“He had some amazing simplicity, you need to look for such simple people with a lantern. But on the other hand, there was something wonderful about it. I remember once at the Three Saints Compound - for some reason I arrived late, and I see: Vladyka Benjamin is lying on the stone floor, wrapped in his black monastic robe, even without a pillow - just lying. I told him: “Vladyka, what are you doing here?” - “You know, I settled down to sleep here” - “How, don’t you have a room?” “You know what, right now one beggar is sleeping on my bed, another one is sleeping on the mattress, another one is sleeping on pillows, and another one is sleeping on my blankets. So I settled here, because in my mantle I am warm. (Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh)
Metropolitan Veniamin was a great prayer book. Before making any important decision, he celebrated forty liturgies. Eyewitnesses noted that even the Lord's Name could not be pronounced without tears. They also noted that the old “eccentric” metropolitan, who could seriously bother about buying an aircraft for the needs of the diocese, not quite for the sake of eccentricity, gave his parishioners some sweets, and some bulbs, foretelling some joys, and others tears: apparently, he was God gave him the gift of foresight ... But the main thing in him was - inescapable love for the flock, for every person. Vladyka wrote more than once in his books that the saints, who had received the gift of love from the Lord, sometimes stopped noticing evil in people. He himself was of the same breed of God's people and therefore equally loved both neighbors and enemies, believing that "one must think about saving the" enemies ", and not about defeating them", and often became a victim of his excessive credulity.
The fate of the saint is amazing. Being a convinced monarchist by upbringing, who, as a boy, ran with tears to read reports on the deteriorating state of health of Emperor Alexander III, considering the theomachic power to be God's punishment for the sins of all classes of Russian society, leading the military clergy of the Russian army of Baron P. N. Wrangel and emigrating with her abroad, Vladyka nevertheless recognized Soviet power and returned to his homeland. Why did it happen this way?
The Saint of God joined the ranks of the White Army precisely as the defenders of Orthodoxy, but he soon saw that the faith among the “best sons of Russia” was very lukewarm and, in the end, was even removed from the banners of the white movement. He wanted to be with the people, but it turned out that neither Wrangel, nor there, abroad, had the Russian people ... The Russian people, albeit deceived, albeit subjugated, remained in Russia and recognized Soviet power. And all power is from God. Vladyka understood this well... And perhaps that is why the Lord allowed the atheists to fill the Russian land in order to cure it of lukewarmness and kindle in the hearts of lost people a spark of hot, unfeigned love for their Creator and Savior? The fate of the Lord is inscrutable...
In addition, once abroad, the emigrant bishops almost immediately demonstrated canonical disobedience to the highest church authorities that remained in Russia, accepting some decrees of Patriarch Tikhon and rejecting others as being written under pressure from the godless authorities ... 1927, in which the notorious Declaration was issued Metropolitan Sergius, was only a convenient opportunity for the fulfillment of the long-standing desire of the emigrating episcopate to create their own, independent church administration ... Being brought up on the concepts of the inviolability of church obedience, Metropolitan Veniamin could not come to terms with this state of affairs. He remained faithful to the Moscow Patriarchate even abroad.
God alone knows at the cost of what torments the decision to return to his homeland was given to the saint. The most painful, the most difficult thing was to come to terms (not with the mind, but with the heart) with the legitimacy of the reign of the godless power in the once Holy Russia ... And what could an emigrant who used unverified rumors and propaganda publications understand about Russia, besides weighed down by the lack of spirituality of the Western world, alien to him ?
The saint was convinced that Soviet power was the best way out, “happiness” for Russia, that “it was not by chance (after misunderstandings) that the cooperation of the Church with the Soviet Union, but sincerely.” Metropolitan Benjamin had such an understanding of Russian reality that he had suffered and was not hypocritical. However, be that as it may, Metropolitan Veniamin never regretted his decision to return to his homeland. He regretted that he had not done this earlier ... In 1958 he was sent to rest in the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery.
The future metropolitan (in the world Ivan Afanasyevich Fedchenkov) was born on September 2 (15), 1880 in the Kirsanov district of the Tambov province in the family of a courtyard man of the Baratynskys (from former serfs) and the daughter of a deacon. The parents did their best to educate their children.
After graduating from the theological school and the Tambov Theological Seminary as the first student, Ivan Fedchenkov entered the St. emigration.
In 1907, Ivan Fedchenkov, a last-year student at the academy, took monastic vows with the name Benjamin. This step, which determined his entire future life, turned out to be unexpected for his relatives and was not immediately understood and accepted by them. The mother of the newly tonsured monk, the one whom he himself called a saint for her sacrificial love for her neighbors and deep faith, wrote to her son a letter full of bitter reproaches. Then, of course, she understood and resigned herself and even loved her Vanyusha (and now monk Benjamin) more than all the children, she was proud of her prayer book.
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When entering the academy, and even in the first years of his studies, Ivan himself also had no desire to take the tonsure. He, in his own words, was thinking about the white priesthood. And yet, choosing his path, he sensitively listened to the voice of his heart, to the indications of the mountain world, invisible to an ordinary person, but real and unshakable. Of great, if not decisive, importance for Ivan was the meeting on Valaam, where he visited the elder of the John the Baptist skete, Father Nikita. This inhabitant of "Northern Athos", an ascetic monk, a "living saint", had a long conversation with the young man and prophetically called him "master".
Another righteous man is the hieromonk of the Gethsemane skete of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Fr. Isidore - also predicted the future metropolitan of his life path. "I'll have to be a monk," - so, in the simplicity of a believing heart, a student of the capital's theological academy decided. Monastic tonsure was performed on November 26, 1907, on December 3, monk Benjamin was ordained a hierodeacon, and on the 10th he became a hieromonk.
A disciple of His Eminence Benjamin, Bishop Theodore (Tekuchev), who lived in retirement in the Pskov-Caves Monastery, recalled in 1966, on the fifth anniversary of the death of his mentor, another prediction in the life of Vladyka. The young hieromonk Benjamin with one of his comrades visited the ailing pious old woman. The following dialogue took place:
Who will we be? one of the visitors asked.
Well, am I a fortune teller? You will be metropolitans... But is that really the point?..
Pray for my sins, Benjamin. “That’s what you need,” the old woman answered.
At the very beginning of his ministry, he met Fr. Benjamin with the great righteous man of the Russian land, Father John of Kronstadt, and even served with him during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. We do not know whether he was honored with a personal conversation with Father John, we only know that the saint talked with the novice monks (Fr. Benjamin was in Kronstadt with his comrades from the academy), strengthened and encouraged them. And, of course, this meeting did not go unnoticed. For the rest of his life, Vladyka Benjamin maintained a reverent attitude towards the memory of the holy elder, often turning to his spiritual heritage.
After graduating from the academy, in 1907-1908, Hieromonk Benjamin was a professorial fellow at the Department of Biblical History. It is significant that during the years of study of the future metropolitan at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archbishop Sergius (Stragorodsky), the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, a wonderful hierarch who had a great influence on students, including, of course, Hieromonk Benjamin, was rector there. Moreover, apparently, it was in the academy that warm and trusting relations between the rector and the student arose and strengthened. It is no coincidence that Bishop Sergius, when he was Archbishop of Finland, made Hieromonk Benjamin his personal secretary. Loyalty to his master is no longer a hieromonk, but Bishop Benjamin will still prove in conditions that are not easy for him; and yet remain faithful to both Metropolitan Sergius and the Moscow Patriarchate.
So, in 1910-1911, Hieromonk Veniamin was the personal secretary of the Archbishop of Finland Sergius (Stragorodsky). From 1911 to 1913, Archimandrite Veniamin was the rector of the Taurida Seminary, and from 1913 to 1917 - of the Tver Seminary. In 1917-1918, he took part in the work of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, being elected from the junior clerics of his diocese. On February 19, 1919, he was consecrated Bishop of Sevastopol, Vicar of the Tauride Diocese. Upon presenting the baton, the senior ordaining bishop, Vladyka Dimitry (Abashidze), said: “Do not be afraid to speak the truth before anyone, even if it is the Patriarch himself or other high people in the world...” Vladyka took these words as his obedience.
