Messages from Patriarch Tikhon. Patriarch Tikhon - letter to the Council of People's Commissars

Already March 2, 1917 members of the Synod betrayed the Anointed of God and recognized the need for cooperation with the self-proclaimed new government. Many bishops even “expressed sincere joy at the offensive new era in the life of the Orthodox Church"; On March 4, the royal chair was taken out of the meeting room. God's retribution quickly overtook them...

From December 1917, the Bolsheviks increased the seizure of church buildings, temples, and monasteries; in January 1918, they confiscated the Synodal printing house; on January 13, they issued the same decree on the confiscation of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

On January 19, a detachment of Red Guards attacked the Lavra, while the elderly Archpriest Peter Skipetrov, who called on the Red Army soldiers not to desecrate the shrine, was killed, and Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd and the governor, Bishop Procopius, were arrested.

In response to this, on the same day, January 19, 1918, Patriarch Tikhon issued his famous Message with an anathema to the Bolshevik power and a call for popular resistance to the increasing Bolshevik attacks on churches and murders of the clergy:

“Come to your senses, madmen, stop your bloody reprisals. After all, what you are doing is not only a cruel deed, it is truly a satanic deed, for which you are subject to the fire of Gehenna in the future life - the afterlife and the terrible curse of posterity in the present life - earthly.

By the authority given to Us by God, we forbid you to approach the Mysteries of Christ, we anathematize you, if only you still bear Christian names and although by birth you belong to the Orthodox Church. We also conjure all of you, the faithful children of the Orthodox Church of Christ, not to enter into any communication with such monsters of the human race...

The government, which promised to establish law and truth in Rus', to ensure freedom and order, everywhere shows only the most unbridled self-will and complete violence against everyone and, in particular, over the holy Orthodox Church. Where is the limit to this mockery of the Church of Christ? How and with what can we stop this attack on her by furious enemies?

We call all of you believers and faithful children of the church: come to the defense of our holy mother, who is now insulted and oppressed. We call all of you, believers and faithful children of the Church: come to the defense of our Holy Mother, who is now insulted and oppressed... And if it becomes necessary to suffer for the cause of Christ, we call you, beloved children of the Church, we call you to suffer this suffering with us... .

And you, brother archpastors and shepherds, without delaying a single hour in your spiritual work, with fiery zeal call your children to defend the rights of the Orthodox Church that are now being trampled upon, immediately arrange spiritual alliances, call not by necessity, but by good will to join the ranks of spiritual fighters, who will oppose external forces with the power of their holy inspiration, and we firmly hope that the enemies of the Church will be put to shame and scattered by the power of the Cross of Christ, for the promise of the Divine Crusader Himself is immutable: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

The message of Patriarch Tikhon was approved by the Local Council at the very first meeting of the second session of the Council, which opened the next day on January 20, 1918. The meeting was devoted to developing measures to counter the actions of the authorities and protect the Church. The news of the patriarchal anathema of the enemies of the Church and the state was sent to believers through the envoys of the Council. They read it out in churches and called for unity to defend the Church.

The Bolsheviks’ response to the anathema was the decree of the Council of People’s Commissars adopted the next day on the “separation of the Church from the state”: more precisely, the Church was deprived of its rights legal entity and all property created over the previous millennium by our ancestors. The “legal” way was opened for the Jewish Holocaust over the Russian Orthodox people.

This was the result of the betrayal of the Anointed One of God by the church hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917!

The spiritual state of Russia was then revealed in the behavior of the highest bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. They didn't judge February Revolution, did not speak out in defense of the Tsar, did not support him spiritually, but only submitted to the Provisional Government, despite the calls of Comrade Chief Prosecutor N.D. Zhevakhov and telegrams from some branches of the Union of the Russian People to the Synod to support the monarchy.

Already on March 2, the members of the Synod “recognized the need to immediately enter into communication with the Executive Committee State Duma”, that is, with a self-proclaimed new government. Many bishops even “expressed sincere joy at the advent of a new era in the life of the Orthodox Church"; March 4 from the meeting room the royal chair was taken out, which was “a symbol of the enslavement of the Church by the state”.

With rare exceptions, the bishops were surprisingly hasty in their decision of March 7 crossed out the name of God’s Anointed from the liturgical books and ordered instead to commemorate the “blessed Provisional Government,” that is, the masons-conspirators who were not elected by anyone for this position, who on the same day decided to arrest The royal family. The supreme archpastors didn’t even remember about perjury, de facto freeing the army and people from the oath to the rightful Tsar, which every serving citizen of the Empire took on the Gospel.

