The life and miracles of healing of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow and All Rus'

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Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, is a truly pious and honest man, whose spirituality knew no boundaries or obstacles. And in the most difficult times of wars and famine, it was he who became a mediator between God and people in order to proclaim faith and endow his people with spiritual strength.

Patriarch Tikhon, biography

The future patriarch (in the world Vasily Belavin) was born on January 19, 1865 in the family of a clergyman, which was distinguished by a strong patriarchal way of life, piety and a great love of work.

At the age of nine, the saint entered the Theological School, and after graduation he left his parents’ home and continued his education at the seminary. Vasily was very kind since childhood, and his studies came quite easily to him. Therefore, he graduated from the seminary as one of the best students. His spiritual teaching did not stop there - he continued his studies at the Theological Academy. And already at the age of 23 he became a candidate of theology.

The short life of his childhood and youth had its spiritual continuation in adulthood. At the age of 26, he took his first step in order to get closer to the Teacher and his great deeds - he bows his will before the Lord and makes the three highest vows:

• poverty;
• virginity;
• obedience.

Afterwards he was tonsured and named Tikhon (in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk), the very next day he was ordained as a hierodeacon, and soon as a hieromonk.

Brief biography of the deeds of Patriarch Tikhon

From 1892-1899 the saint went through a difficult spiritual path of formation:

• inspector of the Theological Seminary;
• rector with the rank of archimandrite;
• Bishop of Lublin with appointment as vicar of the Kholm-Warsaw diocese.

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Tikhon spent only a year in the first department in his church life. And when the decree came about his transfer, all the believers of the Kholm region cried day and night. The whole city saw him off with tears, and this is evidence of how loved and respected this man was.

And it was like this all his life: no matter where he was, people did not want to let him go. Even in Orthodox America, where he wisely led his flock for 7 years, they still call him the Apostle of Orthodoxy.

Tikhon did everything possible to develop spirituality:

• built temples;
• opened libraries;
• tidied up abandoned churches;
• conducted teaching activities both among the common people and among representatives of the clergy;
• I personally traveled to remote villages and towns in order to bring spiritual life there into a state of unity.

During the First World War, he was able to protect the relics of the Vilna martyrs and other great shrines from enemy attacks, faithfully served in overcrowded churches, walked around hospitals and blessed those going to war to defend their Fatherland.

Prayer to Saint Tikhon

O our good shepherd, the great holy Patriarch Tikhon, as if you were a city on high, your good deeds still shine before people. We, as you, standing before the throne of the Most Holy Trinity, have great boldness in prayers before the Lord. Look now at us, sinful and unworthy of your children, for you, as you have great boldness before the Creator of all things, now we fall down and fervently pray: pray to the Lord, that He may give us the determination to acquire the piety of our fathers, which you have acquired from your youth. In your life you were a zealous protector and keeper of the true faith; help us to unshakably observe the Orthodox faith. Because your quiet soul has greatly succeeded in divine humility, teach us to nourish our minds not with the turbulent human wisdom, but with the humble knowledge of the will of God. Before the face of the fierce enemies of Christ, you boldly confessed the True God; with your prayer, strengthen us, the faint-hearted, so that we will always and everywhere resist the spirit of atheism and flattery. To her, servant of God, do not despise us who pray to you, for we ask not only for deliverance from troubles and sorrows, but for strength and firmness, generosity and love, in order to endure these misfortunes that rise upon us. Ask us for unflagging patience even until the end of our lives, peace with the Lord and remission of sins. Holy Father! Tame the winds of unbelief and unrest in our country, may the Lord establish silence and piety and unfeigned love in the Russian Land. With your prayers may you save us from internecine warfare, may we strengthen our Holy Orthodox Church, may it not become depleted of true shepherds, good workers who rightly rule the word of the Gospel truth. Forbid the errors of the sheep of Christ's flock. Most of all, pray to the Lord of strength, that the Russian Land may be reborn with holy repentance and with one heart and one mouth glorify the Marvelous God in His saints in the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Faith without support and adherence to it is dead. It is such people-lights as Patriarch Tikhon, with their example and sacrifice, that do not allow its blessed flame to go out for centuries.