In 1920, Bishop Veniamin joined the white movement, heading the military clergy of the Russian army of Baron P. N. Wrangel. In November of the same year, together with the army and refugees, he left his homeland. Abroad, for some time he remained the bishop of the army and navy, was a member of the Russian Council under Wrangel.
Bishop Veniamin became one of the main initiators of the creation of temporary bodies of Church administration for parishes abroad. In 1921, this administration moved from Constantinople to Serbia, but soon (after the All-Diaspora Church Council of 1921, which was recognized by Patriarch Tikhon as non-canonical), the HCU was abolished, and the administration of European parishes was entrusted to Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievsky).
In 1922 the saint settled in the Petkovice monastery near the Serbian town of Šabazza. In 1923-24, he was again a vicar bishop, ministering to the flock of Carpathian Rus, which was part of Czechoslovakia.
Expelled from the country by the decision of the Czechoslovak authorities, he returned to Serbia, where he took care of the pupils of two cadet corps, headed the pastoral and theological courses and became the rector of the Russian church.
Between 1925-1927 and 1929-1931 Bishop Veniamin was professor and inspector at the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris. The saint resigned from the post of head of the clergy of the White Army scattered all over the world.
In 1927, having served 40 liturgies in order to question the will of God, he signed the Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius.
In 1931, the Diocesan Congress of the Clergy and Laity met in Paris, which decided to transfer the Metropolis of Metropolitan Evlogy to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Only one bishop - Benjamin - declared his allegiance to Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). After this statement, he was forced to leave work at the Orthodox Theological Institute and, due to separation from Metropolitan Evlogii, he could no longer serve in the church of the Sergius metochion.
Finding himself homeless, Vladyka wandered among his acquaintances for some time, until, with a group of like-minded parishioners (twenty or more people), he organized the first parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in Paris. By the name of the temple, located in the basement on Petel Street, the main parish of which was consecrated in the name of the Three Hierarchs - Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, the Three Hierarchs Compound was also named. On its upper floor there was a printing house in the name of Father John of Kronstadt, where both the works of this great prayer book of the Russian land were printed, as well as the works of other authors, including Bishop Benjamin: "Akathist to the Three Hierarchs of Christ ...", "The Universal Lamp of St. Seraphim of Sarov "," Heaven on earth "...
In 1933, Bishop Veniamin, already in the rank of archbishop, with the blessing of Metropolitan Sergius, went to the United States with a series of lectures. During his stay there, by decree of November 29, he was appointed temporary American Exarch, Archbishop of the Aleutian and North American. Over the course of 14 years of service in America, by the end of which he was awarded the rank of metropolitan, the saint managed to create 50 parishes “out of nothing”, which he managed with the help of three vicars.
On July 2, 1941, Metropolitan Benjamin of Aleutia and North America delivered a speech at a grand rally in New York's Madison Square Garden, making a huge impression on the audience: “Everyone knows that the most terrible and responsible moment for the whole world has come. It can and should be said that the fate of the world depends on the end of events in Russia ... And therefore, the intention of the president and other statesmen to cooperate with Russia must be welcomed ... All Russia has risen! .. We will not sell our conscience and the Motherland! - these words, according to the newspapers, literally electrified the audience of many thousands. Patriotic feelings swept over the masses of the Russian population in America. Metropolitan Veniamin was elected honorary chairman of the Russian-American Committee for Assistance to Russia and was given the right to report to the President of the United States at any time of the day.
In January - February 1945, Metropolitan Veniamin visited his homeland for the first time, participated in the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. There, on behalf of the bishops, clergy, and laity of the Patriarchal Church in America, as well as on behalf of those who wished to have communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievsky), his flock, and the American “Theophilovites,” he named a candidate for Patriarch, Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod.
In 1947 the saint finally returned to Russia and was appointed to the Riga and Latvian cathedra.
“Rejoice, always rejoice, and rejoice in tribulation!” - with these words he greeted his new flock at home.
In 1951-1955, Metropolitan Veniamin ruled the Rostov diocese. At this time, he meets and maintains friendly communication with Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) - a confessor, a wonderful hierarch and scientist. Vladyka Luka ruled at that time the Simferopol diocese.
Wherever Metropolitan Veniamin served, he developed warm relations with his flock. Vladyka kept the letters of the believers, and even copied some of them. He valued them as evidence of "unhypocritical love," disinterested affection.
The evening of life, the golden autumn of the saint, was approaching. He was already seventy-five when in 1955 he was appointed to the Saratov diocese. Strength was gone, Vladyka began to get sick often, and in 1958, according to a petition, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) of Saratov and Volsk was retired and entered the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery. Living in solitude in the monastery, Vladyka indulges in prayer and meditation, and writes a lot. Sometimes, if strength permits, he performs divine services and delivers inspired sermons.
When Metropolitan Veniamin left his last episcopal see in 1958, he wrote to one of his correspondents that he was going to Pechory and was thinking of spending the remaining two or three years there. He didn't live anymore. Vladyka died on October 4, 1961 - on the day of St. Dimitri Rostovsky. Buried in caves.
5834.)
BENJAMIN(in the world Pushkar Boris Nikolaevich), Metropolitan of Vladivostok and Primorsky (* 11/8/1938), an outstanding modern Russian bishop, a zealous defender of the preservation of the patristic purity of Orthodoxy, an opponent of ecumenism.
Born in the village of Khorol, Primorsky Krai, in a working-class family. Mother and grandmother were deeply religious and pious people. Due to life circumstances, only at the age of seven years, Boris was able to be baptized. His father fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, so from childhood Boris joined the work, helping his mother and siblings. Since 1947 he became a resident of the city of Vladivostok. Here in 1957 he graduated from high school. He was not drafted into the army due to illness. For some time he worked as a worker at Dalzavod. He served as a sexton in the then only church in Vladivostok on the First River. With the blessing of the rector of the parish, in 1959 he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary, from which he brilliantly graduated in 1963 and immediately entered the Moscow Theological Academy. He completed it in 1967, defending his Ph.D. thesis at the Department of Basic Theology on the topic: "Proof of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul in the philosophical system of E. Kant and their analysis on the basis of the Christian worldview." He is left at the academy as a professorial fellow.
Since 1967 he has been a lecturer in Sacred Biblical History, Basic Theology and Logic. In 1976 he became an assistant professor at the Moscow Theological Academy. Wrote the book "The Sacred Biblical History of the Old and New Testaments". For 24 years of teaching at the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, he became involved in the education of many bishops and pastors who are now working in the Russian church field. He himself did not take holy orders for a long time. Finally, after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the year of the baptism of Russia, in 1988 he was ordained first a deacon and then a priest by the rector of the MDA and S, Archbishop Alexander (Timofeev). In 1992 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. On August 12, 1992, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, he was determined to be Bishop of Vladivostok and Primorsky. On September 13, 1992, he was tonsured a monk with the name Benjamin in honor of Hieromartyr Benjamin, Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov; on September 20, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Consecrated Bishop of Vladivostok and Primorsky on the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on September 21, 1992 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, co-served by a group of bishops.
