Homily on the Commemoration of the Saints of Moscow
Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1962)
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered in 1962)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Holy Church blesses the memory of the first hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, who shone with deeds of piety and wise management of the flock of Christ – Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes. These hierarchs ruled the Church at different times, but all of them, thanks to their zeal for the salvation of the souls entrusted to them, had one and the same spirit of Christ's love for their neighbors, the readiness to lay down their very souls for their neighbors.
The first to rule the Church was the Holy Metropolitan Peter – from 1308 to 1326. He came from pious parents and was originally from the Volyn region. Having felt a strong attraction to monastic life since childhood, the future saint entered a monastery at the age of twelve, where he devoted himself to the feats of fasting and prayer, for which he deservedly enjoyed universal respect and love. For his pious life and ascetic zeal, he was soon elevated to the rank of abbot, and he became the head of the monastery he founded on the banks of the Rata River. Subsequently, Saint Peter was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' and governed the Church well until the day of his death.
His rule coincided with the difficult times of the Tatar-Mongol enslavement, when morality among the people fell extremely low. The Saint often had to travel to the Horde to defend the Church and the Christian faith. And with God's help, he was able to protect the Church and raise the moral state of his native people. Another important deed of Saint Peter was the transfer of the Metropolitan see from Vladimir to Moscow. Foreseeing the future significance of the new capital, Saint Peter moved to the small town of Moscow and at the same time advised Prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita to build a stone church in Moscow in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. "If you listen to me, my son," he said to the prince, "then you yourself and your family will become more famous than other princes, and your city will be famous among all Russian cities, and the saints will live in it, and my bones will be laid here." His prediction came true exactly, but he himself did not live to see the completion of the temple. Saint Peter died peacefully on December 21, 1326, and his body, from which many miracles flowed, was found to be incorrupt. He is the painter of the miraculous icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, painted by him.
Another saint who labored during the Tatar-Mongol oppression was the Holy Metropolitan Alexy, who governed the Church from 1354 to 1378. Saint Alexy, in the world Eleutherius, was born into a pious boyar family in Moscow. From his early youth he was drawn to the monastic life, and at the age of twenty he took monastic vows at the Moscow Theophany Monastery. From an early age he loved to read the Holy Scriptures, thanks to which he acquired spiritual wisdom. After the death of Metropolitan Theognost, Saint Alexy was appointed Metropolitan of all Russia. He also had to travel to the Horde many times to protect the Church and the Russian population.
The first time the Metropolitan went to the Horde was at the request of Khan Janibek, whose wife, Taidula, had fallen seriously ill with her eyes and lost her sight. The Khan, having heard of the holy life of the Metropolitan, sent the Prince a letter in which he demanded that Saint Alexy be sent to him to heal his wife. If the request was not fulfilled, the Khan threatened to destroy the Russian land. Before setting out on the journey, Saint Alexy, trusting in God's help, decided to serve a farewell prayer at the tomb of Saint Peter. And the Lord, not disdaining the prayers of the Primate, revealed to him that He Himself would be with him and that his journey would end successfully. During the prayer service before the relics of Saint Peter, a candle lit itself, and, encouraged by the hope of God's mercy, Metropolitan Alexy set out for the Horde. Upon arrival there, he served a prayer service for the health of the sick woman and sprinkled her with holy water, after which she regained her sight. In gratitude for the healing, the khan showed great mercy to the entire Russian land and to Saint Alexy personally.
Another time, the Moscow Primate had to go to the Horde on the occasion of a new cruel order from Khan Berdibek regarding the collection of heavy taxes from our people. And with the help of his grateful mother, Taidula, he really managed to soften the harsh ruler and convince him not to burden Rus' with unbearable taxes.
Saint Alexy also made great efforts to pacify the internal life of the country, being a wise advisor to the princes, exhorting them to unite under the authority of the Prince of Moscow.
