporters of Metropolitan Peter were arrested. At the beginning of December, knowing about the impending arrest, he wrote:

Work awaits me, human judgment, but not always merciful. I am not afraid of work - I loved and love it, and I am not afraid of human judgment - the best and most worthy individuals have experienced its unfavorability. I am afraid of one thing: mistakes, omissions and unintentional injustices - that’s what scares me. I am deeply aware of the responsibility of my duty. This is necessary in every work, but especially in our pastoral work.

On December 9, 1925, by decision of the Commission for the Implementation of the Decree on the Separation of Church and State under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, he was arrested. By order of the Locum Tenens, the performance of his duties was transferred to Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Nizhny Novgorod with the rank of Deputy Locum Tenens. Later, not having reliable information about the events that took place and being misled by the security officers who were striving to split the Patriarchal Church, he made contradictory orders about church administration. At the same time, he refused to support the government-inspired initiative of several bishops for collegial government of the church (the so-called “Gregorianism”, the Grigorievsky schism - named after its leader, Archbishop Gregory (Yatskovsky)), and banned its active figures from serving in the clergy.

Orthodox texts

The Church glorifies the Hieromartyr Peter on September 27 in all Orthodox churches.

Troparion

Called by God's providence to holy service by the holy Patriarch Tikhon, you became a vigilant guardian and fearless defender for the flock of Christ, Hieromartyr Peter. You endured cruel imprisonments and distant exiles, suffering and death from the atheists. Having received the crown of martyrdom, you are now rejoicing in Heaven. Pray to the merciful God that he will preserve our Church from disorder, grant unanimity and peace to His people and save our souls.

Kontakion

Having acquired a peaceful and meek spirit, having a firm hope in God’s mercy, you have become a faithful guardian of the Russian Church and a confessor of Christ, Hieromartyr Peter, a constant representative for us before God and a prayer book for our souls.

Kontakion to the Moscow Saints

Live piously in the saints, and guide people to the understanding of God, and please God well; For this reason, from Him you are glorified by incorruptibility and miracles, as disciples of God’s grace.

You lived piously as saints and guided people to the knowledge of God and served God well, therefore you were glorified by Him for incorruptibility and miracles, taught by God’s grace

Ordination and archpastoral activity[edit]

He worked as chief accountant in the Bogatyr cooperative artel. He lived in Moscow, in the house of his brother, the priest of the Church of St. Nicholas on the Pillars Vasily Polyansky.

Patriarch Tikhon invited him to take monastic vows, priesthood and bishopric and become his assistant in matters of church administration in the conditions of Bolshevik repressions against the church. He accepted the offer, telling his relatives: “I cannot refuse. If I refuse, then I will be a traitor to the Church, but when I agree, I know that I will sign my own death warrant.” He was tonsured a monk by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). On October 8, 1920 he was consecrated (by Patriarch Tikhon) and other bishops as Bishop of Podolsk, vicar of the Moscow Diocese. Immediately after his consecration he was arrested and exiled to Veliky Ustyug. There he lived first with a priest he knew, then in a lodge at the city cathedral. In exile, he had the opportunity to perform the Divine Liturgy in the concelebration of the Veliky Ustyug clergy.

Intrigue two: saving clause

It was decided to undermine the Church from a third side, acting through the second candidate for the post of Locum Tenens according to the will of Patriarch Tikhon - Metropolitan Agafangel. He languished in prison. The proposed deal was as follows: Agafangel returns to Yaroslavl, his diocese is registered by the authorities, he assumes the duties of Locum Tenens - here the investigator again lied, presenting the Church as decapitated and powerless due to the schism. And Metropolitan Agafangel agreed. His message about taking office flew to Moscow...

And at the same time, the GPU persistently persuaded Metropolitan Peter to renounce Locum Tenens, promising release from bonds and treatment in the Caucasus or Crimea. Misled by misinformation and devoid of any ambition, Metropolitan Peter transfers power to Agathangel.