On March 7, the text of the oath was sent to all dioceses new government with the words: “At the conclusion of the oath I have taken, I signify sign of the cross and I sign below"; the oath was taken with the participation of the clergy. And finally, the famous Address of the Holy Synod of March 9 said:

“The will of God has been done. Russia has embarked on the path of a new state life... trust the Provisional Government; all together and each individually, make an effort to make it easier for him through labor and deeds, prayer and obedience. great thing establishing new principles of state life and, with common wisdom, leading Russia onto the path of true freedom, happiness and glory. The Holy Synod earnestly prays to the Almighty Lord, may He bless the works and undertakings of the Provisional Russian Government...”.

Thus, the Synod, instead of calling for observance of the Fundamental Laws and the oath to the Anointed One of God, made an ecclesiastical justification of the revolution for the sake of earthly blessings of “true freedom, happiness and glory.” The Synod could have at least emphasized the temporary and conditional nature of the new government, but the bishops even before the future is decided Constituent Assembly (which was supposed to resolve the issue of the form of government) considered the monarchy to be irrevocably abolished by the “will of God” and “common reason”; The message was signed by all members of the Synod, even Metropolitans of Kiev Vladimir and Moscow Macarius, who had a reputation as Black Hundred monarchists.

Such a call on behalf of the Church paralyzed the resistance of monarchical organizations and the Orthodox church people throughout the country. Only in a few parishes did the prayer for the Emperor continue to be heard, and from a few cities the Synod received requests for an oath and calls for resistance to the revolution. Most of the clergy remained silent in confusion, and many diocesan assemblies (in Vladivostok, Tomsk, Omsk, Kharkov, Tula) also welcomed the “new system.” On July 12, the Synod addressed a corresponding message to the citizens of Russia, which “threw off the political chains that bound it”...

It does not matter whether the bishops did this under pressure from Masonic power or out of a sense of their “enslavement” to secular power in competition with it. In any case, this became possible due to the fact that even the leadership of the Russian Church succumbed to the general apostasy process and lost understanding of the restraining essence of the Orthodox monarchy. This was the main reason for the revolution: first it occurred in the heads of the leading layer. And it was main reason Russia's internal weakness in the face of the onslaught of its enemies...

Rev. Seraphim Vyritsky. It was from Me.

"It Was From Me"
(Spiritual testament of Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky)
This text, written in poetic form,
Father Seraphim addressed one of his spiritual children -
bishop who is in prison.
It contains a reflection of the deepest prayer mystery,
revealed in the conversation of God with the soul of man.
This is the spiritual testament of the elder, addressed to all of us.
* * *
Have you ever thought that everything that concerns you concerns Me? For whatever touches you touches the apple of My eye.
You are dear in My eyes, highly valuable, and I loved you, and therefore it is a special joy for Me to educate you. When temptations rise against you and the enemy comes like a river, I want you to know that it was from Me.
That your weakness needs My strength and that your safety lies in giving Me the opportunity to fight for you.
Are you in difficult circumstances, among people who don’t understand you, who don’t take into account what pleases you, who push you away - it was from Me.
I am your God, who controls circumstances.
It was not by chance that you ended up in your place; this is the very place that I assigned to you.
Didn’t you ask Me to teach you humility? So look, I placed you in exactly that environment, in that school where this lesson is taught. Your environment and those living with you only fulfill My will.
Whether you are in financial difficulties, it is difficult for you to make ends meet, know that this was from Me.
For I have your material means. I want You to come to Me and be dependent on Me. My supplies are inexhaustible. I want you to be convinced of the faithfulness of Mine and My promises. Let it never be said to you about your need: “You did not believe the Lord your God” (Deut. 1:32-33).
Are you going through a night of sorrows, are you separated from those near and dear to your heart - It was from Me.
I am a man of sorrows, having experienced illness. I allowed this so that you could turn to Me and in Me you could find eternal consolation. Have you been deceived in your friend, in someone to whom you have opened your heart? It was from Me. I allowed this disappointment to touch you so that you would know that best friend yours is the Lord. I want you to bring everything to Me and tell Me. If anyone has slandered you, leave it to Me and cling closer to Me, I will be your refuge, with your soul, to hide from the “quarrel of tongues.” I will “bring forth your righteousness like the light, and your destiny like the noonday” (Ps. 37:6). Whether your plans were destroyed, whether you were downcast in soul and tired - It was from Me. You created your own plans and brought them to Me so that I could bless them. But I want you to let Me manage the circumstances of your life, and then the responsibility for everything will be on Me, because it is too hard for you, and you alone cannot cope with them, since you are only a tool, and not an active person.
Whether unexpected failures in life visited you and despondency gripped your heart, know that it was from Me.
For I want your heart and soul to always be on fire before My eyes and to overcome all cowardice in My name.
You don’t receive news from people close and dear to you for a long time and, due to your cowardice, you fall into despair and murmuring, know that it was from Me. For with this yearning of your spirit I test the strength of your faith in the immutability of the promise, the power of your bold prayer for those close to you. For wasn’t it you who handed them over to the Protection of My Most Pure Mother, wasn’t it you who once entrusted the care of them to My providential love?
Whether a serious illness, temporary or incurable, visited you, and you found yourself chained to your bed - it was from Me. For I want you to know Me even more deeply in your bodily weaknesses and not to grumble for this test sent down to you, not to try to penetrate into My plans for the salvation of human souls in various ways, but to meekly and submissively bow your neck to My goodness towards you. Did you dream of doing some special thing for Me and instead lay down on the bed of illness and infirmity - it was from Me.
For then you would be immersed in your affairs and I could not attract your thoughts to Me, but I want to teach you the deepest thoughts that you are in My service. I want to teach you to realize that you are nothing. Some of My best co-workers are those who are cut off from living activity so that they can learn to wield the weapon of unceasing prayer.
Are you suddenly called to take on a difficult and responsible position, relying on Me. I entrust these difficulties to you, for for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your deeds, in all your ways, in everything that will be done with your hands. This day I give into your hand this vessel of sacred oil. Use it freely, My child. Let every difficulty that arises, every word that offends you, every obstacle in your work that could cause a feeling of annoyance and disappointment, every revelation of your weakness and inability be anointed with this oil - It was from Me. Remember that every hindrance is God’s instruction, and therefore put in your heart the word that I announced to you this day - It was from Me.
Keep them, know and remember - always that every sting will become dull when you learn to see Me in everything. Everything was sent by Me for the perfection of your soul - It was from Me.

