Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow

Ermogen (Dolganev)
[1] (1858 - 1918), Bishop of Tobolsk and Siberia, hieromartyr Commemorated June 16 on the day of his death, August 20 (discovery of relics), in the Councils of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, as well as Moscow, Odessa and Saratov Saints

In the world Dolganev Georgy Efremovich, born on April 25, 1858, in the town of New Odessa, Kherson district, province of the same name. Son of Edinoverie Archpriest Efrem Pavlovich Dolganev (later Archimandrite Innocent), brother of Archpriest Hieromartyr Ephraim Dolganev. He entered the Nikolaev Naval School, but was soon assigned by his father to the Odessa Theological School, after which he began his studies at the Odessa Theological Seminary. Then he left the seminary, choosing secular education. He entered Novorossiysk University in Odessa, but was soon expelled as a former seminarian. Passed the matriculation exams at the gymnasium of the city of Ananyev to re-enter the Novorossiysk University. He studied at the faculties of history, philology, physics, mathematics and law. Attended the medical faculty of the University of Geneva. He repeatedly interrupted his studies, got a job, tried to engage in arable farming, and traveled. In a state of mental crisis, he subjected himself to self-castration.

Odessa Archbishop Nikanor (Brovkovich) had a great influence on the life choice of Georgy Dolganev, who advised him to complete his studies at the university and enter the theological academy. In 1889, Georgy was admitted to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Studying at the academy was difficult. He placed first place not on academic sciences, but on spiritual self-education. During his years of study, he called Metropolitan Isidore (Nikolsky) and Athos Hieroschemamonk Eugene his spiritual mentors.

On December 1, 1890, while studying in the 2nd year of the academy, he was tonsured a monk in honor of the martyr Hermogenes of Alexandria.

On December 2, 1890, he was ordained a hierodeacon by the rector of the academy, Bishop Anthony (Vadkovsky) of Vyborg, and on March 15, 1892, he was ordained a hieromonk. Father Ermogen graduated from the academy with a candidate of theology degree for the essay “ Christian moral teaching in Orthodox worship”

».

Ministry in Georgia

On September 17, 1893, he was confirmed as inspector of the Tiflis Theological Seminary. On July 11, 1898, he was appointed its rector and elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

He proved himself to be an intelligent and fair, but at the same time strict mentor. Among the seminarians he expelled was Joseph Dzhugashvili. He provided special support to Georgian students. Father Ermogen initiated a number of innovations in the seminary: mandatory weekday services in the house church, regular preaching by seminarians on Sundays and holidays, the creation of a separate dormitory for “students with poor health,” and teaching music as an elective subject.

Since 1898, he was chairman of the Georgian Diocesan School Council, a member of the Georgian-Imereti Synodal Office, censor of sermons and editor of the journal “Spiritual Bulletin of the Georgian Exarchate.” During his service in Tiflis, he studied the Georgian language and studied the history of Orthodoxy in Georgia. Traveled a lot around the Caucasus, got acquainted with Christian shrines. He took an active part in the development and spiritual nourishment of the Tiflis Kolyuchaya Balka area.

Bishop in the Saratov diocese

The zeal of Father Hermogenes was noticed in the Holy Synod. With the personal assistance of K. P. Pobedonostsev and V. K. Sabler, he was elected as a candidate to replace the Volsky Vicariate of the Saratov diocese.

On January 12, 1901, he was named, and on January 14, he was consecrated Bishop of Volsky, vicar of the Saratov diocese. The consecration in the Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg was led by Metropolitans of St. Petersburg Anthony (Vadkovsky), Moscow Vladimir (Epiphany), and Kiev Theognost (Lebedev). The location of the bishop was determined to be the Saratov Transfiguration Monastery, but the bishop immediately began setting up a bishop's house in Volsk, which was completed under Bishop Palladius (Dobronravov).

During the years of Bishop Hermogen's service in the vicar department, a women's diocesan school was opened in Volsk in September 1901; construction of a new building for the Volsky men's religious school began; a new house church was consecrated at the Volsky real school. In the fall of 1901, he visited the Khvalynsky district and developed a plan to found the Trinity Monastery here.

Bishop Ermogen was the chairman of the Saratov diocesan school council. He took the initiative to establish a church-teacher seminary in the diocese and to build a complex of church and educational buildings in Saratov. He spoke out in favor of organizing non-liturgical interviews in Saratov and opening tea-canteens for the people. The active work of Bishop Hermogenes was especially noticeable in comparison with the activities of the Saratov Bishop John (Kratirov), who was in poor health. Bishop Hermogen temporarily governed the diocese during the diocesan bishop's vacation in June-July 1901, and also from the fall of 1902, when Bishop John was called to attend the Synod.

After the highest approval on March 21, 1903 of the synodal report on the transfer of the Volsky vicar to an independent see, Bishop Ermogen became Bishop of Saratov and Tsaritsyn.

While at the Saratov department, he paid great attention to the construction of churches. Under him, more than 50 churches were consecrated in the diocese - among them, one of the first in Russia, the church in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov. He repeatedly raised the issue of reconstructing the Saratov Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which could no longer accommodate the city’s population, but despite the bishop’s efforts, reconstruction never began. At the same time, under him, the construction of the city cathedral in Tsaritsyn was accelerated, the new St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral in Serdobsk was consecrated, and the cathedrals in Kuznetsk and Khvalynsk were repaired.