The Church was then saved by one small clause: “In the event of Metropolitan Agafangel’s refusal to accept power or the impossibility of exercising it, the rights and duties of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens return again to me, and the deputyship to Metropolitan Sergius.”

Agafangel refused the place...

"Polar" link

The 65-year-old Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna was exiled to a remote northern village: he lived on the territory of the former Abalaki monastery, lit the stove himself, cooked for himself, cleaned the house... But the respite did not last long - only about 2 months.

In April 1927, the Locum Tenens was transferred to the Tobolsk prison, from there - beyond the Arctic Circle, to the village of He on the shore of the Ob Bay (the territory of the present Yamalo-Nenets District) ... There he was doomed to a slow and painful death: the old, sick bishop was left without any medical care help in an area where there is a harsh, windy winter 8 months a year. In addition, the period of exile was extended for another 2 years... The Bishop wrote statements asking to soften the conditions of exile - but to no avail.

“I’ll say about myself personally,” Peter wrote in exile, “that I went through every kind of suffering that one can imagine. It seemed that I had one season of the year - a time of sorrow, but the Lord, apparently, does not leave me. He supports my strength, weakened by the difficult conditions of exile, and brings peace to my soul, which, if poisoned, is only by pain about the Church...”

But even in distant exile, he was an example and the real head of the Church: the local priests turned out to be renovationists, and the Metropolitan did not go to their churches, and, looking at him, other believers stopped visiting them.

Sick, living on the edge of the earth, he continued to influence church life! The locum tenens was deprived of the opportunity to correspond with his deputy in Moscow, but he could write letters himself. He wrote with bitterness to his deputy, who, after his arrest and imprisonment, issued a Declaration emphasizing loyalty to Soviet power; lamented the unrest and disputes among the flock and priesthood. However, he firmly did not order Metropolitan Sergius to resign...

From a letter to Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky):
“I constantly think about you being a refuge for all true believers. I confess that of all the upsetting news that I have ever received, the most upsetting were the messages that many believers remain outside the walls of the temples in which your name is exalted. I am filled with mental pain about the emerging discord around your administration and other sad phenomena. Perhaps these messages are biased, perhaps I am not sufficiently familiar with the character and aspirations of the persons writing to me. But news of spiritual turmoil comes from different places, and mainly from clergy and laity, who put strong pressure on me. I am, of course, far from thinking that you would decide to completely refuse to fulfill the obedience entrusted to you - this would not serve the good of the Church.”

Literature

Vladislav Tsypin
. Ch. III. The Russian Church headed by the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Peter / History of the Russian Church (1917-1997). - M.: Publishing house of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, 1997. - 831 p. — ISBN 5-7302-0815-4.
Kostryukov A. A.
Russian Church Abroad and Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) in 1925-1926. // Clio. — 2011. — No. 2(53). — P. 84-87.
Cephas - Patriarchal Locum Tenens Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsky / ed. Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov. - Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University, 2012. - 992 p. — (Materials on the modern history of the Russian Orthodox Church) — ISBN 987-5-7429-0734-3.
Priest Alexander Mazyrin.
“Believe and know how to carry your cross: the life and feat of the holy martyr Peter (Polyansky)” // ZhMP. — No. 5. — May 2014 / May 23, 2013