Repeatedly from the church pulpit We addressed the believers with a word of pastoral edification about the cessation of the strife and strife that gave rise to the bloody international war, but even to this day this war does not stop and blood flows in a copious stream throughout the vast expanse of the Russian land, mutual hostility between the warring parties is increasing and flares up more and more often and manifests itself in brutal, bloody reprisals not only against those who took a direct and active part in this struggle, but also against those who are only suspected of such participation, sometimes without sufficient grounds.

If the horrors of the bloody massacre of camps warring among themselves cannot but make a depressing impression on the heart of every Christian, then these horrors make an immeasurably more painful impression when their victims are often innocent people who are not involved in this passionate political struggle.

These horrors do not pass us by, the ministers of the Church of Christ, and many archpastors, pastors, and simple clergy have already become victims of the bloody political struggle... And all this, with perhaps very few exceptions, only because we, the ministers and heralds of Christ's Truth, fell under suspicion among the bearers of modern power in a hidden counter-revolution, allegedly aimed at the overthrow of the Soviet system. But We decisively declare that such suspicions are unfair: the establishment of one form of government or another is not the business of the Church, but of the people themselves. The Church does not associate itself with any particular form of government, for such has only a relative historical significance.

They say that the Church is ready to bless foreign intervention in our ruin, that she intends to call the “Varangians” to come and help us improve our affairs... The accusation is unfounded, unfounded: We are convinced that no foreign intervention, and indeed no one and nothing will save Russia from disorder and destruction until the Just Lord applies His wrath to mercy, until the people themselves are cleansed in the font of repentance from their many years of plagues, and through that they are reborn spiritually “into a new man, created according to God, in the righteousness and holiness of the truth "(Eph. 4:24).

It is pointed out that when there is a change of power, ministers of the Church sometimes greet this change by ringing bells, arranging solemn services and various church celebrations. But if this happens anywhere, it is done either at the request of the new government itself, or at the desire of the masses, and not at all at the initiative of the ministers of the Church, who, by their rank, should stand above and beyond all political interests, must remember the canonical rules of the Holy Church, by which She forbids Her servants to interfere with political life country, to belong to any parties, and even more so to make liturgical rites and sacred ceremonies an instrument of political demonstrations.

Remember, fathers and brothers, both the canonical rules and the covenant of the Holy Apostle, “keep yourselves away from those who create strife and strife,” avoid participating in political parties and speeches, obey “all human authorities” in worldly affairs (1 Pet. 2:13), do not give any reasons to justify suspicion of the Soviet government, obey its commands, for God, according to the apostolic instruction, must be obeyed more than people ( Acts 4:19; Gal. 1:10).

Devote all your strength to preaching the Word of God, the Truth of Christ, especially in our days, when unbelief and atheism have boldly taken up arms against the Church of Christ, and “may the God of love and peace be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11). Amen.

September 25 (October 8), 1919 Order of the Supreme Church Authority. 1919. N 21-22.