In the area of ​​organizing the life of the monasteries of the diocese, Bishop Ermogen pursued the idea of ​​monasteries as missionary outposts and was a supporter of monastic service to the world. Under him, new monasteries arose in the Saratov diocese: Serdobskaya Kazan Sergiev-Aleksievskaya men's hermitage; a men's monastery near the village of N. Lipovka, Kuznetsk district, dedicated to the memory of John of Kronstadt; Holy Spirit Monastery in Tsaritsyn; Talovsky Annunciation Convent, Atkarsky district. In addition, new churches were consecrated in convents - Panovsky in Serdobsky district and Kraishevsky in Atkarsky district. The bishop invited monks from Athos, New Athos and the Kyiv diocese to the main monastery of the diocese - the Saratov Transfiguration Monastery. Through the efforts of Bishop Hermogen, special schools serving missionary purposes were opened in the Khvalynsky district - anti-schismatic in the village of Sosnovaya Maza and anti-Muslim in the village of Podlesnoye.

According to the general recognition of his contemporaries, Vladyka was a great man of prayer and fasting. His services were almost always statutory and lasted 5-6 hours or more. He served not only on Sundays, holidays and solemn days, but also regularly on weekdays. On Wednesdays, almost throughout his entire stay in Saratov, he served vespers with an akathist at the Trinity Cathedral. After everyday services, religious and moral interviews were held, which were attended not only by Saratov residents, but also by visitors.

The Bishop also paid great attention to the problems of theological education, not only solving practical problems of the Saratov Theological Seminary under his jurisdiction, but also speaking out with theoretical considerations on the question of how a theological school could overcome the crisis, the essence of which he saw mainly in the aggravated contradiction between the objectives of this school and the desire of a significant number of its students to receive a secular education. Bishop Hermogen considered it fundamentally important to strengthen the educational part in seminaries. The seminary authorities, in his opinion, should have had guarantees that the students were going to subsequently take holy orders.

Developed extensive social and political activities. At the end of 1904, he founded the diocesan newspaper “Brotherly Listok” (in 1907-1908 - “Russian”), which immediately entered into polemics with local secular newspapers of various political trends. During periods of the rise of the worker and peasant movement, Bishop Hermogen constantly called the people to social peace, constantly preached himself and gave orders to the clergy to preach on modern topics, held solemn processions of the cross, and also blessed the publication of articles on current topics in the “Brotherly List”. In October 1905, he turned out to be practically the only representative of the authorities in Saratov who openly took the path of fighting the revolution. Contrary to Bolshevik accusations of Bishop Hermogen's involvement in the pogroms of Jews in Saratov on October 19-20 of that year, the Bishop was a strong opponent of pogrom actions and at the end of the month established a committee to help those affected by the pogroms. At the same time, Bishop Hermogen was indeed characterized by an anti-Jewish sentiment, which he regularly openly declared.

The political position of Bishop Hermogenes was expressed in rejection not only of the revolution, but also of any positions and doctrines different from the monarchical one. In the fall of 1905, Bishop Ermogen blessed the activities of the People's Monarchist Party created in Saratov. On March 27, 1906, it was transformed into the local department of the Union of the Russian People party, in the work of which Bishop Ermogen gradually took an increasingly increasing part. In April 1907, he sent an appeal to the All-Russian Congress of Russian People held in Moscow, in which he wrote about the need for the RNC to enter the church fold, that is, to equate the status of a right-wing political party with the status of a church brotherhood. The congress rejected such proposals, and the press organ of the RNC condemned the appeal of Bishop Hermogenes, who after that decided to create his own political party. Already in May 1907, he called in his sermons to become members of the Orthodox All-Russian Fraternal Union of the Russian People. In the summer of the same year, the party was formalized organizationally. Only Orthodox Christians could become members of the party, and Bishop Ermogen himself, who in fact was the leader of the party, was declared its honorary patron and chairman. Among the Saratov right-wingers, a split occurred between the “brothers” (members of the PVBSRN) and the “allies” (members of the local department of the RNC).

Bishop Ermogen was present in most cases at the meetings of the PVBSRN. Often party meetings were combined with religious and moral readings, the initiator of the organization of which in Saratov was also Bishop Ermogen. In 1907-1911, the Bishop and his closest collaborators in the PVBSRN held several major public speeches against contemporary writers, theater figures and phenomena of public life, and the work of L. N. Tolstoy was subjected to the most harsh criticism. In 1907, Bishop Ermogen publicly opposed the staging of V. V. Protopopov’s plays “Black Crows” and F. Wedekind’s “Awakening of Spring” on the Saratov stage, and succeeded in removing the former from the theaters’ repertoire. In 1909-1910, he sought to ban the production of L. N. Andreev’s plays “Anatema” and “Anfisa” in Saratov. He proposed to the Holy Synod to excommunicate a number of famous writers from the Church and ban their works. Bishop Hermogenes' public statements on these topics were extremely harsh and often violated the provisions of Russian legislation.