Saint Alexy tirelessly cared for the construction of churches and monasteries and worked diligently to improve the morality of the clergy and flock. He is credited with correcting the Gospel from the Greek text. He died peacefully on February 12, 1378. His incorrupt relics, which previously rested in the Chudov Monastery, are now in the Yelokhovo Cathedral.
The Holy Metropolitan Jonah was also a virtuous man. In his early youth he entered one of the monasteries of the Galich region, and then labored in the Moscow Simonov Monastery, surprising everyone with his feats of fasting and prayer. With his appointment as Metropolitan in 1448, the Russian Church gained independence. From that time on, Russian Primates were appointed to the cathedra not by the Patriarch of Constantinople, but only by the synod of Russian bishops. Under his rule, the final division of the Russian Church into two metropolitanates took place: Moscow and Kiev. The incorrupt relics of Saint Jonah rest in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
The Holy Metropolitan Philip ruled the Church during the difficult times of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, when terrible crimes were committed in our country by the hands of Oprichniks, when the blood of innocent people was shed. Saint Philip acted as a bold denouncer of the tsar's iniquities, for which he was persecuted and strangled by the hands of Malyuta Skuratov.
Saint Philip came from a noble family of Moscow boyars, the Kolychevs. At the age of thirty, secretly leaving his parents, he went on foot to the Solovetsky Monastery and worked hard there as an ordinary novice. His tirelessness and zeal did not escape the notice of the brethren, and he was so revered and respected by all that he was soon honored with being elected abbot of this glorious monastery. He governed it for eighteen years, improving both its external and moral life so much that word of him spread throughout all corners of our country. After Metropolitan Athanasius left the cathedra, he was elected Metropolitan of Moscow at the request of Ivan the Terrible, despite insistent requests not to place an unbearable burden on him.
The first period of the Saint's reign, when Ivan the Terrible obeyed him, was marked by calm and peace in the country. But then the Tsar again fell under the influence of the Oprichniks, and lawlessness began to occur in the country, and innocent Christian blood was shed. Unable to look at this with indifference, Metropolitan Philip began to publicly denounce the Tsar for his atrocities.
For his fair denunciation of the untruth, he was deposed from his see and sent to the Tver Otroch Monastery, where he was imprisoned for a year. Then Ivan the Terrible, heading with the Oprichniks to Novgorod and passing by the monastery, sent Malyuta Skuratov to take the Saint's blessing to destroy Novgorod. But the Holy Metropolitan replied: "I bless only the good for good," for which he was strangled by the lawless hands of Malyuta Skuratov. The relics of Saint Philip rest in the Dormition Cathedral.
The life of the Holy Patriarch Hermogenes, who ruled the Church from 1606 to 1612, also ended in martyrdom. At that time, civil strife, disorder, and unrest were taking place in Russia, impostors were appearing, and the country was experiencing grave disasters: Moscow was captured by the Poles, and the Russian people were in danger of losing Orthodoxy and freedom, since many of the boyars, having betrayed the faith of their fathers, demanded, out of cowardly fear, that the Polish king be accepted to the throne.
Then the Holy Patriarch sent letters throughout the country, calling for an uprising to defend the perishing Motherland. For this, he was imprisoned by traitors under strict guard and starved to death. But his work did not stop. People's militias were formed everywhere, and finally, under the leadership of Prince Pozharsky, an entire army was assembled, which liberated Moscow and the entire country from the Poles. Rus' was saved - thanks to the firmness and zeal for Orthodoxy of the Holy Patriarch Hermogenes.
Thus, we see that all the saints whose memory is celebrated on this day, guided the Church in difficult times, but managed to steer the ship of the Church and preserve it amidst the raging sea of worldly passions, for which they are now blessed as zealous archshepherds, who laid down their souls for the souls of the rational sheep entrusted to them by Christ. Let us pray to them today and ask them to intercede in Heaven for the Russian Church and help us inherit eternal life. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.