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Enthronement of Patriarch Tikhon

After the restoration of the patriarchate, for his great deeds, Saint Tikhon was chosen by lot to the post of Patriarch of Moscow. The enthronement (enthronement) of the new patriarch was carried out in the Assumption Cathedral on November 21, 1917, on the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

During a terrible period, when everyone was gripped by anxiety for the future, anger grew and mortal hunger consumed the people, fear penetrated into homes and churches. And it was at this time that God’s hand elevated Tikhon to the Patriarchal throne, so that he would be one of the first to ascend to Golgotha ​​and become a holy martyr.

Every day the saint prayed for his Fatherland and his people; he was ready to go to certain death following his Teacher in order to extinguish the fire of war and revive the spiritual principle.

American cell attendant

Lot with the name of Metropolitan Tikhon
- Did St. Tikhon, even before becoming a bishop, have close people, friends whom he completely trusted?

“He was a monk, so it’s difficult to talk about friendship.” It is known that he treated his mother very warmly. He also had a cell attendant, Yakov Polozov, who was nearby for almost twenty years (from 1902 to 1921). They met in America, where Polozov came to work, and then Polozov followed Bishop Tikhon to Russia.

This man was very close to him; in his letters he called him “my Jacob.” When Yakov Anisimovich got married, the patriarch became his child’s godfather.

The Bolsheviks even tried to spread the rumor that Yakov Anisimovich was the illegitimate son of the patriarch. True, hardly anyone believed this rumor, since its absurdity was obvious (the patriarch was only 14 years older than the cell attendant).

The Bolsheviks, already in 1921, began to threaten Yakov Polozov in order to put pressure on the patriarch. In 1921 and 1922, Polozov was arrested.

Nicholas II and Archbishop Tikhon of Yaroslavl and Rostov during the visit of the royal family to Yaroslavl, 1913. Photo from Commons.wikimedia.org

From the memoirs of contemporaries: “Everyone brings me surprises,” the Patriarch lamented. - They took my Yakov Anisimovich, what do they want? Let them take me, not him. <…> I will write to Kalinin that Polozov has been charged with guilt, although he is completely innocent, they will know about this abroad, and the conference will not approve of this... still, I will work for Yakov Anisimovich.” (Quoted from the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”)

Presumably this recording was made from the words of Archbishop Evdokim (Meshchersky), who collaborated with the GPU. The fact is that Archbishop Evdokim replaced St. Tikhon as administrator of the North American diocese after his departure from the United States and should have known Yakov Polozov, who served the Patriarch while still in the United States.

And in December 1924, a whole staging was undertaken: unknown persons broke into the house on the territory of the Donskoy Monastery, where the patriarch lived, allegedly with the purpose of robbery (although there was nothing to rob, and the premises were guarded inside and outside by security officers), and when Yakov Anisimovich came out in response to the noise, in front of Patriarch Tikhon, he was shot in the chest. So he died in the arms of the saint.

After this, the patriarch ended up in the hospital with cardiac problems. It took long treatment before he could serve again. Only in March 1925, at the beginning of Lent, Patriarch Tikhon began to go to the first services. But here “someone in gray” intervenes - the head of the VI department of the OGPU, Yevgeny Tuchkov, who is trying to force the patriarch to sign the “Declaration of Loyalty,” as the Bolsheviks called it.

In fact, this is the document that Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) signed in 1927, but Patriarch Tikhon, despite all the pressure, refused to sign.

His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Tikhon leads a meeting of the Local Council. Unknown photographer. Moscow. December 1917