1919
By the grace of God, We, humble Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, to all the faithful children of the Holy Orthodox Church Russian Church.
The Lord does not cease to show His mercies to the Orthodox Russian Church. He allowed Her to test Herself and test Her devotion to Christ and His covenants, not only in the days of Her external well-being, but also in the days of persecution. Day by day new trials are added to Her. Day by day Her crown shines brighter. Many times a scourge from a hand hostile to Christ mercilessly falls on Her face, illuminated by humility, and slanderous lips blaspheme Her with insane blasphemies, and She, in the apostolic way, imputes the bitterness of Her suffering to futility, introduces new martyrs into the host of the inhabitants of heaven and finds joy for Herself in Her blessing heavenly Bridegroom: “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly for My sake; Rejoice and be glad (Matt. 5:11-12).
My children! Let this Holy kindness of the Church, these calls for us to patiently endure anti-Christian enmity and malice, this opposition to trials and ordinary human attachment to the blessings of the earth and the comforts of worldly life with Christian ideals, seem to others to be weakness; let the joy that draws its source from suffering for Christ seem “inconceivable” and “cruel” to the worldly understanding, but We beg you, we beg all of Our Orthodox children do not deviate from this unique saving mood of a Christian, do not stray from the path of the cross, sent down to Us by God, onto the path of admiration of worldly power or vengeance. Do not overshadow your Christian achievement by returning to an understanding of protecting well-being that would humiliate Her and bring you down to the level of the actions of Her detractors. Save, Lord, our Orthodox Rus' from such horror.
It is a difficult, but also what a lofty task for a Christian to preserve in himself the great happiness of kindness and love even when your enemy is overthrown, and when the oppressed sufferer calls to pronounce his judgment on his recent oppressor and persecutor. And God’s Providence is already placing this test before some of the children of the Russian Orthodox Church. Passions are ignited, riots break out. More and more camps are being created. The fire is growing, scores are being settled. Hostile actions turn into misanthropy. Organized mutual extermination - into partisanship with all its horrors. All Russia is a battlefield! But that is not all. What follows is more horror. News is heard of Jewish pogroms, massacres of the tribe, without regard to age, guilt, gender, or beliefs. A person embittered by the circumstances of life looks for the culprits of his failures and, in order to take out his grievances, grief and suffering on them, he swings in such a way that a mass of innocent victims fall under the blow of his hand, blinded by the thirst for revenge. In his mind, he merged his misfortunes with the activities of some party that were evil for him, and from some he transferred his bitterness to everyone. And in the massacre, lives are drowned for completely uninvolved reasons that shed such bitterness.
   Orthodox Rus', may this shame pass you by. May this curse not befall you. May your hand not be stained with blood crying to Heaven. Do not let the enemy of Christ, the devil, carry you away with the passion of vengeance and disgrace the feat of your confession, disgrace the cost of your suffering at the hands of the rapists and persecutors of Christ. Remember: pogroms are the triumph of your enemies. Remember: pogroms are a dishonor for you, a dishonor for the Holy Church! For a Christian, the ideal is Christ, who did not draw the sword in His defense, who calmed the sons of thunder, and who prayed on the cross for His enemies. For a Christian, the guiding light is the covenant of the holy Apostle, who suffered a lot for his Savior and sealed his devotion to Him with death: “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give room to the wrath of God. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay, says the Lord.” So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink: for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head. (Rom. 12:19).
We are not even talking about the fact that shed blood always calls for new blood. And revenge leads to new retribution. Building on hostility is building on a volcano. An explosion - and again the reign of death and destruction. Our pain is pain for the grace and happiness of Our Holy Church, Our children. Our fears are that some of them may be seduced by this new beast, already showing its gaping mouth, emanating from the abyss of the heart of humanity seething with passions. With one impulse of vengeance you will forever stain yourself, Christian, and all the bright joy of your present feat - suffering for Christ - will fade, for where then will you give place to Christ?
We shudder when we read how Herod, seeking to destroy the Child, destroyed thousands of infants. We shudder that such phenomena are possible when, during military operations, one camp protects its front ranks with hostages from the wives and children of the opposing camp. We shudder at the barbarity of our time, when hostages are taken to ensure the life and integrity of others. We shudder with horror and pain when, after attempts on the lives of representatives of our modern government in Petrograd and Moscow, as if as a gift of love to them and as a testimony of devotion, and to atone for the guilt of the attackers, entire mounds were erected from the bodies of persons completely uninvolved in these attempts and these insane the sacrifices were greeted with delight by those who were supposed to stop such atrocities. We shuddered, but these actions took place where they do not know or do not recognize Christ, where they consider religion to be the opium of the people, where Christian ideals are a harmful relic, where the extermination of one class by another and internecine strife are openly and cynically elevated to an urgent task.
Should we, Christians, follow this path? Oh, it won't! Even if our hearts were torn from grief and oppression inflicted on our religious feelings, our love for our native land, our temporary well-being, even if our feeling unmistakably told us who and where our offender was. No, it is better for us to inflict bleeding wounds than for us to resort to vengeance, especially pogrom, against our enemies or those who seem to us to be the source of our troubles. Follow Christ! Don't change Him. Don't give in to temptation. Do not destroy your soul in the blood of vengeance. Don't be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21).
My children! All Orthodox Russian people! All Christians! When many sufferings, insults and sorrows would begin to inspire you with a thirst for revenge, they would push a sword into your hands, Orthodox Rus', for bloody reprisal against those whom you would consider your enemy - throw it far away so that not in the most difficult moments for you were tested and tortured, not in the moments of your triumph, never - never would your hand reach out to this sword, would not be able and would not want to carry it.
Oh, then truly your feat for Christ in these evil days will pass on to the inheritance and teaching of future generations, as the best testament and blessing: that only on this stone - healing evil with good - will the indestructible glory and greatness of our Holy Orthodox Church in the Russian land be built, and will be elusive even for enemies holy name Her and the purity of the feat of Her children and servants.
To those who act according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen” (Gal. 6:18).
July 8 (21), 1919

