Moscow, September 15, 2017
Photo: oca.org The relics of Patriarch St. Tikhon of Moscow will be solemnly transferred from Moscow’s Donskoy Monastery to Christ the Savior Cathedral on December 4 in celebration of the centenary of his enthronement as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, RIA-Novosti reports.
Speaking at a meeting in preparation of events related to the 100th anniversary of the 1917 revolution, Vladimir Legoida, the head of the Synodal Department for the Church’s Relations with the Society and Mass Media, noted that the day of St. Tikhon’s enthronement is always celebrated as a Church feast, but it is especially noteworthy this year as one of the key events dedicated to the centenary of the events of 1917. The election and enthronement of St. Tikhon as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was especially noteworthy as he was the first patriarch since Tsar Peter I had abolished the patriarchate in 1721.
“Liturgy is planned for this day in Christ the Savior Cathedral, and the transfer of the relics of St. Tikhon from Donskoy Monastery to Christ the Savior Cathedral for veneration is planned,” Legoida stated. The Divine Liturgy in the cathedral will be celebrated by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
Legoida also emphasized that the election of St. Tikhon to the patriarchal throne was a “landmark event” in the life of the Church, marking the end of the nearly 200-years Synodal period, “when the Church was actually ruled by the power of the state,” and restoring the canonical structure of the Russian Church.
“At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Church was the largest and most influential in the family of Orthodox Churches, protecting Orthodoxy in the Middle East, and everyone looked to the Russian Church, expecting much from it. At the same time, the Russian Church was on such a strange page of its history—the so-called Synodal period, and many partially linked the weakness of the Church with the fact that the canonical structure was violated, and the Church did not have the possibility to bring its independent word to society,” the department head continued.
It was earlier reported that a piece of the relics of St. Tikhon will also be brought to America this year, in honor of the centenary. The reliquary will visit parishes both of the Russian Church Abroad and of other jurisdictions in America. A detailed schedule is forthcoming.
Patriarch St. Tikhon, along with Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, Patriarchs Sergius (Stragorodsky) and Alexei II, and Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, was recently included in Forbes Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential Russians of the 20th century, as chosen by experts and readers.