From the memoirs of contemporaries : Nun Anthia, the elder sister of the courtyard of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery in Moscow, said that at the beginning of 1921, the still young, recently consecrated Bishop Varnava (Belyaev) with two cell attendants settled in their courtyard. Soon, one of the cell attendants, according to Bishop Varnava, “fainted,” and Bishop Varnava offered to take him to the Trinity Compound, where Patriarch Tikhon was, “for healing.” “Then His Holiness approaches the stretcher,” says nun Anthia, “he blessed this one, on the stretcher, under the sheet, with a wide cross... Then he looked at this one on the sheet so piercingly... and suddenly he exclaimed in an angry voice: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I tell you: get up!!.. Where did the sheet fly to! Where - the stretcher!.. This frozen man jumped up, completely scalded, - and through the door: run... And His Holiness still followed him: - Go, and don’t sin in the future!.. And there was no trace of him. And what happened to us here - I have no opportunity to tell. The Lord knows how much we have suffered from fear alone! Like sheep, we are pressed against the wall, crushing each other, and we ourselves are shaking: we have no strength at all. And His Holiness turned to the door, and went on his way... And I only managed to whisper to our nuns: “Run sisters, run, dear ones!” - they ran up the stairs in all directions... That’s what happened. And now, as I remember, my arms and legs are shaking... I know! Explaining the above, Mother Anfia claims that, although for her personally, there is a lot of mysterious and inexplicable things in this whole case, but, undoubtedly, in her conviction, “this gum” was concocted with the aim of “undermining His Holiness” who then began to raise their heads as church oppositionists or, perhaps, even atheists. But: it didn’t turn out their way! It’s difficult to understand: it’s a dark matter... At the same time, with all categoricalness, she asserts that the “frozen” cell attendant really was “like a board” - completely petrified. She touched him with her own hands and says that neither his arms nor his legs bent when they transferred him from the bed to the stretcher. Whether it was a miraculous incident or a provocation, one thing is obvious - Patriarch Tikhon was not at a loss! (Quoted from the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”).

Arrest of Patriarch Tikhon for disobedience

His Holiness took an active part in the grandiose crusades, which were organized with his blessing to raise religious feelings in the minds and hearts of the people. He also fearlessly conducted services in churches in many cities, thereby strengthening the spiritual flock. The patriarch zealously opposed the destruction of the Church.

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The result of all these actions was the arrest of Tikhon and his imprisonment for more than one year. The authorities, unable to break the will and spirit of the saint, were forced to let him go, but began to carefully monitor his every step. Twice attempts were even made to kill the patriarch. During the second attempt, an associate of the saint was tragically killed. But despite the terrible persecution, Tikhon continued to live and act in the name of the Church and the people.

The life of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow in recent years

The last and most painful year of his life, the saint, already very ill and constantly persecuted by the authorities, still invariably held services. On March 23, 1925, he celebrated the last Divine Liturgy, and on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos he passed into eternal life with a prayer to the Lord on his lips.

Relics of Patriarch Tikhon

Many years have passed since the passing of Patriarch Tikhon, and only in the 90s the Lord gave the Orthodox people his holy relics, as a symbol of spiritual strengthening for future difficult times. They are located in the large cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery.

“I wanted to show Patriarch Tikhon as a person, and not as an icon”

The house in which the future St. lived from 1869 to 1878.
Tikhon with his parents priest Ivan Timofeevich and Anna Gavrilovna - Saint Tikhon graduated from the seminary in 1884, and accepted monasticism only in 1891. Wasn’t monasticism his original dream?

— Vasily Bellavin had a fiancee - the daughter of a priest, also of the Pskov diocese. When he left to study at the St. Petersburg Academy, Maria remained waiting for him. And when he returned, he found out that she had gotten married and had already given birth to a child. He didn’t reproach her for anything, he only asked: “Are you happy?” She replied: "I'm happy."

And after some time he became a monk. This monasticism was, of course, not out of unhappy love, but by choice - he saw God’s providence in what happened.

—What was Patriarch Tikhon like as a person? Not according to duty, but according to the heart? What kind of character was this?

— The PSTGU publishing house recently published a two-volume book, “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon,” compiled by M.E. Gubonin. From there you can find out that even in the seminary, classmates noted his meek, completely good-natured character. Patriarch Tikhon was very sincere, loved people, and knew how to win them over.

His Holiness always communicated very warmly with the clergy. This manifested itself in the early years of his episcopal service, first in America (1898-1907) and then in Yaroslavl (1907-1913) and Lithuania (1914-1917) - he tried to get to know each priest personally, communicate, console each one, and even help financially. The saint also had a great sense of humor.