On October 24, 1992, he returned to his native Primorye, already a bishop, and began the difficult duties of the archpastor of a diocese that was in complete ruin. Blessing the bishop for this service, he was given the panagia of the first bishop of Vladivostok and Kamchatka, His Grace Eusebius (Nikolsky). His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II spoke about why the choice fell on Bishop Benjamin during the first primatial visit to Vladivostok in the history of the Russian Church in May 2000: “The Vladivostok diocese is a resurgent diocese. Moscow Theological Academy, to say about the possibility of his election to the Vladivostok Department. What prompted this? The energy with which he taught, enlightened and taught those who were students of the Moscow Theological Academy. His small homeland is here in Primorsky Krai. And at the meeting of the Synod He was elected Bishop of Vladivostok and Primorsky. By the time the new Vladyka arrived, there were 22 parishes in the diocese: 9 churches and 13 prayer houses. They were served by 16 priests and 4 deacons. Believers had to raise many temples from the very foundation. Since 1992, through the labors of zealous and good shepherds, headed by Bishop VENIAMIN, the most distant diocese of Russia has been gradually rising, rising almost from non-existence. Here is how Vladyka himself writes about this in his first report to the Moscow Patriarchate in 1993: “Wherever you look, no matter what problem you look into, you need hands, helpers everywhere. pray and work. And the Lord knows everything, arranges everything, helps in everything. May His Holy Will be done for everything." In 2001, the number of Orthodox parishes in the diocese more than tripled, which is significant for a remote Far Eastern diocese, although the need for new churches is increasing. More than 70 clergy serve in the parishes of the Vladivostok diocese. Two well-known pre-revolutionary monasteries of the Holy Trinity Nikolaevsky for men and Nativity-Bogoroditsky South Ussuri for women have been revived. Two new women's monasteries and one men's monastery were also founded on Russky Island. Several new churches have been founded and are being built throughout Primorye.
Through the prayers and blessings of Vladyka, missionary and educational activities are being revived in the diocese. Since 1994, the two-year Vladivostok Theological School has been operating, headed by Vladyka. Since 1999, a department of Orthodox theology and religious studies has been opened in one of the oldest universities in the region, FENU (Far Eastern State University), where Vladyka is the head of the department. In another oldest university in the Far East, FESTU (Far Eastern Technical University), a student chapel of St. mts. Tatiana. For the laity of the diocese, two-year missionary-catechetical courses have been created. In 1997, the first Orthodox gymnasium of Primorye was established in the name of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles. In March 2000 the gymnasium was visited by the participants of the regional meeting on the problems of education, which was held by the Ministry of Education in Vladivostok, who highly appreciated the state of educational work in the gymnasium. With the blessing of Vladyka, the pupils of the gymnasium and their parents make many days of religious processions. The third religious procession took place in August 2001 along the eastern borders of Russia. An Orthodox cross has been erected on the easternmost section of the Russian border at the mouth of the Tumannaya River. Vladyka blessed the monthly issue of the diocesan newspaper "Primorsky Blagovest", the activities of the press center and cooperation with regional television and radio channels on the production of Orthodox programs, the creation of the official website of the diocese on the basis of the regional server "Primorsky Territory of Russia".
Bishop VENIAMIN pays special attention to patriotic education and cooperation with the Pacific Regional Directorate of the Federal Border Service of Russia and the Russian Pacific Fleet. The Vladivostok diocese has concluded cooperation agreements with both of these structures. In 1997, Vladyka consecrated the St. Andrew's flag of the new cruiser "Varyag" this shrine, which was not put to shame by Russian sailors back in 1905. Since then, Bishop Veniamin has participated in sea voyages three times: in February 1997, on the Varyag missile cruiser to the Republic of Korea. At the site of the death of the first Varyag, a memorial service was held for all the sailors who died during the Russo-Japanese War. The second trip in June 1997 on the cruiser "Admiral Vinogradov" to Japan. In September 2001, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, Bishop VENIAMIN took part in the visit of the large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Tributs" to Japan. In each campaign, conversations were held with the personnel of the ship, the sacrament of baptism was performed. Here are the words Vladyka addressed to the sailors after one of his trips to the sailors from the pages of the “Combat Watch” of the Pacific Fleet newspaper: “Forgive us, heroes, that it took so long to get to these moments. We bow our heads before your bright images! verse of the famous song. With our arrival, not only the waves of the sea glorify the heroic death of the Varyag, but also the hearts of contemporaries. I think that the hour will come when both the stone and the cross will tell posterity that Russian sailors lay down here in honor of the St. Andrew's flag And here, on the Korean coast, on the beam of the ship's deathbed, we will erect a majestic monument to the Varangians." During this campaign, His Grace VENIAMIN was forever enlisted as an honorary member of the guards crew and he was awarded the rank of guardsman. On April 24, 1999, another historic event took place. For the first time in the entire 100 years of the existence of the diocese, the archpastor set foot on the shores of our most glorious fortress, the outpost of Russia in the Far East of the Russian Island. On this day, the fortress celebrated 110 years of its existence. Sailors and residents of the island also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Vladivostok and Primorsky diocese on this day. A cross was consecrated, erected on the spot where one of the most beautiful and majestic temples of Primorye once stood. It is destroyed to the ground. But the foundation is the foundation of the temple was found and cleaned by the military and the inhabitants of the island. They found and erected a cross here, confident that the temple itself would rise from the ashes.
From the time he taught at the academy and seminary, Vladyka also became known as a hymnographer. He wrote a penitential prayer "Lament for Russia", created on the model of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Vladyka supports Orthodox literary creativity and educational works. With his blessing, such books and pamphlets as "The Good Shepherd" about Metropolitan John (Snychev), "The Intercession Necropolis of Vladivostok", "The Royal Family and Far Russia", "The Way to the East", "Sermons" by the first vicar of Vladivostok and Bishop Paul (Ivanovsky) of Kamchatka. Bishop VENIAMIN's brochure "The Strength of the Russian People" has been published. Vladyka's appeals concerning the glorification of the Royal Family and the need for the general repentance of the Russian people are widely known to the Orthodox community in Russia. He actively supported the initiative of the canonization of the Royal Family, starting in 1994.
Vladyka's work has been marked by church and state awards: the Order of Prince Daniel of Moscow and the Order of Friendship. The International Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called presented Bishop Veniamin with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. One can say briefly about the ascetic and truly laborious activity of the Primorye archpastor: this is a bishop who is distinguished by constant sacrifice in service in the image of the ascetic of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe: as long as there are such convinced archpastors in our Russian Orthodox Church, confident in the rightness of their cause, Holy Russia is alive and invincible.
Hieromonk Innokenty (Erokhin), L. Khairulina (Holy Russia. The Great Encyclopedia of the Russian People. Russian patriotism. Chief editor, compiler O.A. Platonov, compiler A.D. Stepanov. - M., 2003).
Hieromartyr Benjamin,
Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov
Hieromartyr Benjamin was born in 1873 into the family of a village priest of the Olonets diocese, Pavel of Kazan, and his wife Maria, and received the name Vasily in holy baptism. After graduating from the Olonets Theological Seminary, Vasily Kazansky entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. During his student years, the determination to devote his whole life to the service of the Church of Christ strengthened in him.
In his second year, in 1895, he took monastic vows with the name Benjamin, was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon, and the next year to the rank of hieromonk.
In 1897, hieromonk Veniamin graduated from the Theological Academy with a candidate's degree, and he was appointed teacher of the Holy Scriptures at the Riga Theological Seminary. Soon the St. Petersburg authorities drew attention to the young hieromonk. In 1898, he was already an inspector at the Kholm Theological Seminary, the following year he was transferred to the same position at the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary. In 1902 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed rector of the Samara Theological Seminary.
In 1905, Archimandrite Veniamin returned to St. Petersburg again, having received an appointment as rector of the capital's seminary. A few years later, the Lord calls Archimandrite Benjamin to high episcopal service.
On January 24, 1910, Archimandrite Veniamin was consecrated Bishop of Gdov and appointed vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese.
