Tver, Russia, January 3, 2023
Photo: tvereparhia.ru
Two great anniversaries connected with the New Martyr St. Thaddeus (Uspensky) of Tver were celebrated in the Tver Metropolis on his feast day this year.
A host of hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church came together at the Ascension Cathedral in Tver to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the martyrdom and the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great 20th-century Holy Hierarch and martyr, the Tver Metropolis reports.
St. Thaddeus was appointed to the Tver Diocese in 1928. He was highly regarded in the Church—Patriarch St. Tikhon called him “the light of the Church, a miracle of our time.”
OrthoChristian has translated and published many of his edifying and inspiring homilies, which can be read here.
By decree of the NKVD of the Kalinin Province on December 29, 1937, he was sentenced to death by firing squad. However, the executors considered this sentence too easy, and on December 31, he was drowned in sewage. He was canonized in February 1997.
His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver led the All-Night Vigil on December 30 this year together with His Grace Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisk and local and visiting clergy.
Photo: live.staticflickr.com
The next day, Met. Ambrose was joined by four hierarchs and local and visiting clergy for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
Prayers for the restoration of peace were offered during the service.
Archpriest Dimitry Kurdyukov of Tver offered the homily, emphasizing that St. Thaddeus’ “inner asceticism and constant trust in God gave him the strength to overcome all the hardships and deprivations he faced.”
Photo: live.staticflickr.com
Following the service, Met. Ambrose offered a word about how we can learn how to face even the most difficult of trials from the example of St. Thaddeus.
The Metropolitan then presented each of the concelebrating hierarchs with an icon of St. Thaddeus with a particle of his holy relics.
In honor of the anniversaries of St. Thaddeus, the Tver Metropolis also held an academic and practical conference with a number of presentations on the life and veneration of the New Martyr. An 8-volume work on The Spiritual Heritage of Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky) was also published and presented at the conference.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