From the memoirs of contemporaries: On July 12, 1919, an attempt was made on the patriarch’s life: a woman in the crowd stabbed him in the side. The patriarch was saved by a leather belt, which softened the blow. “With what good-natured humor he spoke in his Lavra chambers after the Liturgy about what happened to him. And how colorfully and good-naturedly His Holiness described the entire scene of the assassination attempt, when the frightened clergy rushed to the carriage of the wounded Patriarch, as the archpriest of the temple (if memory serves, Khotovitsyn) raised a bloody knife above his head and theatrically exclaimed: “Orthodox, the Patriarch is wounded!” “I,” added His Holiness, “was very frightened, I thought: “God forbid, the crowd will think that it was the priest who stabbed me with a knife and, God forbid, they will beat him up!” This is an example of the courage that did not leave the Patriarch, which has sunk into my heart for the rest of my life.” Archpriest Dmitry Khvostov. (Quoted from the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”)

On the left is the Lublin Transfiguration Cathedral, where Bishop Tikhon served. Photo from 1891. On the right is the first volume of the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”

— When Patriarch Tikhon was imprisoned in the Donskoy Monastery, he was guarded by Red Army soldiers, and among them Komsomol member Maria Veshneva. She, an unbeliever, personally hostile to the patriarch, towards the end of her stay with him, said this:

“Intellectually, I understand that he is an enemy and, obviously, very dangerous. And when communicating with him, I don’t feel anything hostile. He treats us perfectly. Always attentive, affectionate, even. I didn’t see him irritated or moody.”

He gave the Komsomol member an embroidered napkin as a souvenir, saying: “This is a memory of the days in Donskoy.” She didn’t do anything special for him - she just didn’t commit atrocities, didn’t offend him, but acted according to instructions, and he wished her Merry Christmas, Happy Easter, gave her some gifts and himself radiated kindness and love.

Therefore, of course, today the image of St. Tikhon is very important. Not only as the primate of the church, who survived despite persecution and oppression by the authorities, but also as the father of the Orthodox people, as he was for his contemporaries.

The word “patriarch” is translated as “father of fathers.” When the monarchy ended, he became the head of the people not only in a spiritual sense, but also in an ethnic sense.

Message from Patriarch Tikhon

One of the most famous acts of the Great Saint was his Message in connection with the closure of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. The reason for its writing was the opening of the relics of St. Sergius. And this event was supposed to be the beginning of the complete destruction of the spiritual life of the people, for an Orthodox person would not be able to enter the temple and offer prayers to God, and there would not be a single minister who could help him in this.

The Patriarch called to stand guard over the people's church interests to the last, so as not to lose the spiritual reserve that Sergius bequeathed. He called on Orthodox people to pray that they would help return the benefactor given by the Reverend, cleanse their hearts of all evil and lead to repentance.

Anathema of Patriarch Tikhon

Another greatest work of the saint was the message of January 19, 1918 with anathema (excommunication from the Church, expulsion) to the atheists. In it, Tikhon addressed those who are godlessly destroying the righteous work of Christ, bringing terrible events upon their people and their Fatherland. He told them about suffering after death, called on them to build and not destroy, and most importantly, to repent to the Lord for all their deeds. He also convinced by his example that no one could ever break the word and work of God.

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Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, is one of the greatest people in Orthodoxy. His contribution to the history of Christianity cannot be assessed. The word of the saint is firm and pure, and his deeds are fearless and righteous, filled with faith in the Lord and his people.

The life of Patriarch Tikhon is a difficult path to God, on which he, like no one else, was able to announce to people about the unshakable grace of the Lord, teach people to love and live spiritually even in the most terrible times, for only faith always saves and gives strength, and therefore prolongs life, I grant the eternal Kingdom, peace and tranquility.

The Lord is always with you!

Watch the video about Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow:

Russian Orthodox Church

The nickname “patriarch” stuck to Vasily Bellavin while still at the theological academy. Why? It's hard to say. “During the entire academic course, he was secular and did not show his monastic inclinations in any way,” wrote one of the fellow students of the future patriarch. The nickname turned out to be prophetic, although it is unlikely that any of the academicians, Bellavin’s fellow students, seriously thought about it - the Patriarchate in Rus' was abolished under Peter the Great.