Saint Benjamin was especially fond of serving and proclaiming the word of God in churches on the working-class outskirts of St. Petersburg (since 1914 - Petrograd) and especially in the churches of the Putilov and Obukhov factories. Vladyka Benjamin did a lot to save fallen women. The influence of the services, the personal charm and the influence of the teachings of Bishop Benjamin were so great that many of them, waking up from a sinful sleep, left their disastrous occupation and returned to an honest life. He was truly loved by the people of God. As a good shepherd, Vladyka Benjamin always found his way to the hearts of the common people of St. Petersburg. And so, when the alternative elections of the ruling bishop were held in the Petrograd diocese, the clergy and laity, and in particular the St. Petersburg workers, elected their beloved priest to the chair.
On August 13, 1917, on the eve of the opening of the Local Council of the Russian Church, Archbishop Veniamin was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Petrograd. The new high position not only did not alienate the archpastor from the flock, but brought him even closer spiritually to her.
After the October Revolution, the ministry of St. Benjamin to the Church of Christ, like many archpastors and pastors, takes a direction related to the defense of the rights of the Orthodox people.
On January 10, 1918, Metropolitan Veniamin addressed the Council of People's Commissars with a statement denouncing the draft decree on the separation of the Church from the State. “The implementation of this project threatens the Orthodox Russian people with great grief and suffering,” Vladyka wrote.
On January 13, an attempt was made to capture the Alexander Nevsky Lavra by an armed detachment of sailors and Red Guards. On January 19, the capture attempt was repeated. The leader of the armed detachment of sailors and Red Guards demanded that St. Benjamin clear the Metropolitan's quarters, and Bishop Procopius - to hand over to them all the property of the Lavra. For refusing to comply with this demand, Bishop Procopius and all members of the Spiritual Council were arrested. At this time, the alarm sounded from the Lavra bell tower. Crowds of people began to flock to the Lavra. There were shouts: “Orthodox, save the churches!” The detachment and its leader were disarmed, the arrested were released. The monks calmed the indignant crowd. One of them, saving the leader of the detachment, took him through the Tikhvin cemetery away from the crowd. Meanwhile, a new armed detachment arrived. Shots rang out. Archpriest Peter Skipetrov was mortally wounded. It took the clergy a lot of effort to keep people from resisting the invaders of the Lavra.
The next day, deputations from the workers of the glass and porcelain factories, and later from the workers of the Expedition for Procurement of State Papers, visited Metropolitan Veniamin and expressed their readiness to protect the Lavra. In the following days, many believers did not leave the Lavra for days. But the case was not limited to individual cases of seizure of the property of the Church, blasphemy, mockery of pastors, their arrest and even murder. Those in power boldly encroached on the very existence of the Orthodox Church.
The Holy Council, which was held in Moscow, assessing the decree and the actions of the authorities, addressed the “Appeal” to the Orthodox people, which said: “From the century, the unheard of has been happening with us in Holy Russia. People who came to power and called themselves people's commissars, themselves strangers to the Christian, and some of them to any faith, issued a decree (law) called "on freedom of conscience", but in fact establishing complete violence against the conscience of believers. According to this law, all the temples of God and holy monasteries with their shrines and property can be taken away from us... These shrines are your property. Your pious ancestors and you have created and decorated the temples of God and holy monasteries and dedicated this property to God. Protect and protect the best decoration of the Russian land created for centuries - the temples of God, do not let them fall into the impudent and unclean hands of unbelievers, do not let this terrible sacrilege be committed. It is better to shed one's blood and be worthy of a martyr's crown than to allow the Orthodox faith to be mocked by enemies. Take heart, Holy Russia! Go to your Calvary! With you is the Holy Cross, an invincible weapon... And the head of the Church, Christ the Savior, tells each of us: "Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10)".
Meanwhile, the World War continued. Metropolitan Veniamin ordered that during this difficult time, which the city and the diocese are going through, all the diocesan clergy should remain in their places. Miraculous icons and other revered relics should not have been taken out - they should have remained with the people for their spiritual comfort and strengthening.
On May 29, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon arrived in Petrograd. His presence and prayers encouraged the Petrograd flock, headed by Metropolitan Veniamin, on the eve of truly mournful days. And those days have come. The position of the Orthodox Church became more and more difficult. Even representatives of other faiths expressed sympathy for her.
In the summer of 1918, Archpriest Philosopher Ornatsky, a famous preacher who did a lot of charity work and organized orphanages for the poor, was arrested and shot; Archpriest Alexy Stavrovsky, rector of the Admiralty Cathedral, and in autumn - Archpriest Grigory Pospelov of Kronstadt.
Patriarch Tikhon, courageously denouncing the iniquities of the “arbiters of the fatherland’s destinies,” wrote: “The blood shed by rivers of our brothers, mercilessly killed at your call, cries out to heaven and forces us to tell you a bitter word of truth. You divided the whole people into hostile camps and plunged them into fratricide unprecedented in cruelty. You openly replaced the love of Christ with hatred and, instead of peace, you artificially kindled class enmity. And no end is foreseen for the war you have engendered, since you are striving with the hands of the Russian workers and peasants to bring triumph to the specter of the world revolution.
The year 1919 did not bring relief to the Orthodox Church. Closing of monasteries continued, an order was issued "on the complete elimination of relics", and the following year the clergy were deprived of many civil rights. The most difficult years of the civil war were especially painfully experienced in Petrograd. The city was removed from the grain provinces, which increased the suffering from hunger. Many residents fled: representatives of the wealthy classes - abroad or to the south of Russia, workers - to the villages, where it was easier to feed themselves. Many died from starvation and deprivation.
By the end of the civil war, only a tenth of the pre-war population remained in Petrograd. The famine in the country grew stronger and in 1921 reached horrendous proportions, especially in the Volga region.
In the summer of 1921, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon addressed an appeal “To the peoples of the world and to the Orthodox person”, as well as to the heads of individual Christian Churches (the Orthodox patriarchs, the Pope of Rome, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of York), calling on everyone both at home and abroad to respond to the national disaster that befell Russia. At the same time, His Holiness the Patriarch founded the All-Russian Church Committee for Assistance to the Starving. Saint Tikhon gave his blessing to donate precious church decorations and objects that had no liturgical use. Saint Benjamin agreed without hesitation to provide such assistance, declaring that the Orthodox Church, following the precepts of Christ the Savior and the example of the great saints, always showed the image of high Christian love in times of calamity in order to save those who perish from death, sacrificing church property. At the same time, he considered it necessary that donations were only voluntary. But the government recognized the Church Committee as superfluous, and the voluntariness of the donation of donated values - an unnecessary manifestation of liberalism in relation to the Church.
The forcible seizure of church valuables under the pretext of helping the starving began in Petrograd in March 1922. The parish clergy, frightened by the events of recent years, were mostly passive about the withdrawal. However, it understood that if the actions of the metropolitan did not correspond to the intentions of the authorities, he would be immediately eliminated.
At the same time, "churchmen" began to take an active part in church life - this was the name of a large group of activists of the laity, mainly from the intelligentsia, in whom the events of the revolution caused a great religious upsurge. In Petrograd, a large Society of United Petrograd Orthodox Parishes arose, which included most of all the parishes of the city. Yuri Petrovich Novitsky, professor of the Petrograd University in the department of criminal law, was the chairman of the board of this society.
The forcible seizure of church valuables caused mass protests of believers. Everywhere the people guarded the churches, in the event of a commission for the seizure of valuables, the alarm convened the believers. Ordinary people were indignant and were much more radical than the clergy, often acting not only without their consent, but even despite the protests of the priests. The workers of the Putilov factory most vigorously resisted the seizure. The authorities did not manage to openly carry out an action in the Putilov church; I had to do it at night, secretly.