As a ruling bishop, he proved himself to be an imperious and tough administrator, whose activities caused many criticisms. He often moved clergy, including prominent priests who had served for decades in their parishes, from urban to rural parishes for no apparent reason. Under him, diocesan office work, both administrative and financial, came into disarray. Collections and expenses for diocesan needs were carried out carelessly, without proper accounting, which gave rise to abuses. Many decrees of the Holy Synod were not transmitted by the bishop to the spiritual consistory and were not carried out. The role of the spiritual consistory in diocesan administration was practically reduced to zero. Due to the intervention of the bishop, there was a decline in the charitable activities of the Saratov Brotherhood of the Holy Cross. At the same time, the bishop founded the Nativity Brotherhood for mutual assistance of artisans and factory workers.

Bishop Ermogen was inclined to trust and support Hieromonk Iliodor (Trufanov), Grigory Rasputin and the like, who were known for their radicalism. His rejection of the formalism of higher church government and the intrusions of secular authorities, his independent leadership style created tension in his relationship with the Synod and the lay authorities. The conflict between Bishop Ermogen and Saratov Governor S.S. Tatishchev reached its greatest intensity over Hieromonk Iliodor, whose scandalous speeches undermined the prestige of power. Tatishchev's subsequent resignation in 1910 was associated with a conflict with the diocesan bishop.

Offset to rest

In the fall of 1911, Bishop Ermogen was summoned to attend the Holy Synod, which was obviously due to the desire of the authorities to remove the bishop from Saratov. The Bishop resolutely opposed the projects discussed in the Synod to introduce the rank of deaconesses and the liturgical rite of funeral services for non-Orthodox people in the Russian Church. Not limiting himself to presenting a dissenting opinion on these projects at the meetings of the Synod, on December 15 of the same year, Bishop Ermogen sent a telegram of protest to the passion-bearer emperor Nicholas II.

At the same time, the conflict between the bishop and Rasputin intensified, since the bishop changed his previously positive attitude towards him to the exact opposite. On December 16, 1911, Rasputin was invited to the chambers of Bishop Ermogen at the Yaroslavl Synodal Metochion. Present at the conversation were Hieromonk Iliodor and the famous holy fool D. A. Znobishin (“Blessed Mitya”), as well as two priests from the Saratov diocese as witnesses. Bishop Ermogen forbade Rasputin to communicate with the royal family and forced him to swear to this in front of the icon. The offended Rasputin sent a telegram to the Emperor and Empress, in which he wrote that Bishop Ermogen and Hieromonk Iliodor allegedly tried to take his life.

On January 3, 1912, the resolution presented by Chief Prosecutor V. K. Sabler regarding the dismissal of Bishop Hermogenes from attending the Synod was highly satisfied. On January 7, the members of the Synod signed a corresponding decree, which was presented to the Bishop on the same day. However, the bishop hesitated in leaving the capital for the diocese and gave interviews to journalists from the capital’s newspapers.

Members of the Synod and the highest secular authorities were outraged that the bishop brought the conflict to the public. On January 12, the Synod, by a new decree, condemned Bishop Hermogen for “unsubstantiated defamation of the decrees and judgments of the Holy Synod before the Sovereign Emperor.” On January 15, Chief Prosecutor Sabler received a telegram from the emperor: “ I hope that the Holy Synod will be able to insist on the immediate departure of Bishop Hermogenes and restore the disturbed order and tranquility

" Despite it being Sunday, the Chief Prosecutor urgently convened the members of the Synod, and they drew up a “marching journal” in which Bishop Hermogen was ordered to leave St. Petersburg no later than January 16 for the diocese entrusted to him together with Hieromonk Iliodor. However, neither the decree of the Synod, nor the persuasion of Poltava Archbishop Nazariy, Vologda Bishop Nikon and Chief Prosecutor Sabler who visited the Yaroslavl metochion forced him to submit to the highest spiritual authority.

On January 17, the members of the Synod decided to retire Bishop Hermogen to rest in the Zhirovitsky Dormition Monastery of the Grodno diocese. It was decided to send the official P.V. Mudrolyubov to Saratov to audit the diocese. On the same day, the synodal decision was approved by the emperor. On January 22, Bishop Ermogen left St. Petersburg for Slonim, from where on January 24 he went to the Zhirovitsky Monastery.

The “case” of Bishop Hermogenes, widely covered in the press, caused a resonance in Russian society. Separate discussions about it took place in the State Duma in connection with the consideration of the budget of the Holy Synod. The decisions and actions of the Synod were criticized by representatives of almost all Duma political parties.

In the Zhirovitsky Monastery, Bishop Ermogen was given 2 rooms. One of them was later connected to the St. Nicholas Church, and a window was installed in its wall, through which one could listen to divine services in severe frosts. In Zhirovitsy, the bishop was engaged in healing and even set up a ward for patients who specially came to him. He was regularly visited by Saratov admirers, who regretted his removal from the pulpit. Bishop Ermogen preached in the monastery church and traveled to nearby churches for this purpose.

