bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (russian: Патриарх Московский и всея Руси, translit=Patriarkh Moskovskij i vseja Rusi), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the Bishop of Mo ...

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Pskov Theological Seminary. In 1888, at the age of 23, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman. He then returned to the Pskov Seminary and became an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology. In 1891, at the age of 26, he took monastic vows and was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Tikhon was consecrated

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of Lublin on 19 October 1897.

Bishop in the United States

On 14 September 1898, he was appointed Bishop of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. He went to the United States, and eventually became a naturalized American citizen. The peripatetic bishop visited emerging Orthodox emigrant communities in various American cities, including

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and the coal and steel-making cities in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Fond-du-lac-circus

As head of the ROC diocese in North America, in 1900 he reorganized the diocese and changed its name from the "Of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska" to "Diocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America". He had two auxiliary bishops in the United States: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn. On 22 May 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for St. Nicholas Cathedral in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(fundraising for which had begun in 1894 and to which Tsar Nicholas II contributed $5,000 in 1900) in a great ceremony attended by New York Mayor Seth Low, Russian diplomats and sailors, and enthusiastic worshippers. He celebrated the first liturgy in the new building's basement on July 20, 1902, and in the main hall on November 10, 1902. Tikhon was also involved in building other churches in North America, and establishing a dialog with Greek Orthodox churches in America. On 9 November 1902, he consecrated the church of St. Nicholas in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

for Syrian Antiochian Orthodox immigrants. While in the United States, Tikhon became aware of the country's tradition of religious diversity, as well as the growing ecumenical and Pan-Slav movements, and the needs of a wide variety of eastern and southern European immigrants. Before his arrival, in 1890, a delegation of Carpatho-Rusyns also had approached the Russian consul in San Francisco and requested a bishop, since the Latin Catholic archbishop of Minnesota,

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

was attempting to force their assimilation, although Byzantine Rite Catholics had previously been accorded certain dispensations from the Roman Rite practices of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

. Their Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic priest,

Alexis Toth Alexis Georgievich Toth (or Alexis of Wilkes-Barre; March 18, 1853 – May 7, 1909) was a Russian Orthodox church leader in the Midwestern United States who, having resigned his position as a Byzantine Catholic priest in the Ruthenian Catholi ...

, was formally accepted into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1892. In 1900, Tikhon attended the consecration of Reginald Heber Weller as coadjutor bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, though he was not one of the consecrating bishops (all Episcopalians). More Byzantine Catholics joined the Eastern Orthodox fold, especially priests after 1907, when Pope Pius X published '' Ea Semper'', restricting their previously recognized right to ordain married men. In 1905, the title of Archbishop was bestowed on him, and he moved his formal residence and diocesan office from San Francisco to New York. In June 1905, the new archbishop gave his blessing for the establishment of a monastery in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, St. Tikhon's Monastery which in the 1930s supported the founding of Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. On The Holy Trinity Russian (Greek) Orthodox church was consecrated in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

, Manitoba, Canada, on the corner of McKenzie Street and Manitoba Avenue by the new Archbishop Tikhon, Head of the Russian Orthodox Mission in North America and soon to become Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Ukrainian teachers studying at the Ruthenian Training School sang at the consecration ceremony.

Return to Russia and restoration of the Patriarchate

In 1907, Tikhon returned to Russia, having been appointed to the See of Yaroslavl. On 22 December 1913, he was transferred to the diocese of

Vilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

in Lithuania. However, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the Russian Revolution created turmoil in his native land. On 21 June 1917, the Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity elected Tikhon the ruling bishop of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. On 14 August 1917 ( OS), Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan of Moscow. On the next day, the Local Council of the ROC, the first such convention since the late 17th century, opened in Moscow. The council's major decision that passed on 28 October 1917, days after the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd, was to restore the Patriarchy in the ROC. On 5 November 1917, after his election by vote as one of the three candidates for the reinstated Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced that Metropolitan Tikhon had been selected for the position after a drawing of lots as the new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Patriarchate

During the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

the patriarch, like the entire Russian Church, was widely considered anti-Bolshevik and many bishops were exiled, imprisoned or even executed by the new regime. Tikhon openly condemned the killings of the tsar's family in 1918, and protested against violent attacks by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

on the church. In 1920, he granted autonomy to what became the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions ...