“In Christ’s speeches there are no beautiful words, no euphony, no oratorical brilliance, no loud phrases, nor all the tinsel with which the human word is sometimes decorated to cover up one’s weakness,” wrote young Vasily Bellavin in his essay “On the Face of the Lord Jesus Christ.” , which was published by the magazine "Wanderer" in 1890.

There was no glitz or tinsel in him either (he didn’t even have a representative appearance, and icon painters of the late twentieth century had to rack their brains over how to depict “non-canonical features” on icons - bushy eyebrows and a “potato-shaped” nose), but there was no weakness either , which had to be masked. It is no coincidence that in 1917 it was Vasily Bellavin, nicknamed the “kindest” bishop of the Russian Church, who became its patriarch.

How did the choice of this candidate influence the fate of believers in Russia during the period of persecution? What kind of person Saint Tikhon was, says Priest Dimitry Safonov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Candidate of Theology. His book “St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and His Time” has already gone through two editions.

“I wanted to show Patriarch Tikhon as a person, and not as an icon”

— Father Dimitri, you have been researching the life of Patriarch Tikhon for many years. Did you have a “personal relationship” with him?

“I feel the presence of Patriarch Tikhon both in my life and in the lives of other people who love and honor him. I myself always prayed to him and named my first-born in his honor. Patriarch Tikhon is very responsive to prayer.

The source study school of the Historical and Archival Institute, to which I belong, dates back to the outstanding scientist of the early twentieth century, Alexander Sergeevich Lappo-Danilevsky. He wrote that you need to see a person from the past, hear his own voice and conduct a dialogue with him as with a living person.

Using this approach in my book “St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and His Time,” I tried to show Patriarch Tikhon as a person, and not as an icon or character in events far from us.

— Saint Tikhon graduated from the seminary in 1884, and accepted monasticism only in 1891. Wasn’t monasticism his original dream?

— Vasily Bellavin had a fiancee - the daughter of a priest, also of the Pskov diocese. When he left to study at the St. Petersburg Academy, Maria remained waiting for him. And when he returned, he found out that she had gotten married and had already given birth to a child. He didn’t reproach her for anything, he only asked: “Are you happy?” She replied: "I'm happy."

And after some time he became a monk. This monasticism was, of course, not out of unhappy love, but by choice - he saw God’s providence in what happened.

—What was Patriarch Tikhon like as a person? Not according to duty, but according to the heart? What kind of character was this?

— The PSTGU publishing house recently published a two-volume book, “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon,” compiled by M.E. Gubonin. From there you can find out that even in the seminary, classmates noted his meek, completely good-natured character. Patriarch Tikhon was very sincere, loved people, and knew how to win them over.

His Holiness always communicated very warmly with the clergy. This manifested itself in the early years of his episcopal service, first in America (1898-1907) and then in Yaroslavl (1907-1913) and Lithuania (1914-1917) - he tried to get to know each priest personally, communicate, console each one, and even help financially. The saint also had a great sense of humor.

From the memoirs of contemporaries:

On July 12, 1919, an attempt was made on the patriarch’s life: a woman in the crowd stabbed him in the side. The patriarch was saved by a leather belt, which softened the blow.

“With what good-natured humor he spoke in his Lavra chambers after the Liturgy about what happened to him. And how colorfully and good-naturedly His Holiness described the entire scene of the assassination attempt, when the frightened clergy rushed to the carriage of the wounded patriarch, how the archpriest of the temple (if memory serves, Khotovitsyn) raised a bloody knife above his head and theatrically exclaimed: “Orthodox, the patriarch is wounded!” “I,” added His Holiness, “was very frightened, I thought: “God forbid, the crowd will think that it was the priest who stabbed me with a knife and, God forbid, they will beat him up!” This is an example of the courage that did not leave the Patriarch, which has sunk into my heart for the rest of my life.” Archpriest Dmitry Khvostov. (Quoted from the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”)

When Patriarch Tikhon was imprisoned in the Donskoy Monastery, he was guarded by Red Army soldiers, and among them Komsomol member Maria Veshneva. She, an unbeliever, personally hostile to the patriarch, towards the end of her stay with him said this: “In my mind, I understand that he is an enemy and, obviously, very dangerous. And when communicating with him, I don’t feel anything hostile. He treats us perfectly. Always attentive, affectionate, even. I didn’t see him irritated or moody.”