In view of the approaching front, at the request of the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, who provided patronage to Bishop Hermogen, on August 25, 1915, the Ugreshsky St. Nicholas Monastery of the Moscow Diocese was assigned his residence. In November 1916, Bishop Ermogen left the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery without permission for the Saratov diocese. The trip was connected with the activities of the former hieromonk Iliodor, who, after renouncing his priesthood, declared himself the founder of a new religion. Having learned about the activities of the defrocked church, Bishop Ermogen drew up a proclamation and went to the Saratov diocese to inform his former flock about the errors of Iliodor.

Activities at the Tobolsk Department

On March 8, 1917, Bishop Ermogen was confirmed as Bishop of Tobolsk and Siberia. The ruler greeted the February Revolution of 1917 with caution. He wrote:

«
I neither bless the revolution that has taken place, nor celebrate the still imaginary “Easter” (or rather the most painful Golgotha) of our long-suffering Russia and the soul-scarred clergy and people, nor kiss the foggy and “stormy” face of the “revolution,” nor do I enter into friendship and unity with it , for I still clearly don’t know who and what she is today and what she will give to our homeland, especially to the Church of God tomorrow
».

The text of his “Commentary on the “Revelation” of John the Theologian,” written in Moscow and dated May 5, 1917, has been preserved.

In June, Bishop Ermogen was present in Tobolsk at the celebrations in honor of the 1st anniversary of the glorification of St. John of Tobolsk, but he spent most of 1917 outside his new diocese. He took part in the work of the 1st session of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917-1918. He was deputy chairman of the cathedral Department of Higher Church Administration. He advocated the participation of Council members in the Pre-Parliament, although he considered it “ a painful, contradictory state institution

" He observed with his own eyes the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in Moscow, which could not help but shape his negative attitude towards the new government. At the beginning of December 1917, he left Moscow for Tobolsk.

In managing the Tobolsk diocese, Bishop Ermogen turned to his own experience of organizing religious, moral and extra-liturgical conversations in Saratov. On December 21, 1917, in the building of the Tobolsk public meeting, he gave a reading about the need for church councils “ as a means of streamlining church affairs that had fallen into disarray.”

" From the beginning of 1918, regular church conversations were organized in the city churches of Tobolsk, which were conducted by a preaching circle consisting not only of the clergy, but also of the laity. In addition, it was planned to organize lectures on church and social issues and even conduct a systematic series of lecture readings (in particular, on the history of the Russian Church). Bishop Ermogen took an active part in the activities of the Tobolsk John-Dimitrievsky Brotherhood, paying special attention to the need to provide assistance to front-line soldiers. He reacted sharply to the decree on the separation of Church and state in January 1918, addressing the people with an appeal that ended with a call to defend the faith.

Bishop Hermogen's episcopal service in Tobolsk coincided with his stay there in captivity by decision of the Provisional Government of the Imperial Family. Bishop Ermogen established a secret connection with the royal family and spiritually supported it. On December 25, 1917, after the liturgy on the 1st day of Christmas, in the Intercession Cathedral of Tobolsk, in the presence of the royal family, he proclaimed many years with the title of the emperor and empress “majesties”, and the royal children - “highnesses”. Local authorities opened an investigation into this matter. Because of the threats of revolutionary-minded soldiers to deal with the deacon and priest of the Church of the Intercession, the bishop sent them to the nearby Abalaksky Znamensky Monastery.

Arrest and martyrdom

In March 1918, the Tobolsk Council came completely under the control of the Bolsheviks, who tried to prove the bishop’s involvement in the “monarchist conspiracy.” On April 22, the Extraordinary Commissioner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, K. A. Myachin, arrived in Tobolsk to transport the royal family to Yekaterinburg. At the request of the commissioner, a search was carried out in the bishop's chambers. Members of the council of the John-Dimitrievsky Brotherhood, fearing for the life of the bishop, invited the bishop to spend the night in the Tobolsk Znamensky Monastery, where the chambers of the vicar of the Tobolsk diocese, Bishop Irinarch of Berezovsky, were located. Therefore, on the night of April 27, the bishop was not present during the search in the bishop’s house, when the house church was desecrated. During the search, “correspondence” of the bishop “with members of the imperial house” was found, which was a note signed: “Mary.” This note was said to be from the pen of Empress Maria Feodorovna, although its real author, a certain Maria, even indicated her home address.

On April 27, members of the Tobolsk executive committee, led by sailor Khokhryakov, came to a meeting of the Tobolsk diocesan council, chaired by Bishop Irinarch, and demanded that Bishop Ermogen be told to appear for questioning, promising the bishop immunity.

On the morning of April 28, Vladyka served the liturgy in the Tobolsk Cathedral, after which he led the religious procession. From the Kremlin he moved to the foothills of Tobolsk. Prayers were served here “for the salvation of the perishing homeland.” Both bishops, all the city clergy and the mass of the people took part in the procession. They were accompanied by Red Guards. Immediately after the procession ended, the bishop was arrested and taken out of Tobolsk at night.