Notes

de facto until December 1925
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Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsky, Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne // Hieromonk of Damascus (Orlovsky). Martyrs, confessors and devotees of piety of the Russian Orthodox Church of the 20th century, Lives and materials for them. Book 2. Tver, 1996, pp.341-369: Notes (80-92); pp. 470–511.
↑ 12
The question of the attitude of the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) to the Kostroma Theological School is the topic of a scientific article on religion and atheism, read the scientific research text for free...
↑ 1 2
Hieromartyr Peter (Polyansky) (1862-1937)
(unspecified)
(inaccessible link). Date accessed: January 10, 2021. Archived September 23, 2014.
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Sergey Grinyak Stone of Faith // magazine “Steps” No. 3 (27) 2007
Graduates of the Moscow Theological Academy 1818-1916, 1918-1919. XLVII course (1888-1892)
↑ 1 2 3 Koskello A.S.
Hieromartyr Peter (Polyansky): an undiplomatic bishop. Orthodoxy and the world, 10.10.2012.
Religious holidays October 10th. RIA Novosti, 9.10.2015.
Renovationism: Anatoly Levitin, Vadim Shavrov.
↑ 1 2 Priest.
Alexander Mazyrin. The question of the Patriarchal Synod in the “inter-Synod” period 1925-1927. // Bulletin of PSTGU: History. History of the Russian Orthodox Church. - 2010. - Issue. II:2 (35). - pp. 61-78.
https://korolev.msk.ru/books/dc/Rpc22y_1913289.html Archived copy of March 5, 2021 on the Wayback Machine 26. Bishop Peter of Podolsky - Archbishop and member of the VCU under the Patriarch - 1.10.
Archived copy (unspecified)
(inaccessible link). Date accessed: July 5, 2021. Archived August 25, 2021.
Quote from: Acts of His Holiness Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, later documents and correspondence on the canonical succession of the highest church authority. 1917-1943. Sat. at 2 o'clock / Comp. M. E. Gubonin. - M., 1994. - P. 413 (the text is given as part of the message of the locum tenens Metropolitan Peter dated April 12, 1925; here it is given as a facsimile of the original while maintaining the exact edition and punctuation of the typewritten text: Ibid., P. 414).
Kremlin archives. Politburo and the Church: 1922-1925 / Prepare ed. N. N. Pokrovsky and S. G. Petrov. - Book 2. - Novosibirsk-M., 1998. - P. 454.
Quote from: Acts of His Holiness Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, later documents and correspondence on the canonical succession of the highest church authority. 1917-1943. Sat. at 2 o'clock / Comp. M. E. Gubonin. - M., 1994. - P. 413 (given from a facsimile of the original while maintaining the exact edition of the typewritten text: Ibid., p. 415).
Krishtal S.N.
From repentance to the resurrection of Russia! // Cossacks of Siberia: from Ermak to the present day (history, language, culture): Materials of the international scientific and practical conference. Tyumen, October 30 - November 1, 2009 / Ed. I. S. Karabulatova. — Tyumen: Type. "Pechatnik", 2009.
↑ 1 2 3 Mazyrin Alexander, priest.
Ural prisoner Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) and his Moscow deputy, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky): two destinies and two views on the relationship between the Church and the authorities during the period of persecution // Church. Theology. History: Materials of the III International Scientific and Theological Conference (Ekaterinburg, February 6–7, 2015). - Ekaterinburg: Ekaterinburg Theological Seminary, 2015. - P. 342–361. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016.
Dionysius (Shishigin), archimandrite
. “The past flies by...” Patriarch Pimen and his time.
Bishop's courtyard in the name of the Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsky (unspecified)
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Ekaterinburg diocese
. Information agency of the Ekaterinburg diocese. Access date: October 14, 2021.
Temple of Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsky; village Storozhevoye 1st. Network of Orthodox websites Prikhod.ru
Peter's educational readings. Magnitogorsk diocese.

Intrigue three: Synod led by a schismatic

The GPU officers, gnashing their teeth after the second failure, ordered that Metropolitan Peter be placed in solitary confinement in the Suzdal political isolator - so he found himself in complete isolation from the outside world.

Tuchkov, head of the 6th (anti-religious) secret department of the OGPU, did not give up. He again began negotiations with Metropolitan Peter. This time, proposing to establish a Synod, but with a condition: the Synod must include the leader of the schismatics, Archbishop Gregory, and Sergius (Stragorodsky) will be deprived of his deputy rights and removed to Krasnoyarsk. Peter resolutely refused!

The intractable Locum Tenens was exiled for 3 years to the village of Abalak.

Here he, freed from information isolation, learned the real state of affairs. And he conveyed his appeal to the flock. And again the head of the schismatics came to the bishop in the transit prison, but he could not get anything from Peter...