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The first messages of Patriarch Tikhon.

On January 19, 1918, on the eve of the start of the second session of the Council, just before the appearance of the decree on freedom of conscience, a message from Patriarch Tikhon appeared. This was not his first message. The fact is that no matter what decrees the Council of People’s Commissars came up with, the real policy of the Bolshevik authorities had already manifested itself in November-December 1917. It was obvious that the Bolsheviks were not yet in control of the situation in the country, and the masses, who found themselves without outside leadership state power, spontaneously commit many atrocities. It was also obvious that without involving the broad masses of the population in their policies, the Bolsheviks would not be able to implement their policies. Patriarch Tikhon, realizing that it is during this period of beginning persecution of the Church that much will depend on the position of the people, writes several of his messages, in which he first of all addresses the people.

The Patriarch, with amazing insight, was able even then, in the first months of the existence of Bolshevik tyranny, to outline everything the most important problems both in church and state life, to indicate the reasons for the destructive tendencies of Russian history at this time. Let us remember his message on accession to the patriarchal throne dated December 18 (31), 1917. It would seem that it should be filled with joy that the patriarchate has finally been revived in our country. What does the Patriarch write?

In the time of God’s wrath, in days of much sorrow and difficulty, We entered the ancient patriarchal place. The trials of a grueling war and disastrous turmoil are tormenting our Motherland, sorrow from the invasion of foreigners and internecine warfare. But most destructive of all is the spiritual turmoil that consumes the heart. The Christian principles of state and social construction have become darkened in the people's conscience, faith itself has weakened, and the godless spirit of this world is raging. Our Holy Church suffers from the neglect of her children, from the coldness of hearts, and our Russian state suffers with it.

This is very important point. The Patriarch addresses the people already in this first message. He trusts in in this case hope that the people come to their senses, stop, and then the chaos in the country will stop.

A little time passes, two weeks, and in his word spoken in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior before the New Year's prayer service, January 1 (14), 1918, Saint Tikhon returns to the same topic.

Unless the Lord builds a house, those who build it work in vain, they rise early and sit late in vain (Ps. 126: 1-2). This was fulfilled in ancient times by the Babylonian builders. It is coming true today and with our own eyes. And our builders want to make a name for themselves, with their reforms and decrees to benefit not only the unfortunate Russian people, but the whole world, and even peoples much more cultural than us. And this arrogant undertaking suffers the same fate as the plans of the Babylonians: instead of good, bitter disappointment is brought. Wanting to make us rich and needing nothing, they actually turn us into miserable, miserable, poor and naked (Rev. 3:17). Instead of so recently great and powerful, terrible to enemies and strong Russia they made of it one miserable name, an empty place, breaking it into parts, devouring one another in an internecine war. When you read the Lamentation of Jeremiah, you involuntarily mourn with the words of the prophet and our dear Motherland. We have forgotten the Lord! They rushed after new happiness, began to run after deceptive shadows, clung to the earth, to bread, money, drunk with the wine of freedom - and so in order to get all this, as much as possible, they took it for themselves, so that there was nothing left for others. The Church condemns this kind of construction of ours and We resolutely warn that we will not have any success until we remember God, without Whom nothing good can be done until we turn to Him with all our hearts and all our thoughts. Now voices are increasingly heard that it is not our plans and construction efforts, which we were so rich in last summer, that will save Russia, but only a miracle - if we are worthy of it.