Since May 1, he was held in Yekaterinburg prison on charges of counter-revolutionary actions. Representatives of the Tobolsk diocesan administration, Archpriest Efrem Dolganev, priest Mikhail Makarov and sworn attorney martyr Konstantin Minyatov, arrived in Yekaterinburg. Their attempts to rescue the bishop from captivity were unsuccessful. After handing over the cash deposit collected at the request of the authorities for the bishop’s release, members of the delegation were arrested and soon shot. On June 24, the Day of the Holy Spirit, the Red Army soldiers allowed Bishop Ermogen to perform a prayer service in his cell. Almost all the prisoners prayed with him. The next day, the bishop and 8 or 9 prisoners (including the priest of the Tobolsk diocese Pyotr Karelin) were taken to the station, from where they were sent by train under escort to Tyumen.

In Tyumen, the prisoners were put on the Ermak steamship. Near the village of Pokrovskoye, the lay people were transferred to the steamship Oka and soon put ashore and shot. Bishop Ermogen and priest Peter remained on the Ermak. At this time, the Red Army soldiers were preparing for battles with the troops of the Provisional Siberian Government, so both clergymen were involved in the construction of fortifications. Bishop Hermogenes was physically exhausted, but even in these circumstances, good spirits did not leave him. Carrying earth and sawing boards, he sang Easter hymns. On the evening of June 28, the bishop and the priest were put in the hold of the steamship Oka, which was sailing down the Tobol River towards Tobolsk, which was already occupied by the Whites. Soon, priest Peter Karelin was taken out of the hold and thrown into the water, with stones tied to his body. When the Oka approached the village of Karbany, 173 versts from Tyumen, the ship Maria of the white flotilla appeared on the river ahead. The red steamer began to turn around.

At 30 minutes after midnight on June 29, 1918, Bishop Hermogenes was taken to the bow of the ship, his hands were tied, a stone was attached to them, and he was pushed into the water. Until the very last moment, the holy martyr continually prayed and blessed his executioners.

Relics and veneration

The body of Bishop Hermogenes was discovered by peasants of the village of Usalka and buried unidentified in a temporary grave. In August 1918, during the search for the bishop’s body, the remains were examined by an investigative commission that arrived from Tobolsk, transported to the village of Pokrovskoye and temporarily buried in the church fence. Then the body of the holy martyr was dressed in bishop's robes and sent to Tobolsk, where he was solemnly greeted with a procession of the cross from all the city churches. At the bishop's coffin, installed in the Tobolsk Cathedral, requiem services and parastases were served, and believers applied veneration to the remains, which did not succumb to decay. On August 15, Bishop Irinarh (Sineokov-Andreevsky) performed the funeral service. Bishop Hermogenes was buried in the St. John Chrysostom chapel of the cathedral on the site where the grave of St. John of Tobolsk was located before the discovery of the relics.

On June 23, 1998, Hieromartyr Hermogenes was glorified by Tobolsk Bishop Dimitri (Kapalin) among the locally revered saints of the Tobolsk diocese.
By the Bishops' Jubilee Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000, his name was included in the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. On the icon of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors, painted at that time, the martyrdom of Saint Hermogenes was depicted in the tender part of the fourth mark. In the summer of 2005, during the renovation of the cathedral in Tobolsk, a crypt was discovered in which the remains of the holy martyr Hermogenes rested. On September 2-3 of the same year, celebrations took place on the occasion of the discovery of his holy relics and their transfer to the Intercession Cathedral [2]. Celebration of the discovery of the relics of Sschmch. Hermogenes - August 20 - included in the monthbook with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill on November 28, 2011 [3].

The saint played a significant role in difficult times for Rus'. It is now customary to call it “troubled.” The people, blinded by the crazy idea of ​​Uniatism, without the power of the sovereign, did terrible things. At the same time, famine and Polish invaders undermined the country's strength. The saint courageously fought against Uniatism and admonished various false encroachers on the Russian throne. Ergmogen paid with his life for his activities. His feat will remain forever in the memory of the people!

Childhood and origin: Ermogen (Hermogen), in the world Ermolai, was born at the beginning of the sixteenth century. There is still debate about his pedigree. Some historians claim that he was from the family of the Shuisky princes, others from the Golitsyn family. There is a version that he came from the Don Cossacks. His childhood and teenage years coincided with significant events for the country: the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the conquest of Kazan and Siberia. Before his eyes, some part of Russia was captured by the Poles, who were persecuting Orthodoxy. All this left a deep imprint on the soul of young Ermolai. His heart burned with love and pity for his people, with a desire to help. Already in childhood, his life path was determined. As a teenager, he decided to devote his life to serving God. Ermolai left home for Kazan, where he entered a monastery.