At first, the authorities claimed that the sole purpose of the confiscation decree was to help the starving. But soon the true, "strictly secret" goals of the government were revealed: not to help the starving, but to consolidate the godless government, "furious and merciless" destruction of the clergy. False accusations of the Church of counter-revolution, of resisting the authorities and of its unwillingness to help the starving were launched. Simultaneously with the seizure of valuables, the task was to cause a split in the clergy - the authorities openly took under the protection of the priests who advocated the seizure.
On March 24, 1922, a letter appeared in Petrogradskaya Pravda signed by the future pillars of the "living church": Krasnitsky, Vvedensky, Belkov, Boyarsky and others. The authors of the letter accused the clergy of being counter-revolutionary, of playing politics, of people's hunger, they demanded the immediate and unconditional surrender of all church values to the Soviet authorities, etc. from within.”) Thus began the schism, which was to expand and deepen under external influences.
In the spring of 1922, taking advantage of bringing Patriarch Tikhon to court, the Petrograd group of “revolutionary clergy” that arrived in Moscow, consisting of Vvedensky, Krasnitsky, Belkov and others, by deceiving the Patriarch, seized the highest church authority in the Church, forming its own “Higher Church Administration”.
Returning to Petrograd, on May 25, Vvedensky appeared before Metropolitan Veniamin and presented him with a "Certificate" stating that he "according to the resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon is an authorized member of the HCU and is sent on church affairs to Petrograd and other localities of the Russian Republic." - “Why is there no signature of His Holiness the Patriarch here?” asked Metropolitan Veniamin. “But on the other hand, there is the HCU, and the patriarchal resolution is given in black ink on white paper,” Vvedensky replied slyly. Metropolitan Veniamin exposed the forgery and, realizing the full measure of his archpastoral responsibility, resolutely expelled the newly-appeared usurpers of church authority and excommunicated them from communion with the Holy Church, until, according to the canons of the Church, they brought repentance before their bishop. All who joined them were subject to such excommunication. Soon after the excommunication, Vvedensky, accompanied by the chairman of the Petrograd Cheka, appeared to Metropolitan Veniamin. They presented the saint with an ultimatum: either he would cancel his decree on Vvedensky, or a process would be organized against him and a number of clergymen regarding the seizure of church valuables, as a result of which both he himself and those closest to him would perish. The Metropolitan calmly listened to the threats and responded with a categorical refusal. Soon he was arrested.
On the day of his arrest, Saint Benjamin, returning to his place at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, found the investigator, numerous Chekists and guards in his chambers. During the search in the office, Vvedensky was also present as a representative of the HCU, who came to receive the office. Seeing the metropolitan, he approached him for a blessing. “Father Alexander, we are not in the Garden of Gethsemane,” Vladyka said calmly and politely, without giving his blessing.
It was announced to the holy martyr that a case had been initiated against him and other persons for resisting the confiscation of church valuables. The arrested Metropolitan Veniamin was taken to the "house of preliminary detention", where he remained for the rest of the time until his martyrdom.
In addition to the Metropolitan, most of the members of the Board of the Society of Orthodox Parishes, rectors of some churches, some clerics, professors of the Theological Academy, the Theological Institute and the University, students and ordinary people who were captured during street riots during the seizure of valuables were brought to the unrighteous court - a total of 86 people, the majority who were taken into custody.
Metropolitan Veniamin, even in the dock, remained the same as he always was: simple, calm, blissful. He was the center of the whole process. Both the enemies and the believers who loved him immensely focused on him. Another remarkable personality at the trial was Archimandrite Sergius*. He longed to suffer for his faith. Hence his fiery, inspirational speeches at the trial. To eyewitnesses of the process, Archimandrite Sergius resembled a martyr of the first centuries of Christianity, joyfully triumphant in the face of astonished executioners, while the metropolitan showed the image of an ancient ascetic, blessed, calm, gone from the world and completely immersed in contemplation and prayer. (* Archimandrite Sergius, in the world Vasily Pavlovich Shein, was born in 1866 in the village of Kolpna, Novoselsky district, Tula province. He graduated from the School of Law (1893), was a member of the IV State Duma, was a member of the Secretariat of the Local Council of 1917-1918.) In addition to them Yu. P. Novitsky ** and I. M. Kovsharov *** were honored with a martyr's crown. (** Novitsky Yury Petrovich was born in 1882 in the city of Uman, Kiev province. He graduated from the gymnasium and Kyiv University. Since 1914, he was an associate professor, then professor of the department of criminal law at Petrograd University. *** Kovsharov Ivan Mikhailovich was born in Odessa, a lawyer by education. He was 44 at the time of the trial.)
All the accused behaved with dignity, some fearlessly confessed their solidarity with the Metropolitan. The “case” was framed in such a way that the individual episodes that took place during the seizure of valuables in different Petrograd churches and at different times were combined and declared the result of malicious incitement on the part of the “criminal community” consisting of the Metropolitan and other persons, mainly members of the Board of the Society of Petrograd Orthodox parishes.
“You ask where we see a criminal organization? - said the prosecutor in a speech at the trial. - Why, she's in front of you! This organization is the Orthodox Church itself, with its strictly established hierarchy, its principle of subordinating the lower clergy to the higher, and with its undisguised counter-revolutionary inclinations!”
In the last word, the holy martyr said: “I don’t know what you will announce to me in your sentence - life or death. But no matter what you proclaim in it, with the same reverence I will turn my eyes to the mountain, put the sign of the cross on myself (at the same time, the metropolitan crossed himself widely) and say: glory to Thee, Lord God, for everything ... "
Professor Yu. P. Novitsky pointed out that his involvement in the case was explained only by the fact that he was the chairman of the Board of the Society of United Orthodox Parishes. He is completely innocent of the acts attributed to him. But if a sacrifice is needed in this matter, he is ready to face death without grumbling, asking only that they limit themselves to this and spare the rest of those involved.
I. M. Kovsharov said that he knew what fate awaited him. If at the trial he gave explanations in his own defense, it was only in order to fix in the public mind that he was dying innocent.
The last word of Archimandrite Sergius made a strong impression. He said that the monk, having renounced all the worries and anxieties of the external world, having given himself entirely to contemplation and prayer, remained attached to this life with only a weak physical thread. “Really,” he said, “the tribunal thinks that the rupture of this last thread can be terrible for me. Do your thing. I pity you and pray for you..."
On July 5, the tribunal announced the verdict. Ten people were sentenced to death: Metropolitan Veniamin, Archimandrite Sergius, Yu. Novitsky, I. Kovsharov, as well as Bishop Venedikt of Kronstadt (Plotnikov), Archpriest N. Chukov (rector of the Kazan Cathedral and rector of the Theological Institute, later Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod), Archpriest L. Bogoyavlensky (Rector of St. Isaac's Cathedral), Archpriest M. Cheltsov (Rector of the Trinity Izmailovsky Cathedral), N. F. Ognev (Professor of the Military Law Academy) and N. A. Elachich.
There were long days of waiting. Vladyka Benjamin said goodbye to his beloved flock in absentia and used the remaining days for final edifications. As a testament, as a parting word for the coming difficult years and decades, the words of his last letters to his disciples and fellow pastors sound: “Should we, Christians, and even priests, not show courage even to death, if there is any faith in Christ, in the life of the future century?!”
On the night of July 31, four condemned men were taken away from prison and shot a few versts from Petrograd.
The consecrated Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 canonized the Holy New Martyrs: Hieromartyrs Metropolitan Veniamin and Archimandrite Sergius, Martyrs Yuri and John, setting them to commemorate July 31 - the day of martyrdom and the day of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
Akathist
Kondak 1
Chosen by Christ the Lord to serve Him, from a young age ignited a spark of burning in the heart of the youth Basil to suffer for the faith of those who confess Orthodoxally Christ the Savior of the world. By the very deed, afterward, you fulfilled what you desired, confessing before the unbelievers and testifying: "I am for Christ." Honoring your courage and patience, we sing to you:
Ikos 1
The Angel of the Church was in the city of St. Peter and in the northern part of our country. Christ the Lord put you as a priest of the height of service to Him, Metropolis of Petrograd, and save the flock of His chosen sheep, strengthening them in Orthodoxy, instructing in piety and good deeds. For this sake, we, with spiritual care, sing to you:
Rejoice, youth chosen by God, desiring martyrdom;
Rejoice, God-fearing young man, who has gone through the conquest of passions.