These words opened a qualitatively new stage in both our church and state life. Dramatically, almost in the spirit of the holy martyr Hermogenes, the Patriarch appeals to all those who have not yet lost the sense of their connection with the Orthodox Church, and who quantitatively constitute the majority of the Russian people, to the Russians Orthodox people. It is difficult to say how futile these appeals were then, but the Patriarch understood that one appeal had disappeared, another had passed, and everything was increasing.

On the eve of the opening of the second session of the Council, January 19 (February 1), 1918, the Patriarch writes another message, the harshest message he wrote at this time, a message that is known as the “message with anathema.”

The patriarch faces the need to anathematize because he is not heard, and takes full responsibility for this message upon himself, he composes this message on his own behalf.

The Holy Orthodox Church of Christ in the Russian land is now going through a difficult time: persecution has been raised against the truth of Christ by the open and secret enemies of this truth and are striving to destroy the work of Christ, and instead of Christian love, they are sowing seeds of malice, hatred and fratricidal warfare everywhere. The commandments of Christ about love for neighbors have been forgotten and trampled upon: daily news reaches Us about terrible brutal beatings of innocent people and even people lying on their sick beds, guilty only of the fact that they honestly fulfilled their duty to the Motherland, that all their strength They relied on serving the good of the people.

The following episode can be cited as an illustration of these words of the message. It is known that General Dukhonin was appointed the last Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army. When he learned about what happened in Petrograd, learned that a government had come to power preparing a separate peace with Germany and had already destroyed the army, he realized that the fate of the Russian army was decided. Naturally, even at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, real riots began, they were waiting for a new commissar who would come and authorize the beating of officers by soldiers. Dukhonin courageously remained at Headquarters, giving orders for the release from Bykhov of General Kornilov, Denikin and other prisoners, who were first to be torn to pieces. It was thanks to this that they were able to go to the Don and organize the White movement just at the very time we are talking about. And Dukhonin himself was waiting for his end. The new Commander-in-Chief, Ensign Krylenko, arrives, and Dukhovin was simply torn to pieces by revolutionary soldiers with “advanced consciousness” in front of this Krylenko’s eyes. And there were a huge number of such cases. They killed generals, killed officers, killed officials, killed priests. This is what is meant in the message.

...And all this happens not only under the cover of night darkness, but also in reality, with daylight, with hitherto unheard of insolence and merciless cruelty, without any trial and with the violation of all rights and legality - is being committed these days in almost all the cities and villages of our Fatherland: both in the capitals and on the remote outskirts. Come to your senses, madmen, stop your bloody reprisals. After all, what you are doing is not only a cruel deed, it is truly a satanic deed, for which you are subject to the fire of Gehenna in the future life - the afterlife, and the terrible curse of posterity in the present - earthly life. By the authority given to Us by God, we forbid you to approach the Mysteries of Christ, we anathematize you, if only you still bear Christian names, and although by birth you belong to the Orthodox Church. I also conjure all of you, the faithful children of the Orthodox Church of Christ, not to enter into any communication with such monsters of the human race: “Remove the evil from you, samekh.”

Whom is he anathematizing? Bolsheviks? What kind of naive Patriarch is this? Did he really assume that, having learned about this anathema, Vladimir Ilyich would remember his “A” according to the “Law of God” and repent? Will Joseph Vissarionovich remember his seminary years? He had a fairly good idea of ​​these people and understood that the Bolsheviks, who even if they were Orthodox by birth, would neglect his words, because they had long ago excommunicated themselves from church communion. Moreover, this could be said about the former Catholic Dzerzhinsky, about the former Judaist Trotsky. They cared neither about their own faith nor about anyone else’s. Of course, the Patriarch has in mind the people, with whose hands these people want to unleash a bloody nightmare in the country. He speaks about them, about those who have recently received communion, about those who have not yet forgotten how to pray, about those who have pious families who, having learned about this anathema, will stop their fathers, sons, and brothers. This is who the Patriarch has in mind, this is why he resorts to anathema. Pay attention to the wording too. It's about specifically about those who participate in the persecution of the Church and kill innocent people. The Patriarch knows very well: if the people stop, the Bolsheviks will not be able to do anything. And further, at the end of the message, the Patriarch offers specific measures for Christians on how to resist these destructive trends in life, and they are, of course, concentrated more and more in the Bolshevik dictatorship. Then the Patriarch will be accused of blessing the armed resistance to the Bolsheviks, for stimulating the development of the counter-revolution with this message. Nothing like this. Let's look at the text:

…The enemies of the Church are seizing power over Her and Her property by force lethal weapons, and you resist them with the power of your faith, your imperious nationwide cry, which will stop the madmen and show them that they do not have the right to call themselves champions of the people's good, builders of a new life at the behest of the people's mind, for they even act directly against the people's conscience. And if it becomes necessary to suffer for the cause of Christ, we call you, beloved children of the Church, we call you to this suffering along with us in the words of St. Apostle: “Who will separate us from the love of God? Is it tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or trouble, or a sword?” (Rom. 8:35)

And you, brothers, archpastors and shepherds, without delaying a single hour in your spiritual work, with fiery zeal call your children to defend the trampled rights of the Orthodox Church, immediately arrange spiritual alliances, call not by necessity, but by good will to join the ranks of spiritual fighters who They will oppose the external force with the power of their holy inspiration, and we firmly hope that the enemies of the Church will be put to shame and scattered by the power of the Cross of Christ. For the promise of the Divine Crusader Himself is immutable: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against It.”

There are no calls for armed struggle here. Of course, after this the Patriarch had the right to expect some serious changes in the situation of the country, especially since the Council that opened on January 20, 1918 immediately turned to the message of Patriarch Tikhon and on January 22 adopted a resolution in which it approved the content of the message and gave it the the very force of a conciliar document.

Now let's think about it. We collectively anathematized those who created all this internecine turmoil, created all these horrors, from which this world’s first workers’ and peasants’ statehood later grew, trampling on everyone and everything, including the workers and peasants themselves. Let each of us rummage through our ancestral, family memories and remember what our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers did at this time; Maybe this anathematization falls on them too, and therefore we will draw some conclusions for ourselves about what needs to be done, how we need to atone for these sins, which we have already so conveniently forgotten, as if it had nothing to do with us. Then it will become clear why it is so difficult for us now - because we still have to atone for all this for decades. Moreover, the Patriarch was not heard. And the Council was not heard. At this very time, January 19–21, an armed invasion of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra takes place, and a representative of the revolutionary people kills Archpriest Pyotr Skipetrov. He wants to stop him, rushing into the temple with a weapon, but he simply shoots at the mouth that denounces him and mortally wounds Archpriest Peter.

Meanwhile, the council will have to discuss a very important internal church issue. The Supreme Church Administration has been created, but issues of diocesan administration have not yet been resolved. In such a situation, given that its honorary chairman, Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany) of Kiev, did not appear at the meeting of the Council (for still unknown reasons), work begins. On January 25, 1918, after discussing the decree of the Soviet government on freedom of conscience, which even then was more often called more correctly the decree on the separation of Church and state, the Council adopted a resolution that contained two extremely important points.

Published by the Council people's commissars The decree on the separation of Church and state represents, under the guise of a law on freedom of conscience, a malicious attack on the entire structure of life of the Orthodox Church and an act of open persecution against it.

Absolutely correct wording. And the point was not only that, in its specific content, the decree seemed to be legal nonsense, even in comparison with the laws on the separation of Church and state in other countries in which they existed. The fact was that the decree actually sanctioned the persecution of the Church, for its implementation could completely paralyze the entire church life.

Any participation both in the publication of this legalization hostile to the Church and in attempts to implement it is incompatible with belonging to the Orthodox Church and brings punishment on the guilty, up to and including excommunication from the Church.

It must be said that such a sharp position of the Council was not only the result of a natural reaction to the outrages being committed in the country, to the fact that the Bolshevik regime from the very beginning became an atheistic regime. It would have been possible to speak out more restrainedly at this moment. But, firstly, it seemed that this nightmare would not last long and that the gang of German mercenaries (this is how many perceived the Bolshevik dictatorship, even at the Council) would soon leave the political arena. Secondly, it seemed that a little more, and the people would come to their senses, and, as was the case in 1612, a militia similar to the militia of Minin and Pozharsky would come to Petrograd and put an end to state madness, especially since at that very time on the Don a volunteer army began to fight, still insignificant in number (we were talking about several thousand people), and these several thousand people seemed to become the key to a broad anti-Bolshevik movement in Russia, which would unite all people with a sense of civic responsibility, with a feeling, even the smallest , patriotic duty to the country. This is where, perhaps, such a harsh statement comes from.