Pastoral service: Upon reaching the required age, Ermogen accepted the rank of priest and served in Kazan in the Church of St. Nicholas. It was there that the priest was honored with the miracle of finding the icon of the Kazan Mother of God through a vision of a girl. Then he took monastic vows at the Chudov Monastery. Later he became the archimandrite of the Transfiguration Monastery in Kazan. In 1589, Ermogen became a bishop and headed the Kazan Metropolis. He carried out educational work, converting the local people - the Tatars - to Christ. Metropolitan Ermogen compiled a service to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The troparion “The Diligent Intercessor,” written by him, is so heartfelt and touching that it is impossible to sing it without tears. Patriarchate: in 1606, Ermogen became Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. He was about seventy years old. The years of his ministry included “troubled times.” The Patriarch boldly denounced the traitors to the Motherland, admonished them, and asked them to stop. In times of famine, he ordered the monastery's granaries to be opened to all those in need. The Patriarch called on the inhabitants of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to fight the Polish invaders. For sixteen months the enemies besieged the monastery without success. They left with nothing. Ermogen denounced False Dmitry, and then Sigismund, the Polish pretender to the Russian throne. Hermogenes was a man of keen intelligence and well-read. He made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian writing. Under him, the Menaion and the Gospel were published. He himself always monitored the correctness of the texts. He also blessed the translation of the service to St. Andrew the First-Called from Greek into Russian.

Martyrdom: when Minin and Pozharsky raised a popular uprising, the Poles burned the capital and hid in the Kremlin. They forcibly dragged the Patriarch to the Chudov Monastery and locked him in prison. When Russian troops began to lay siege to the Kremlin, the Poles asked the Patriarch to order them to leave, and threatened him with death. But Hermogenes replied that he was not afraid of anything or anyone except God. The siege of the Kremlin lasted for several months. The Patriarch sent encouraging words of support to the Russian soldiers. But he himself could not stand it and died of hunger and thirst. This happened in February 1612. The news of the death of the Patriarch inspired the soldiers to fight even harder, and soon the siege of the Kremlin was broken. Glorification of the saint: the body of the Patriarch was buried in the Chudov Monastery. Forty years later the relics were discovered. To the great surprise of everyone, the body did not decompose at all. The saint lay intact, as if he had just died. The relics were transferred to the Assumption Cathedral, where they still rest in a shrine. However, canonization occurred only in 1913. The entire royal family was present at this important event. A hundred years later, a monument to the Patriarch was erected in the Alexander Garden. Also, a monument to him was erected in Alametyevsk. The touching story of the martyrdom of the Patriarch inspired creative people. He was sung in the poem “Courage” by Derzhavin, in Georgy Dmitriev’s opera “Saint Hermogenes” and other works.

Days of remembrance: the memory of the Holy Patriarch Hermogenes is celebrated several times a year: March 2 (in a leap year, March 1); 17 October; May 25; October 18.

Until now, his name is commemorated among other Patriarchal saints at all-night vigils and Liturgies (source: Pravlife.ru/

Prayers

Troparion, tone 7

Among the saints you appeared marvelous, / inspired by zeal for God, O holy martyr Hermogenes. / And to the flock of Siberia, a guide in their suffering, / sharing bonds and imprisonments with the royal passion-bearers, / and ending the path in suffering: / in heaven you accepted the reward of your labors, // praying for our people to the Lord.

Kontakion, tone 5

Confirmation of the Orthodox faith, / and preaching of the love of Christ, / praise to the Siberian flock, glory to the Russian Church, / you took up confession and martyrdom for Christ, / testifying even to death in the face of those who fought against God, / prayerfully betraying your soul in the hand of God, / to the holy martyr Hermogenes, // pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion, tone 4

The saintly feat of goodness accomplished / and the course of martyrdom courageously passed away, / we glorify you, Hieromartyr Hermogene, / as a representative before the Lord // for the Russian country.

Proceedings

• “To our young spiritual environment,” Spiritual Bulletin of the Georgian Exarchate
  , 1898, Part unofficial, No. 24, 2-10.
• “Essay on the activities of the Diocesan Missionary Spiritual-Educational Brotherhood in Tiflis for two years of its existence (from October 19, 1897 to October 22, 1899),” Spiritual Bulletin of the Georgian Exarchate
  , 1900, Part unofficial, No. 6 , 7-23.
• “The struggle for the truth of our theological school: Review of the project for the new organization of this school,” Saratov Spiritual Bulletin
  , 1908, No. 44, 3-10.
• “Indignant condemnation of permitted blasphemy: (The true image of Tolstoy’s death),” Saratov, [1910].
• “From the “true” light into the “utter darkness”: (Open letter to Russian people),” Pg., 1916.
• “Interpretation of the “Revelation” of John the Theologian,” First and Last
  , M., 2003, No. 2(6).

Hieromartyr Hermogenes of Moscow

25 May the Church prayerfully remembers the Holy Martyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

The future Russian Patriarch Hermogenes was born in Kazan in 1530 and was named Ermolai in holy baptism. His childhood and youth were spent amid harsh stories and impressions: a year before his birth, the young captive John, tortured for his faith, was buried in a Russian cemetery. When Ermolai was already an adult, the Tatars tortured two of his newly baptized fellow citizens - the Tatars - Peter and Stephen.

Before his eyes, crowds of Russian prisoners continuously arrived in Kazan. Finally, in 1552, Tsar John 17 conquered Kazan. Only then could its Christian population breathe a sigh of relief. The Kazan diocese was established. Ermolai was honored to personally know and be in spiritual communion with the great enlighteners of his hometown: High Hierarch Gury, Archimandrites Herman and Barsanuphius.