He gave the Komsomol member an embroidered napkin as a souvenir, saying: “This is a memory of the days in Donskoy.” She didn’t do anything special for him - she just didn’t commit atrocities, didn’t offend him, but acted according to instructions, and he wished her Merry Christmas, Happy Easter, gave her some gifts and himself radiated kindness and love.

Therefore, of course, today the image of St. Tikhon is very important. Not only as the Primate of the Church, who survived despite persecution and oppression by the authorities, but also as the father of the Orthodox people, as he was for his contemporaries.

The word “patriarch” is translated as “father of fathers.” When the monarchy ended, he became the head of the people not only in a spiritual sense, but also in an ethnic sense.

Most kind

— In 1917, there were three main candidates for the Patriarchate - Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), Metropolitan Arseny (Stadnitsky) and Metropolitan Tikhon. People called them “the smartest,” “the strictest,” and “the kindest.” Why was the definition of “kind” assigned to the future Patriarch Tikhon?

“I think that kind doesn’t mean stupid and lax, it’s just that the most obvious quality stood out.” Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) was a courageous theologian, polemicist, ardently defending his views on the future of the Russian Church; Metropolitan Arseny (Stadnitsky), indeed, had a reputation as a strict academic bishop. Both were worthy hierarchs of our Church.

But the lot fell on Saint Tikhon - and in this one can see God’s providence. The belligerence of Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), simply furious in relation to the Soviet regime, could lead to even greater casualties among Christians, perhaps simply unjustified.

Patriarch Tikhon, reserved by nature, knew how to see both in enemies the people of God and in the communist - a person often deceived, confused, intoxicated, but loved by God. And Patriarch Tikhon knew how to see reality. In Soviet power, especially when it became clear that it was not for a month, but for a long time, Patriarch Tikhon saw the fulfillment of the thought of the Apostle Paul: “There is no power except from God.”

American cell attendant

— Did St. Tikhon, even before becoming a bishop, have close people, friends whom he completely trusted?

“He was a monk, so it’s difficult to talk about friendship.” It is known that he treated his mother very warmly. He also had a cell attendant, Yakov Polozov, who was nearby for almost twenty years (from 1902 to 1921). They met in America, where Polozov came to work, and then Polozov followed Bishop Tikhon to Russia.

This man was very close to him; in his letters he called him “my Jacob.” When Yakov Anisimovich got married, the patriarch became his child’s godfather.

The Bolsheviks even tried to spread the rumor that Yakov Anisimovich was the illegitimate son of the patriarch. True, hardly anyone believed this rumor, since its absurdity was obvious (the patriarch was only 14 years older than the cell attendant).

The Bolsheviks, already in 1921, began to threaten Yakov Polozov in order to put pressure on the patriarch. In 1921 and 1922, Polozov was arrested.

From the memoirs of contemporaries:

“Everyone brings me surprises,” the patriarch lamented. - They took my Yakov Anisimovich, what do they want? Let them take me, not him. <…> I will write to Kalinin that Polozov has been charged with guilt, although he is completely innocent, they will know about this abroad, and the conference will not approve of this... still, I will work for Yakov Anisimovich.” (Quoted from the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”)

Presumably, this recording was made from the words of Archbishop Evdokim (Meshchersky), who collaborated with the GPU. The fact is that Archbishop Evdokim replaced St. Tikhon as administrator of the North American diocese after his departure from the United States and should have known Yakov Polozov, who served the patriarch back in the United States.

And in December 1924, a whole staging was undertaken: unknown persons broke into the house on the territory of the Donskoy Monastery, where the patriarch lived, allegedly with the purpose of robbery (although there was nothing to rob, and the premises were guarded inside and outside by security officers), and when Yakov Anisimovich came out in response to the noise, in front of Patriarch Tikhon, he was shot in the chest. So he died in the arms of the saint.

After this, the patriarch ended up in the hospital with cardiac problems. It took long treatment before he could serve again. Only in March 1925, at the beginning of Lent, Patriarch Tikhon began to go to the first services. But here “someone in gray” intervenes - the head of the VI department of the OGPU, Yevgeny Tuchkov, who is trying to force the patriarch to sign the “Declaration of Loyalty,” as the Bolsheviks called it.

