A metropolitan who defended church control of famine relief while protecting sacred objects
“Let believers donate for famine relief, but do not touch the sacred objects of the church.”
A Russian Orthodox metropolitan and leader of the Petrograd diocese, he rebuilt church education and parish life after the Revolution. He kept the Church apart from the White movement, yet resisted state violations of ecclesiastical autonomy and sacred objects. During the Volga famine of 1922, he proposed voluntary donations of non-sacred church property and relief administered with church participation, but was arrested when the authorities turned confiscation into a political campaign. Convicted in the Petrograd trial, he was executed and canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992.
Career Timeline
- 1897–1898Teacher of Scripture, Riga Theological Seminary
- 1898–1899Inspector, Kholm Theological Seminary
- 1899–1902Inspector, St Petersburg Theological Seminary
- 1902–1905Rector, Samara Theological Seminary
- 1905–1910Rector, St Petersburg Theological Seminary
- 1910–1917Bishop of Gdov, vicar of the St Petersburg diocese
- 1917–1922Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov
- 1922Defendant in the Petrograd trial, executed