Father Ermolai, in the rank of archpriest, rector of the St. Nicholas Gostinodvor Church, participated in the discovery of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kazan after the terrible fire that devastated Kazan in 1579. He wrote a troparion to the newly appeared icon and the history of its appearance.

The widowed father Ermolai took monastic vows with the name Hermogenes in the Moscow Kremlin Miracle Monastery. He was immediately elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed rector of the Transfiguration Monastery in Kazan, and in 1589 - Metropolitan of Kazan. The new saint zealously continued the works of his great predecessors. He founded many new churches and monasteries, including a convent in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan at the site of her appearance.

In 1605, an impostor known as False Dmitry I ascended the Russian throne. He wanted to crown his wife Marina Mnishek, a Pole and a Catholic, but encountered strong opposition from Metropolitan Hermogenes of Kazan. A year later, False Dmitry was killed, and Prince Vasily Shuisky was proclaimed king. Metropolitan Hermogenes was elevated to the rank of Patriarch of All Rus' instead of the protege of False Dmitry, the weak-willed Patriarch Ignatius, a Greek by birth.

Rus' was going through a difficult time at that time: before Tsar Vasily IV had time to ascend the throne, a rumor spread that False Dmitry had escaped death, and an uprising began in Novgorod-Seversky. The rebels, led by Ivan Bolotnikov and Prince Shakhovsky, marched on Moscow. At this time, one priest had a revelation that for repentance the Lord would have mercy on Rus'. The Patriarch ordered special prayers and fasting, and unexpectedly a detachment of 200 archers defeated the main forces of the rebels. Patriarch Hermogenes tried to convince the tsar to completely destroy the very nest of rebellion in Novgorod-Seversky, but he, due to his lethargy, did not listen to him.

The new False Dmitry found himself near Moscow and founded his camp in the village of Tushino, which is why he received the nickname “Tushino thief.” From there, his gangs made raids into the very depths of Russia, and one of them, under the leadership of Sapieha, besieged the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Contrary to the advice of the saint, Tsar Vasily entered into an alliance with King Charles IV of Sweden, a personal enemy of the Polish king Sigismund. The result of this union was the occupation of the North of Russia by Swedish troops and the campaign of King Sigismund against Russia.

Complete devastation began: often in one family some were for Tsar Vasily, others for the “Tushino thief.” The Patriarch fought against evil with exhortations, sermons and, finally, excommunications, which were the most powerful weapons in his hands. When the Poles cut off the supply of food to Moscow and famine began, the patriarch ordered the Lavra's rye reserves to be sold at a low price. Often, accompanied by his collaborator, the old Archimandrite Dionysius, the patriarch went out to the crowd and calmed it down.

The sudden death of the young commander Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky and the defeat of the Russian troops near Smolensk decided the fate of Tsar Vasily: he was deposed and tonsured a monk. A provisional government of boyars was formed in Moscow, which elected Prince Vladislav, the son of Sigismund, as king. Polish troops entered Moscow. Vasily Shuisky was exiled as a prisoner to Poland, where he died. Patriarch Hermogenes fought against this as much as he could, but, having no support, was forced to give in.

Sigismund already looked at Rus' as his property and distributed lands in it to his supporters. The Poles behaved like conquerors and insulted the religious and national feelings of the Russians. Under heavy pressure from foreigners, the moral forces of the people began to awaken. Under these conditions, Patriarch Hermogenes made an appeal to the people and in his messages to the cities freed everyone from the oath to Vladislav. The first militia began to form.

Fearing the rebel Muscovites, the Poles burned the entire city, except for the Kremlin and Kitai, the city where they locked themselves in with the boyars. The Patriarch was imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery under Polish guards. When the militia approached and began besieging the enemy, the Poles and traitor boyars began to demand that the patriarch order the militia to disperse, threatening to starve him to death. He replied: “What are you threatening me with? I fear only God. If you leave, I will order them to leave, disperse, otherwise I will order them to stay and die for the faith. You promise me a cruel death, but through it I hope to receive a crown. I have long wanted to suffer for the truth.”

But devastation began in the militia: its leader, the Ryazan nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov, was killed by the Cossack ataman Ivan Zarutsky, and the army began to disperse. The darkest, darkest days have come for Russia. Smolensk was taken by the Poles, Novgorod by the Swedes; a new impostor has appeared. Then the 80-year-old patriarch turned from his imprisonment to the Russian people with a final call to stand up for the faith, to lay down “your life for the House of the Most Pure.” The message, delivered to Nizhny Novgorod on January 12, 1611 by faithful brave people, caused the famous popular movement led by Kosma Minin and Prince Dimitri Pozharsky, which saved Russia. The patriarch prayed for them from his prison. He ordered that the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God be brought to the militia.

As soon as Moscow learned that a new militia was approaching, the Poles and traitors again approached the patriarch with their harassment and threats. But the patriarch told them: “Blessed be those who go to liberate Moscow, and you, damned traitors, be cursed.” Then the martyrdom of the saint began. He was deprived of food and a sheaf of oats and some water were thrown into his prison with mockery. On February 17, 1612, His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes died of hunger. He was buried in the Chudov Monastery. On October 22, the city of China was liberated; on October 26, the Kremlin surrendered, but the joy of the victors was overshadowed by the death of the patriarch.