Rejoice, growing into a husband, having come to the measure of the age of Christ and succeeding in virtues;
Rejoice, having labored a good feat, having received a sacred service.
Rejoice, successor of the apostolic service, in the dignity of a bishop, you have worked hard;
Rejoice, protect your Petrograd flock from the renovationist schism.
Rejoice, showing courage and patience before the godless persecutors of the faith;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 2
Seeing the Lord in the future as the governor of the warriors for the faith of Christ, send a spirit of zeal for God and a desire in your heart God-pleasing to live and keep the Orthodox faith with a martyr's confession, and with the sufferers cry eternally to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 2
Enlightened with reason from above and gifted with the Holy Spirit, but brought up in piety from youth with a heart, you were joy and consolation to everyone. In the same way we bring you praises sitz:
Rejoice, illumined by the light of piety from God;
Rejoice, filled with the teachings of piety from childhood.
Rejoice, fragrant branch of the root of the spiritual;
Rejoice, beloved of virginal purity from youth.
Rejoice, O priest of God and the piety of the parental heir;
Rejoice, dedicating your whole soul to the Lord.
Rejoice, by prayer and God-thinking your mind is staring into the mountains;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 3
Strengthened by the power of God, you took on an angelic image and in monasticism Benjamin, the son of the right hand, you were named, you lifted up great labors, killing the passions of the flesh with fasting, and like a warrior, against the prince of the power of the air, put on the whole armor of God, worthy. With the light of your God-reason, illumine us too, and let us cry together with you to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 3
Having the grace of the priesthood, the work of an evangelist and inspector did good in the walls of the Kholmsky Seminary with all patience and teaching, instructing others to correct your life with words and deeds. Honoring this work of yours, with one accord, one mouth with Metropolitan Evlogii, who praised you, and we cry out to you:
Rejoice, monastic feat and priestly service in your life combining good;
Rejoice, thou who instructed young souls and brought them to Christ.
Rejoice, successor of the sacred race;
Rejoice, thou who didst seek salvation with the right doctrine.
Rejoice, thou who didst not put this teaching to shame by thy life;
Rejoice, as righteously gave you the lot of the shepherd for the souls of care.
Rejoice, tireless clergyman of the Lord and ready to stay in the temple of God all hours of the day;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 4
Having avoided the storms of sin and the attack of the enemy with his waking life, calming down, he rushed to heavenly blessings, more God-loving Benjamin, having sought the only Hypostatic Wisdom, he received the secrets of theology from Her, for this reason he was elevated from the bishop of God to the archimandrite, he was appointed rector of the theological Petrograd Seminary, and with all the teachers and students sing to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 4
Hearing the hierarchs of the Russian Church about your tireless labors, like an angel, bearing a sign of heavenly grace, exuding rivers of God-wise words. In the same way, we, marveling at the wonderful providence of God, which appointed you the rector of the seminary, we cry out with praise:
Rejoice, God-wise interpreter of the Word of God;
Rejoice, having taught many words and deeds: "Everything is possible to do with Christ and in the name of Christ."
Rejoice, your talent is not hidden in the earth;
Rejoice, having used it for the glory of God and for the salvation of human souls.
Rejoice, having cast down the spirit of pride with your humility;
Rejoice, champion of goodness, victorious regiments of invisible enemies.
Rejoice, having taught patience with your life;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 5
The godly star of showing you in heaven in the host of the holy martyrs, the Lord Almighty, and on earth was thou a bright star, observing the God-bearing Blood from eternal death redeemed, always taking the rank of bishop, vicar of Gdov, thou art, even now in heaven shine with eternal glory and with the faces of the righteous sing a song of praise: Alleluia.
Ikos 5
When you see the Orthodox people, as if the church shone, shining in the enlightenment of the people of God on the hierarch’s candlestick, who nourished the Petrograd flock, and did not lazily work for the salvation of human souls, the same hear such praises to you:
Rejoice, you were named as a bishop by Metropolitan Vladimir, a holy martyr;
Rejoice, consecrated as a hierarch by the future Patriarch Tikhon.
Rejoice, for you have drawn the hearts of people filled with love for you;
Rejoice, archpastor, called "Father Benjamin" with love among the people.
Rejoice, the yoke of Christ is good and easy to wear;
Rejoice, vigilant maker of heavenly grapes.
Rejoice, pastoral duty and apostolic sermon assimilated in the episcopal ministry;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 6
The preacher of the teachings of Christ truly appeared to you, Hieromartyr Benjamin, when the Lord handed you the Metropolis of Petrograd, instructing your faith in your word, affirming the life of the faithful in piety and teaching everyone with love to sing to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 6
Having shone with the light of your God-reason in the northern region of our country, Saint Benjamin, the people, having seen you, the mentor of the goodness of Divine teachings, rejoiced zealously and unanimously chose you as the helmsman of the Petrograd cathedra. Accept from us, O servant of God, this praise:
Rejoice, beloved of your flock, the people of God;
Rejoice, you went humbly into the huts of the poor of this world.
Rejoice, and in the hierarchical dignity fulfill all the requirements of the faithful;
Rejoice, visiting them in poverty.
Rejoice, good archpastor, who personally gave birth to many children of the Church by holy baptism;
Rejoice, touched primate of the Divine Liturgy.
Rejoice, bringing those who have gone astray to repentance;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 7
Although the Lord of mankind, reveal in you a true shepherd, showing you an image to the flock of words in your labors, in the purity and meekness of your bright soul, you brought everyone to piety with your deeds and words. For this sake, we zealously magnify you and cry out to Christ who glorified you: Alleluia.
Ikos 7
Having seen the new zealot for piety and boundless devotion to the Church of Christ, the flock of Petrograd pay attention to the humble, simple and meek archpastor of believing souls, filling churches in a great multitude, where your metropolitan services are performed. Knowing your closeness to Christ God, do not stop praying to Him for us sinners, crying out laudatoryly:
Rejoice, chosen one of the people, appointed to the Petrograd cathedra;
Rejoice, thou who didst great labors for the salvation of the fallen.
Rejoice, kind mentor, compassionate to those in trouble.
Rejoice, for to whom in sorrow, like a comforter, thou hast appeared;
Rejoice, shining with evangelical simplicity and cordiality;
Rejoice, impartial overseer of the church ruled.
Rejoice, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, shepherd the flock of God.
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 8
It was strange for the unfaithful and wicked to see how St. Benjamin, this truly warrior of Christ, courageously clothed in the armor of truth and the reverence of truth, the Lord visit the Russian country with a fiery test, show venerable patience
and high nobility during the seizure by the godless of church values. In the same way, keep us, the servants of God, from all enemies, visible and invisible, who sing to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 8
I was completely filled with the zeal of Elijah the prophet, holy Benjamin, when he saw in his cell the renovationist Alexander Vvedensky, like the second Judas, having come from his godless and hypocritically asking for blessings, you did not give blessings, but said to him: "We are not in the Garden of Gethsemane." Reprove the living churchmen, having excommunicated them from the Church. Remembering your unshakable standing, we sing to you:
Rejoice, good shepherd of the flock of Christ, the flock of Petrograd;
Rejoice, fiery zeal for the salvation of the children of God.
Rejoice, merciful for the hungry voluntarily, without coercion, offering church property to give;
Rejoice, hurting your soul about blasphemers and blasphemers, protect the faithful from the renovationists.