In fact, this is the document that Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) signed in 1927, but Patriarch Tikhon, despite all the pressure, refused to sign.

From the memoirs of contemporaries:

Nun Anfia, the elder sister of the courtyard of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery in Moscow, said that at the beginning of 1921, the still young, recently consecrated Bishop Varnava (Belyaev) and two cell attendants settled in their courtyard. Soon, one of the cell attendants, according to Bishop Varnava, “fainted,” and Bishop Varnava offered to take him to the Trinity Compound, where Patriarch Tikhon was, “for healing.”

“Then His Holiness approaches the stretcher,” says nun Anthia, “he blessed this one, on the stretcher, under the sheet, with a wide cross... Then he looked at this one on the sheet so piercingly... and suddenly he exclaimed in an angry voice: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I tell you: get up!.. Where did the sheet fly to! Where - the stretcher!.. This frozen man jumped up, completely scalded, - and through the door: run... And His Holiness still followed him: - Go, and don’t sin in the future!.. And there was no trace of him.

And what happened to us here - I have no opportunity to tell. The Lord knows how much we have suffered from fear alone! Like sheep, we are pressed against the wall, crushing each other, and we ourselves are shaking: we have no strength at all. And His Holiness turned to the door and went on his way... And I only managed to whisper to our nuns: “Run sisters, run, dear ones!” - they blew in all directions up the stairs... That’s what happened. And now, as I remember, my arms and legs are shaking... I know!”

Explaining the above, Mother Anfia claims that, although for her personally, in this whole case there is a lot of mysterious and inexplicable, but there is no doubt, in her conviction, that “this gum” was concocted with the aim of “undermining His Holiness” by those who then began to raise heads with church oppositionists or, perhaps, even atheists. But: it didn’t turn out their way! It’s difficult to understand: it’s a dark matter... At the same time, with all categoricalness, she asserts that the “frozen” cell attendant really was “like a board” - completely petrified. She touched him with her own hands and says that neither his arms nor his legs bent when they transferred him from the bed to the stretcher. Whether it was a miraculous event or a provocation, one thing is obvious - Patriarch Tikhon was not at a loss! (Quoted from the book “Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon”)

"Let my name perish in history"

— How did the patriarch’s personal qualities manifest themselves during the times of persecution of the Church? What was the hardest thing for him during these years?

“It seems to me that the most difficult thing for the patriarch was finding the right solution.” After all, this is the first time the Russian Church has found itself in such a situation. Having lived for centuries under the “care” of the chief prosecutor and the tsar, with virtually no experience of independence, the Church received the status of free in February 1917, and after 9 months it became persecuted. It is unlikely that any of the Primates of the Church has ever faced tasks of such complexity and drama.

The Soviet government tried to starve out Patriarch Tikhon from two sides: constant blackmail, when they threatened to shoot Moscow priests arrested in the case of confiscation of church valuables (the patriarch himself was not afraid of threats and compromises, he said: “Let my name perish in history, if only the Church was benefit"). On the other hand, there are demands to sign appeals discrediting the Church.

All these strategic operations were developed, of course, not by the relatively young and poorly educated Yevgeny Tuchkov, but by people who had already lived, with education, “with great revolutionary experience,” as they said then - Leon Trotsky and others.

And Patriarch Tikhon, not having church-wide and personal experience on which to rely in solving these new issues, could rely entirely only on God, praying at night so as not to make an erroneous decision.

He knew how to read God's signs, what the Lord sent him. It didn't always open up right away. Just as Christ prayed: “My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me; however, not as I want, but as You,” Patriarch Tikhon also prayed.

At the same time, the appearance of the hesychast did not strike anyone; his actions and manners were often perceived critically, including in the Church. “Everyone hee-hee, ha-ha and strokes the cat,” Archbishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky) described his meeting with the Patriarch.

But the ingenuous patriarch always finds himself ahead of the church sages. None of the special operations of the Bolsheviks while he was the patriarch of the Russian Church came true - in fact, this was the reason for the premature death of Patriarch Tikhon on April 7, 1925.