The Hieromartyr Hermogenes immediately began to be revered as a local Moscow saint. In 1652, his relics were found incorrupt and fragrant and transferred to the Assumption Cathedral. After Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812, the holy relics were found thrown out of the tomb. The third time they were found incorrupt during the restoration of the Assumption Cathedral before the coronation of Emperor Alexander III.

Hieromartyr Hermogenes was canonized on May 12, 1914.

With His holy prayers, guide us, Lord, to the right and saving path of life!

Lives of the Saints – Complete Collection >>

Documents, literature

• GA Saratov region.
  , F. 1132.
• GA Tobolsk
  , F. 156, Op. 15, D. 779, L. 638.
• RGIA
  , F. 796, Op. 194. D. 1102, 1119, 1120; F. 797, Op. 86, D. 49; F. 1101, Op. 1, D. 1111.
• Leonidov, K., priest, “Decade of service in the priesthood of the Most Reverend. Hermogenes, bishop Saratov and Tsaritsyn, in the Saratov diocese,” Brotherly leaflet
  , Saratov, 1911, No. 10, 1-3.
• Mramornov, A.P., priest, “Decade of service of the Reverend. Ep. Hermogenes to the Saratov flock,” // Brotherly leaflet
  , Saratov, No. 8, 1-2.
• E.I., “Archpastor-Martyr,” Tobolsk EV
  , 1918, No. 18/20, Det. official, 138-139.
• S.I.F., “Sschmch. Hermogenes, bishop Tobolsk and Siberian,” Tobolsk EV
  , 1918, No. 18/20, Dep. official, 256-265.
• Polish, part 1, 66-68.
• Manuil, Rus.
  hierarchs, 1893-1965 , vol. 2, 336-345.
• Gazizova, O., “St. Hermogenes, bishop Tobolsky,” Orthodox.
  conversation , 1992, No. 8/9, 27-31.
• Damascene, book. 2, 154-175.
• Regelson, L.L., Tragedy Rus.
  Churches, 1917-1945 , M., 1996r, 238-246.
• Those who suffered for Christ
  , book. 1, 313-314.
• Vorobyov, M., prot., Orthodox local history: Essays on the history of the Saratov region
  , M., 2002, 78-84.
• Ivanov, S. M., Suprun, V. I., Orthodoxy on Volgograd land: Dioceses and bishops
  , Volgograd, 2002, part 1, 107-110.
• Rozhkov, V.S., prot., Church issues in the State.
  Duma , M., 2004, 287-298.
• “The Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Bishop of Tobolsk and Siberia,” Siberian Orthodox.
  gas. , 2005, No. 9.
• “Discovery of the relics of the smch. Hermogene (Dolganova), bishop. Tobolsk and Siberian,” Siberian Orthodox.
  gas. , 2005, No. 9.
• Mramornov, A.I., Church and social-political.
  activities of bishop Hermogena (Dolganova, 1858-1918) , Saratov, 2006.

DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!

March 28, 2021, on the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent, the day of remembrance of St. Gregory Palamas, Bishop Paramon of Naro-Fominsk, administrator of the Northern and Northwestern Vicariates of Moscow, celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great in the Church of St. Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' in Tushino.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: I. O. Dean of the Assumption Church District, Priest Andrei Shumkin, rector of the church, Priest Nikolai Golovanov, Hierodeacon Sophrony (Michalsky), invited clergy.

After the special litany, a prayer was offered for the end of the harmful epidemic.

Before communion, a sermon was delivered by Priest Alexy Timofeev, cleric of the Church of St. Martin the Confessor of the Pope in the new Alekseevskaya Sloboda.

At the end of the Liturgy, the rector of the church thanked the bishop for the bishop’s service. Then Bishop Paramon addressed the congregation with a sermon:

“Today, the day of remembrance of St. Gregory Palamas, is very bright and special. He taught about the Divine uncreated Light. Each of us sees not only with our own eyes. He still sees what is happening inside him. There is that vision that makes it possible to penetrate deeper into ourselves, in contrast to the ordinary vision with which we perceive the world around us. And so Saint Gregory Palamas taught about that Divine Light that man is capable of perceiving and which the Lord gives. We know that only the pure in heart can see God. How and where can you meet God? You can meet God not somewhere on the street, but in your soul, in your heart. And if we are not attentive to ourselves, then we will never see or experience this meeting. But having experienced it once, having seen God, having felt His grace that is poured out on you, a person is left with a thirst for God, a desire to again feel His presence in oneself. Then a person understands that being with God is true wealth. This is what makes a person truly happy and joyful and elevates him above the earth. All this happens when we open our hearts to God, when we pray to Him. Therefore, only through prayer and fasting can you attract God’s grace to your soul. Gregory Palamas, who fasted, prayed a lot, and labored as a true ascetic, is for us an example of how to use the time of Lent for the benefit of our soul. We must sincerely pray with all our hearts, with all our being, asking God that the Lord would send His mercy to us all, so that He would not deprive us of His Light, so that He would enlighten us with His grace.”