Rejoice, one of the same mind to the holy confessor Patriarch Tikhon and his former companion;
Rejoice, Orthodoxy shone.
Rejoice, impartial to the accuser of all unrighteousness;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 9
You suffered all sorts of troubles, Saint Benjamin, enduring all sorts of hardships, insults and sufferings, when Herod's successors laid hands on you, and detained them, threw them into prison, in it, as if in the house of God, he called out to Christ the Savior: Alleluia.
Ikos 9
The Vityas of many things will not be able to utter all illnesses and wounds, even if you, as a servant of God, showed "in great patience, in calamities, in needs, in difficult circumstances, under blows in prison" and none of this "is not possible to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus." And now and always, faithful children, we sing to the glory of our mentor:
Rejoice, meekly walking into prison with humility;
Rejoice, comforted by the love of the flock.
Rejoice, like a turbulent sea, a congregation devoted to you, waiting for you with an assembly of many thousands at the court;
Rejoice, thou who lovest thy neighbor more than thyself.
Rejoice, strengthening the sufferers with you judged;
Rejoice, praise of the martyrs.
Rejoice, glory to the saints;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 10
Although the Lord of Hearts can save every person, your jealousy is in vain: in your youth, for you kissed the first martyrs with a fiery heart and grieved, as if you could not partake of their glorious feat, after the completion of time, send what you wished, and you also suffer for His name, Christ God and with sufferers sing: Alleluia.
Ikos 10
You were the wall of an innocently persecuted shepherd and laity, Hieromartyr Benjamin, with you judged by protecting from false slander, making yourself responsible for everything. Enemies are not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that speaks through your mouth, when you exposed their slanders and showed a joyful desire to die for Christ. We, marveling at your wisdom and courage, cry out to you with tenderness:
Rejoice, full of faith and strength to the High Hierarch of the city of St. Peter;
Rejoice, meek and despondent, like the first martyr Stephen.
Rejoice, spiritual spring, filled with the Holy Spirit;
Rejoice, divinely inspired adornment of bishops.
Rejoice, oppose the faithful for thee;
Rejoice, thou who didst not turn back to the end.
Rejoice, as martyrs in heaven about your patience rejoicing;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 11
We offer the singing of thanksgiving and laudatory to you, holy martyr, who laid down his life for his friends. By the bold faith of Orthodoxy we confess that we are righteous and will live forever after death, singing to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 11
We honor you with a bright lamp, sufferer of Christ, your last word from the high martyr's chair of the lawless court edifies everyone and shakes with its greatness. This is your last sermon, holy martyr: “I don’t know what you will announce to me in your sentence: life or death, but whatever you proclaim in it, I will turn my eyes to grief with equal reverence, put the sign of the cross on myself and say: " Glory to Thee, Lord God, for everything!". We sing to you with tenderness:
Rejoice, you who accepted the bonds and prison for Christ;
Rejoice, thou who didst feed on a single holy prosphora throughout the days of prison.
Rejoice, the last hierarchal blessing in prison to fellow prisoners archimandrites
Guria and Innokenty given;
Rejoice, for in this temporary life, for the sake of the Lord, you labored to the end for the salvation of your soul.
Rejoice, as if on Sunday night you were killed as a sign of the general resurrection;
Rejoice, for through suffering you were made worthy of being a partaker of eternal glory.
Rejoice, for in your name temples of God are erected;
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 12
Knowing the grace given from above, we reverently kiss the radiant and honorable face of your image and tenderly cry out to Christ our God: Alleluia.
Ikos 12
Singing your glorious and irresistible standing for the true faith, we indulge your martyrdom and accept your last writing from prison, like the great apostle of the tongues Paul, sent by a disciple and fellow pastor, we listen to him, like your testament and cry out to you:
Rejoice, for the opportunity has opened up for you to endure Christ for the sake of it;
Rejoice, for in the midst of great tribulations, consolation from God abounded for you.
Rejoice, full of joy and inner peace in the midst of the most grievous sufferings;
Rejoice, you who endured everything for Christ - prison, judgment, public spitting, doom and sentence - "guilty of death."
Rejoice, in Christ you have found life, light and peace;
Rejoice, you who did not spare yourself for the Church and forgot your mind, learning and gave place to the grace of God.
Rejoice, handing over the fate of the Church to the power of faith and commanding everyone: "We need more faith, we need more faith";
Rejoice, holy martyr Benjamin, archpastor of the Church of Christ.
Kondak 13
O great and glorious confessor of Orthodoxy and sufferer, Hieromartyr Benjamin! Accept this praiseworthy singing from us, unworthy ones, who honor you and yours with love for Christ and His holy Church of suffering. Beg the Lord, who crowned you with glory, to send us from the troubles, sorrows and illnesses that obstruct us, speedy deliverance. Be an unremitting prayer book to us before the Throne of the Most High, so that in eternal life we will be honored with you and with all the saints to sing to Him forever: Alleluia.
(This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1st and kontakion 1st)
PRAYER
Oh, wonderful to the saint, God-wise and all-holy Father, our Hieromartyr Benjamin! We now resort to you with faith and love, honoring you, bringing this praise from the bottom of our hearts and thoughts. We pray diligently, passionate saint, do not forget those who diligently flow to you: confirm us in the faith of the Orthodox saints, teach us to always do the commandments of God, heal the illnesses of the soul and body, be our patron and refuge in sorrows and misfortunes, intercede from visible enemies and invisible, and we, who have pleasingly passed the field of this life, with your intercession and God-pleasing prayers, we will be the heirs of the Kingdom of God and will be honored with you to stand before the Throne of the King of Glory, worshiping Him and singing to the ages of ages. Amen.
TROPAR
Troparion, tone 3
We illuminate with divine light from youth, you desired martyrdom and by dignity you were the archpastor of the Church of Christ, shepherding the Petrograd flock. He denounced flattery at the judgment of the godless, an unshakable pillar, an inextinguishable lamp appeared to you, Hieromartyr Benjamin, pray to Christ God to grant us great mercy.
Kontakion, tone 2
Like a martyr, like a faithful hierarch and champion of Orthodoxy, he cut down the pride of the godless with a spiritual sword, Hieromartyr Benjamin, we hymn your soul with strong patience and the valor of your exploits.
magnificence
We magnify you, Hieromartyr Benjamin, and honor your holy memory: for you pray for us Christ our God.
Life from the site:
Metropolitan Veniamin (in the world Ivan Afanasyevich Fedchenkov) was born on September 2 (O.S.), 1880, in the village of Ilyinka (Vyazhli), Kirsanovsky district, Tambov province. Vladyka's father - Afanasy Ivanovich - was a serf of I. I. Baratynsky, then served as a clerk there. The family lived hard, earning their daily bread by the sweat of their brow. But thanks to constant work and self-restraint, the parents managed to give their six children a good education. Three of them "took the spiritual path."
The future metropolitan received his primary education at a zemstvo school in the village of Sergievka in the same Kirsanov district, then studied for two years at the Kirsanov district school (1891-1893), after which he successively graduated from the theological school in Tambov and the Tambov Theological Seminary. Then he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, where he studied until 1917, graduating from the Academy with a degree in theology. At the academy, I. A. Fedchenkov met the spiritual mentor of the archimandrite (later Archbishop Theophan (Bystrov, + 1940), with whom he kept in touch later, when both of them, teacher and student, found themselves in forced exile outside the Fatherland. Archimandrite Theophan was the confessor and "abbot" Ivan Fedchenkov, who also tonsured him into monasticism in November 1907.
In December 1907, the monk Veniamin, who was tonsured in honor of the holy martyr Deacon Benjamin (October 12 and March 31), was ordained a hierodeacon, and a week later, at the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, he was ordained to the rank of hieromonk.