"No I can not"

— Today you can hear reproaches to Patriarch Tikhon that he was the first to sign a compromise document on the relationship between the Church and the Soviet government, thereby opening the way for the “Declaration” of 1927 by Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky) and the subsequent church “compromise” policy. What are the arguments for and against the authorship of this first document? To what extent does this document correspond to the character and personality of the patriarch?

— Indeed, after the death of Patriarch Tikhon, on April 15, 1925, a text was published in the Izvestia newspaper, which was called “Testamentary Message.” There is my source research on this topic.

In it, I compared the versions of the “Testamentary Message” preserved in the investigative file of Patriarch Tikhon and the “Declaration” of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) published in 1927. And I came to the conclusion that the text underlying the “Declaration” was proposed to Patriarch Tikhon back in March 1925.

It was written, of course, by the Cheka: where have you seen the term “declaration” in church language? This is purely Soviet phraseology. And the text itself, which was later handed over to Metropolitan Sergius for signature and signed by him, consists of completely non-church phraseological units.

The version of the writing of the “Declaration” of 1927 in the Cheka is today supported by the main church specialists of the department of modern history of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University.

Patriarch Tikhon was categorically against signing this text. His closest assistant, Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky), then believed that it was necessary to sign (later he would change his point of view and would not compromise with the authorities), every time he came to the hospital to the patriarch and convinced him.

A doctor at the hospital - it was a private clinic on Ostozhenka - recalled that from behind the door of the room she heard only the voice of the patriarch: “No, I can’t, I can’t.” After Metropolitan Peter’s visits, the patriarch felt ill every time. He was offered options - one, two, three, the text was softened, but the patriarch refused to sign any of its editions.

And when His Holiness died, they published the last of the options that were brought to him and which he, like all the previous ones, did not sign. A facsimile of the patriarch's early signature was attached to the text - in 1925 his handwriting was completely different. And in 1927, the very first version of this text, the most pro-Soviet, was offered to be signed by Metropolitan Sergius, and he agreed.

Today, only ignorance of modern research materials on this issue allows us to speak about the true authorship of the “Testamentary Message”.

Even during the life of the patriarch, the task of the authorities was to discredit and compromise the patriarch, who enjoyed enormous authority among the people. Statements and interviews were published on his behalf, which he could not refute, but only in his circle he said: “Don’t believe it, I didn’t say it, it’s not true.”

By word of mouth, these words spread throughout Moscow, and people no longer accepted newspaper publications on behalf of the patriarch. It is no coincidence that none of his contemporaries believed in the authenticity of the “Testamentary Message”—neither Muscovites nor those abroad.

Only later did a generation of church historians, who grew up after the war and did not know the realities of the 20s, begin to perceive the authorship of Patriarch Tikhon under this document as a certain given.

On April 7, 1925, Patriarch Tikhon passed away. He was only 60 years old - he was the youngest patriarch in our modern history.

At the end of the Feast of the Annunciation, at 23:45, he reposed before the Lord as a martyr. Not only because there is indirect evidence of the unnaturalness of his death - in any case, he was already a seriously ill person. He spent more than forty days in the internal prison of Lubyanka, and after that there was difficult moral and physical isolation in the Donskoy Monastery.

The authorities were forced to somehow get rid of the intractable patriarch. Back in 1923, they wanted to try him and shoot him, but the KGB agents reported that the people were against it and there would be a social explosion. The Bolsheviks feared this.

From the memoirs of contemporaries:

“The rector of the Moscow Church of Elijah the Prophet in Obydensky Lane, Fr. Alexander Tolgsky (†1962) reported the following: “After the confessions made to me during a confession by one of the doctors at the Bakunin hospital, I do not have the slightest doubt that Patriarch Tikhon was poisoned.” According to the testimony of Bishop Maxim (Zhizhilenko), who, while the patriarch was in the hospital, being a doctor, communicated with the saint, he was “undoubtedly poisoned.” (Quoted from the book “St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and His Time”)

At the same time, the owners of the Bakunin clinic were confident that the death of the patriarch was natural.

And the death of the patriarch of Soviet power was beneficial. No pressure, no compromise had any effect, renovationism had completely failed by 1925, the Church still had a chance for a non-Sergian policy.

Maria Khorkova

Mercy.ru/Patriarchy.ru