A day or two later, the Council receives a message about the murder of Metropolitan Vladimir in Kyiv on January 25, 1918. This, of course, shocked everyone. The point is not that Metropolitan Vladimir was the honorary chairman of the Council, and not even that he was one of the authoritative hierarchs in our Church and the first murdered bishop in the 20th century, but that the circumstances of his murder were terrible. They are scary not because they somehow brutally killed him, they killed him the way they killed many, as they had already killed, for example, Fr. Ioanna Kochurova. They shot him repeatedly, stabbed him with bayonets, and left him torn to pieces on the street for many hours. What was scary was that a small group of armed people did not break in, but entered (the gates were opened for them) into the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, settled down in the Refectory, the monks helpfully served them a meal, they started talking, found out that the main “oppressor” here was Metropolitan Vladimir, they came to his chambers, spent several hours there, plundering everything they could, mocking and mocking the Metropolitan, and then calmly took him out and shot him not far from the Lavra. Is it possible to imagine such a situation: some Poles with Cossacks come to Archimandrite Dionysius in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1610 and in front of the brethren they mock him for several hours, then take him away and kill him? No comments needed. And only when he was already taken away did one of the monks realize to call the local Bolshevik authorities and tell them what had happened. He was told that the authorities were not aware of what was happening. And only many hours later, the already numb metropolitan was found murdered not far from the Lavra. Of course, he was solemnly transferred to the Lavra, solemnly buried, without thinking about the fact that he was simply betrayed. This was the worst thing. I will not talk about the motives for this now; even then, autocephalist sentiments appeared in the Ukrainian Church, and the brethren of the Lavra were propagandized by the autocephalists, and Metropolitan Vladimir, who did not even want autonomy for the Ukrainian Church, was an ardent enemy of the autocephalists. Here you can find different explanations, but the fact itself is important.

By the providence of God, the Council adopted an amazing resolution on January 25, 1918, precisely on the day of the death of Metropolitan Vladimir. The resolution was adopted on the basis of the proposal of 3 members of the Council, and then finalized. He was, of course, greatly influenced by the news of the murder of Metropolitan Vladimir. This was a decree establishing the institution of patriarchal locum tenens in our country. It was about the following. In the event that our Church is deprived of the opportunity to convene a Council, if the Patriarch is removed from church life, The Church should not be left without a leader. The Council authorized the Patriarch, precisely taking into account the exceptional circumstances, to appoint a successor for himself, and not just a successor, but a successor with full patriarchal rights, to appoint him secretly, to appoint not one, but several, giving each the appropriate letters, without informing anyone about this even at the Council. At the Council, after some time, the Patriarch announced that the Council’s instructions had been fulfilled and locums had been appointed. To this day we do not know exactly who these secretly appointed first locums were. The Council understood that the Patriarch could be arrested, could be killed, and the Council itself could be dispersed. And, indeed, the Patriarch was first arrested in 1918.

The resolution on the patriarchal locum tenens, who had full patriarchal rights, was a decision that saved our Higher Church Administration in the 20s and 30s from the destruction of the canonical succession of the highest church authority, which the Bolsheviks really strived for. And the Patriarch accepted this, the Patriarch implemented this by appointing his locums.

Before continuing the story, let us turn to the personality of Patriarch Tikhon, what kind of person he was, what his life path before being elected to the Patriarchate, because, although the Council was still working, the entire burden of power now rested on the Patriarch.

From book Orthodox holidays[with calendar for 2010] author Shulyak Sergey

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Message from Patriarch Tikhon to the Council of People's Commissars. 1918 “All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52) We address this prophecy of the Savior to you, the current arbiters of the destinies of our fatherland, who call themselves “people’s” commissars. Hold it in your hands for a whole year

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Message from Patriarch Tikhon to the children of the Orthodox Russian Church. 1919 By the grace of God, We, humble Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, to all the faithful children of the Holy Orthodox Russian Church. The Lord does not cease to show His mercies to the Orthodox Russian Church.

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Testament of Patriarch Tikhon. 1925 To the editor of the newspaper "Izvestia" Gr. Editor! We ask you not to refuse to publish in the Izvestia newspaper the attached Appeal of Patriarch Tikhon, signed by him on March 25 (April 7), 1925. Peter (Polyansky), Metropolitan of Krutitsky Tikhon (Obolensky),

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Collection of information about persecution in the commission of the Holy Council and in the office His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. Dissemination of the Patriarch's messages The beginning of the displacement of objective data about events in the Russian Orthodox Church from the information environment was already laid by a decree

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Contacts of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon with Patriarchs and church leaders abroad The first messages of Patriarch Tikhon abroad are connected with his election to the Patriarchal throne and enthronement. These were messages to the Heads Orthodox Churches. In the first months after

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Correspondence of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon with the Russian foreign clergy. For decades, Russian emigration was for the Soviets the focus and source of danger, the custodian and breeding ground of monarchical and bourgeois ideas, anti-Soviet programs and specific

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Two anathemas of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon Message of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon on the anathematization of those who commit lawlessness and persecute the faith and the Orthodox Church 01/19/01/02. 1918 Humble Tikhon, by the grace of God, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, beloved in the Lord