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.
Activities and affiliations
- 1917–1922 Religion · Russian Orthodox Church
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
Related historical events
The 1922 Church-property seizure and Petrograd trial
When the authorities moved to seize church valuables in the name of famine relief in 1922, Benjamin did not oppose giving church property to help the starving. He insisted, however, that contributions be voluntary and that parishes control the distribution of relief funds. On March 6, an agreement with a famine-relief commission placed voluntary contributions under parish administration. The Moscow party leadership rejected this arrangement and declared that confiscation would continue. Some Petrograd clergy negotiated a compromise with the authorities: parishes could retain sacred vessels if they surrendered other property of equal value. Benjamin thus sought both to protect sacred vessels and to prevent clashes between the population and the authorities, but opposed the Renovationists’ attempt to transfer church governance to a new administration. He declared Alexander Vvedensky outside the Church until he repented and refused pressure to retract the decree. The authorities placed him under house arrest, then detained and tried him. During the two-week trial, prosecution witnesses testified against the defendants; after testimony weakened the government’s case, Professor Egorov of the Technological Institute was arrested in court. The tribunal convicted Benjamin and the other defendants and on July 5 sentenced ten, including him, to death. On July 31, 1922, Benjamin was executed in disguise so that the firing squad would not recognize him as a clergyman. The trial brought disputes over control of famine relief together with the internal struggle over Church authority and the state seizure of Church property.