and other dioceses of the Church of Russia that were cut off from the governance of the highest church authority (i.e. the patriarch), until such time as normal relations with the highest church authority could be resumed. In November 1921, many of the Russian bishops, who had fled Russia in 1919–1920, had gathered in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, and adopted a number of anti-Bolshevik statements; in May the following year Tikhon and his Synod formally dissolved the exile group, which nevertheless continued to exist as a separate Russian ecclesiastical entity, viewed as schismatic by the Moscow Patriarchate until 2007. Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow near Donskoy Monastery Jul 1923

Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow near Donskoy Monastery Jul 1923

In 1922 Russia was afflicted with mass famine. The Communist government used the situation to confiscate ecclesiastical property and to accuse the patriarch of being a saboteur. From April 1922 until June 1923 he resided under house arrest in

Donskoy Monastery Donskoy Monastery (russian: Донско́й монасты́рь) is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey. Commanding a highway to ...

. His public protest against nationalization of Church property was reframed as a criminal act. This caused international resonance and several countries sent formal protest notes to the Soviet government. Under pressure from the authorities, Tikhon issued several messages to the believers in which he stated in part that he was ''"no longer an enemy to the Soviet power"''. Textual analysis of these messages shows considerable similarity with a number of documents exchanged in the Politburo on the "Tikhon's Affair". Despite his declaration of loyalty, he continued to enjoy the trust of the Orthodox community in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. In 1923 Tikhon was "deposed" by a Soviet-sponsored council of the so-called Living Church, which decreed that he was "henceforth a simple citizen—Vasily Bellavin." This deposition has never been recognized as an act of the Russian Orthodox Church, and is therefore considered invalid by both the Russian Orthodox Church and the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

.

Death

In 1924 the patriarch fell ill and was hospitalized. On 5 April 1925, he served his last

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

, and died two days later, 25 March ( OS)/7 April, the Feast of the Annunciation. He was buried on 12 April in the winter church of

Donskoy Monastery Donskoy Monastery (russian: Донско́й монасты́рь) is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey. Commanding a highway to ...

in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. From the time of his death, he was widely considered a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

or

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death. Tikhon was glorified (canonized) a saint by the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in conjunction with the great glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Soviet Yoke on . He was later glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate during the Bishop's Council of 9–11 October 1989. This later canonization process is generally considered an example of the thaw in

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

–

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

relations during the Glasnost era. The American Episcopal Church along with the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

remember Tikhon with a feast day on their liturgical calendars on the anniversary of his death, April 7. St Tikhon's relics were believed lost, but on 19 February 1992 his coffin was found in a hidden crypt in the

Donskoy Monastery Donskoy Monastery (russian: Донско́й монасты́рь) is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey. Commanding a highway to ...

and on 22 February, the coffin was opened and his relics were discovered to be almost entirely

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...

. The relics were placed in a reliquary and on , fifty bishops solemnly transferred them to the Katholikon (main church) of the Donskoy Monastery in a place of honour by the

soleas The soleas (( el, σολέα, other form σολέας) = lat, solea meaning (“bottom, base”, as used in "sole of a shoe", cf. also the "sole" from the resemblance of fish to a flat shoe. Of uncertain origin)) is an extension of the sanctuary ...

(close to the sanctuary).

Notes

References

External links

Biography of St. Tikhon
by the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions ...

Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America

Orthodox Icon of St. Tikhon with scenes from his life

Patriarch Tikhon's Ordeal, Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, 244–266

article from ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

'', 12 May 1923. Broken link. There is no such article for May 1923.
Saint Patriarch Tikhon – His Missionary Legacy to Orthodox America
article from the periodical ''Orthodox America''.
On the Triumph of Orthodoxy
a homily by Tikhon.
Hieromartyr Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Detailed biography. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tikhon Of Moscow 1865 births 1925 deaths Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow American saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Primates of the Orthodox Church in America Victims of anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union Eastern Orthodox missionaries 20th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs 20th-century Christian saints Anglican saints Russian bishops

Bishop in the United States

Return to Russia and restoration of the Patriarchate

Patriarchate

Death

See also

Notes

References

External links