In 1910-1911, Father Veniamin served as associate professor at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in the Department of Pastoral Theology, Homiletics and Asceticism. In December 1911, Father Veniamin was appointed rector of the Tauride Theological Seminary, and on December 26 in Vyborg he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Archbishop Sergius (Stragorodsky). At the end of the summer of 1913, Archimandrite Veniamin received a new appointment, taking the post of rector of the Taurida Theological Seminary.
The events of February 1917 found Archimandrite Benjamin in Tver. These events, as can be seen from the book of memoirs of Bishop Benjamin, are far from bloodless, aroused in him a feeling of heartfelt grief over the flaring fratricide. In the autumn of 1917 he was elected rector of the Tauride Theological Seminary. In February 1919, Archimandrite Veniamin (Fedchenkov) was consecrated Bishop of Sevastopol, Vicar of the Diocese of Tauride, and assigned to the post of Rector of the Chersonesos Monastery in Odessa.
The spring of 1920 was marked for the vicar of the Taurida diocese by joining the white movement. At the invitation of General P.N. Wrangel, he headed the military and naval clergy of the Russian Army. As Bishop of the Army and Navy (such was the new title of Bishop), he coordinated the activities of military priests, traveled to the front, and under his leadership the newspaper "Holy Rus" was published. He went along with the Whites to the end and left the borders of Russia in November 1920.
In Constantinople, Bishop Veniamin became a member of the Supreme Church Administration Abroad, and also became a member of the Russian Council formed under General Wrangel. In the autumn of 1923, at the invitation of Archbishop Savvaty (Vrabets, +1953), who was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bishop Veniamin became his vicar in Carpathian Rus, which at that time was part of Czechoslovakia. In the summer of 1924, Bishop Veniamin lived in "Petkovice", but did not manage the monastery, devoting himself to monastic work and work on theological writings. In the summer of 1925, Bishop Veniamin was invited by Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievsky, +1946) to Paris as an inspector and teacher at the Orthodox Theological Institute named after St. Sergius.
In 1927, he applied for retirement and, having received a corresponding decree from Moscow, retired to the deserted monastery of St. Savva of Serbia, where he lived together with a Serbian ascetic monk. Vladyka labored in the skete in 1927-1928,
In May 1933, Bishop Veniamin left for America, where he was to read a series of lectures on the Russian Orthodox Church. In November 1933, Vladyka Veniamin was appointed archbishop of the Aleutian and North American, leaving exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate in America.
During the Great Patriotic War, Metropolitan Veniamin became one of the inspirers of a powerful patriotic movement that embraced all layers of the Russian emigration.
In December 1944, Metropolitan Veniamin received an invitation from Moscow to come to the Local Council. At the beginning of 1945, after 25 years of exile, Metropolitan Veniamin again entered his native land. He participated in the work of the Local Council, in the election and enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky, +1945), officiated in Moscow churches, communicated with the church people, with the clergy and hierarchs.
In February 1948, Vladyka finally returned to his homeland and was appointed to the Riga cathedra. In March 1951, Metropolitan Veniamin was transferred to the Rostov see, where he remained until the end of 1955. During these years, he became especially close to St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea (+1961) - the famous "hierarch-surgeon", an ascetic of piety. Then, by the Decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I (Simansky) of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) was determined to be the Metropolitan of Saratov and Balashov. By this time, the bishop's health had deteriorated greatly. In 1958, Vladyka retired, and on February 27, 1958, he settled in the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery. When his state of health allowed, he served in monastic churches and preached, putting his rich spiritual and literary heritage in order. In these last years, he experienced the most difficult test - he lost the gift of speech.
On October 4, 1958, the feast day of St. Demetrius of Rostov, Vladyka Veniamin reposed in the Lord and was buried in the caves of the monastery. The place of his burial is surrounded by the veneration of the brethren and pious pilgrims.
| Bishop of Gdov vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese |
Since 1905 - the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.
May 14, 1916, Order of St. Vladimir II degree For excellent and diligent service and labors incurred during military operations.
While still a student, he actively participated in the activities of the Society for the Propagation of Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church, organizing conversations among workers. He took the hierarchical dignity as a duty of pastoral deed and apostolic preaching.
He often served in churches in the most remote and poor outskirts of the capital: behind the Neva and Narva outposts, on Okhta. He was chairman of the council of the Diocesan Brotherhood of the Most Holy Theotokos; in this position, he was in charge of all the parochial schools of the diocese. Comrade Chairman of the All-Russian Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood of Sobriety (elected at the first meeting of the Council of the Brotherhood on December 15, 1914).
He led the annual marches of sobriety supporters to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, Kolpino. He laid the foundation for the service in St. Petersburg churches of liturgies for schoolchildren in various parishes, he himself gave communion to children, and gave sermons. He was known as "the indefatigable bishop".
On May 24, 1917, by free vote of the clergy and laity of the diocese, he was elected to the Petrograd cathedra (received 976 electoral votes out of 1561), which was one of the first cases of the democratic election of a bishop to the church cathedra by clergy and laity in Russia; On May 25 (old style) of the same year, by the determination of the Holy Synod No. 3300, he was approved by the Archbishop of Petrograd and Ladoga
Since June 17 (O.S.), 1917 - Archbishop of Petrograd and Gdov (title change by definition of the Holy Synod). On August 13, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.
As the ruling bishop, he enjoyed authority among believers, selflessly advocated the protection of their religious rights. Contributed to the creation of Orthodox brotherhoods, the development of spiritual enlightenment. Immediately after the closing of the theological seminary in Petrograd in 1918, the Theological and Pastoral School was established. With the close participation of the metropolitan, the organization, which opened on April 16, 1920, was held. Numerous theological and evangelistic courses operated in the city. He had a reputation as an apolitical church figure.
In 1919, he temporarily ruled the Olonets diocese, due to the fact that the local bishop, Ioanniky (Dyachkov), left it without permission. In October 1919, he visited Petrozavodsk, held a meeting with the local clergy, aiming them at active pastoral work in the conditions of the separation of the Church from the state.
On February 23, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued a decree on the seizure of church valuables for the needs of the starving. Metropolitan Veniamin from the very beginning expressed a desire to reach a compromise with the authorities on this issue. He was able to agree that representatives of the clergy should be present during the seizure of valuables, and items of particular importance to believers could be replaced with a similar metal by weight. However, the authorities deliberately used the issue of church values in order to start a powerful anti-church campaign. Therefore, the agreement reached by the metropolitan was not respected, and in a number of churches conflicts were provoked between believers and government officials.
Under these conditions, the metropolitan turned to the clergy and flock and allowed “communities and believers to donate to the needs of the starving ... even robes from holy icons, but without touching the shrines of the temple, which include holy thrones and what is on them (sacred ] vessels, tabernacles, crosses, Gospels, containers of holy relics and especially revered icons)”. Moreover, he urged believers not to allow manifestations of "violence in one form or another" even in the event of the seizure of shrines. He stated that "neither in the temple, nor near it, harsh expressions, irritation, malicious cries against individuals or nationalities are inappropriate." He issued an appeal to the pastors and flock for calmness: “Keep a good Christian mood in the difficult trial we are going through. Do not give any reason for a drop of any human blood to be shed near the temple where the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered. Stop worrying. Take it easy. Surrender yourself to the will of God."
During the formation in May 1922, after the removal of Patriarch Tikhon, who was brought to civil court, from the management of the church, the renovationist Supreme Church Administration (HCU), supported by the authorities, refused to recognize its legitimacy. In a message to the flock of May 28, he stated that he had not received any message from the Patriarch about his abdication and the formation of the HCU, and therefore the name of the Patriarch should still be raised in all churches.
A memorial portrait of Veniamin (Kazansky) on the road to the place of mass executions at the "artillery range on the Irinovskaya railway" (a forest section of the Rzhevsky artillery range adjacent to the Ryabovskoye highway between the former stations of Kovalevo and Priyutino)
