Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmykia. Sarpinsky district, Kalmykia
According to His Holiness Patriarch Alexei, the end of the 1980s signified the advent of the era of church revival, or “the second Baptism of Russia.” This period of time has already become a part of the recent history of Orthodox Russia. Unfortunately, due to the natural change of generations, the number of people who witnessed it as grown adults dwindles with every passing year. Young priests, yesterday’s graduates of theological schools, know more through hearsay about the challenges and bright moments that fell to the lot of their older fellow clergymen. Oftentimes they don’t even realize how much of what today is considered mundane and ordinary in the life of the Church had actually originated in that period. All the more precious then are the testimonies of clergymen who were not only eyewitnesses, but also the direct participants in the most important Church events that took place at that time. One of them is the current Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmykia. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of his consecration as bishop. Vladyka shared his memories of the era of church revival with Pravoslavie.ru.
Procession with the cross towards the regional administration building of the city of Tver. May 6, 1993
—Vladyka, you were a witness to and participant in many important evens in Church history. One of them was the finding of the relics of the Holy Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky), Archbishop of Tver. Please, tell us how it all happened.
—The Lord had called me to serve as archbishop of Tver, where I was abbot of the Ascension Cathedral, which at that time had just been returned—with great difficulty—to our Church. The thing is that, during the Soviet times, the cathedral’s building housed an industrial exhibition and its administrators were unwilling to free the premises. So, when we finally got the keys to the building, we began to hold services and carry out repairs there.
Blocking the entrance to the industrial exhibition building located inside the Ascension Cathedral. July 9, 1993.
During those difficult but blessed times, the Lord vouchsafed me to participate in the uncovering of the relics of the Holy Hierarch Thaddeus, the Archbishop of Tver. It happened in the fall, on the feast day of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. I was then invited by church activists, who decided at their own peril and risk to perform an unauthorized uncovering of the hierarch’s grave. A group of our parishioners organized by a representative of Fr. Damascene (Orlovsky)1 discovered in the indicated place the remains of the slain archbishop. It was quite an ordeal, and they succeeded only after a third attempt. I served the first Pannikhida over them, and even though the official evaluation had not yet begun, it was already obvious that we were in the presence of the relics of a martyr, who suffered during those terrifying times. They were taken to Moscow for an expertise, which happened to be quite an expensive procedure, but the parish council made a conciliar decision that we must spare no expense.
The expertise indicated that the remains truly belonged to Archbishop Thaddeus. We began hastily preparing for the translation of the relics, as we wanted to time it to coincide with the archbishop’s name day—the commemoration of Apostle Thaddeus on September 3. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I couldn’t wait to see the arrival of the archbishop’s relics; on the other hand, I was in awe of the personality of Archbishop Thaddeus, a man of strict asceticism and unceasing prayer, who was not of this world. At the time, I had already learned and had heard very much about him.
So, when on September 3, 1994, the translation of the relics was delayed for an indefinite period of time, I mentally embraced the news: as a priest and rector of the Ascension Cathedral, where the relics were to be transferred, I did everything I could. As for the rest, it was in the hands of the Lord.
In the end of November of 1994, we’ve got the news that the translation of the relics would coincide with the day of martyrdom of the Holy Hierarch Thaddeus. We had to hastily repair the temple: the scaffolding, the plaster, and the paint—all of this could stand in the way and overshadow the memorable celebration of all Orthodox people of Tver. We felt inspired by the upcoming event, yet we weren’t confident that this future joy would really come to be till the last moment…
The translation of relics of the Holy Hieromartyr Thaddeus to the Ascension Cathedral. December 29, 1994.
—How did the parishioners of other churches in Tver react to what had happened?
—The land of Tver is replete with spiritual heritage. It’s necessary to remember the Holy Hierarchs Arsenius and Barsonuphius of Tver, the Righteous Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver, and also Venerable Sabbatius of Orsha, whose veneration was restored in part by the active participation of the community of the Ascension Cathedral. He is an amazing saint, who became known for a lot of miracles performed in his lifetime, but even more so after his death. There was no longer a church standing at the site of his feats, and his earthed up cell was also gone. Because of this, the local lore had it that Venerable Sabbatius lived a life of an ascetic in a cave, which was technically impossible in the Tver marshlands. His cell was covered with a mound of earth to keep it warm and protect from wild animals. That’s why some of the accounts of his life said that venerable saint lived in a cave. The pilgrims continually flock there. There are countless accounts of miracles that happened after prayers to him. A church of Our Lady “of the Sign” has been erected on the site of his deeds. There was nothing before there. It was our community that organized first celebrations and pilgrimage trips to that place.
The tomb with the relics of the Holy Hieromartyr Thaddeus. Ascension Cathedral of Tver. July, 1995.
The canonization of St. Thaddeus has been a natural continuation of the spiritual chronicle of the land of Tver
The canonization of St. Thaddeus was a natural continuation of the spiritual chronicle of the land of Tver. It seems fair to say that not only his martyrdom, but also his archpastoral ministry has been “in the spirit and power” of the Upper Volga’s holy hierarchs. The memory of him was alive among the believers. Therefore, once it became possible to openly speak about Orthodoxy and persecution the Russian Church has suffered in the twentieth century, the parishioners, of their own initiative, began to collect the materials for the canonization of the Holy Hierarch Thaddeus. And, of course, it shouldn’t go without mention the immense contribution to the issue of glorification of Vladyka Victor (Oleynik), who headed the Tver diocese at the time. Owing to his contacts among the long-time residents of Tver, he had learned a great deal about Archbishop Thaddeus and has become one of the first clergymen who began to collect materials about him. It was him who initiated the petition to canonize the holy hierarch.
A pilgrimage to the source of the Volga. May, 1994.
The blessing of the source of the Volga. May, 1994.
—You also played a central role in the process of translation of the relics of the Venerable Nilus of Stolobny from the church in the town of Ostashkov to the newly restored St. Nilus of Stolobny Hermitage. How significant was this event in the life of the diocese?
—The translation of the relics of the Venerable Nilus of Stolobny to the St. Nilus of Stolobny Hermitage, which was headed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexiy in 1995, was an important milestone in the restoration of Orthodoxy in the land of Tver. Church events on this scale were a novelty at the time, and the church hierarchy assigned me to be responsible for the organization of His Holiness’s visit to the Upper Volga region. We prepared a very eventful program, which included a visit by His Holiness to the Orthodox Children’s Center in Konakovo, a divine service in Tver, a trip to Ostashkov, the translation of the relics of St. Nilus to the St. Nilus of Stolobny Monastery, and the blessing of the source of the Volga. Everything that had to do with the visit to Ostashkov and the rest of the program of the Primatial visit was my responsibility.
The translation of the relics of Venerable Nilus from the Our Lady of the Sign Church in Ostashkov to the St. Nilus of Stolobny Hermitage. July 9, 1995.
I was all nerves worrying that the church was still covered in scaffolding inside and out, and that we would hardly be able to finish the repairs in time for the Patriarch’s visit. Besides, I haven’t yet made a trip to Ostashkov, two hundred kilometers away from Tver… The clergy in Ostashkov took the upcoming Primatial visit with total peace of mind. Not only were they not making any serious repairs, but they also shirked their chance to fish dead flies out of the oil lamps or install new bulbs in the church chandelier. All my attempts to get them going were met with an indifferent answer: “Father, why are you so worried? Whatever you do, no matter how much work is done, we’ll still mess up somewhere. Something inevitably happens.” And so, apparently they assumed that it was best to avoid doing anything at all in anticipation of that said “mess up” moment… So, it all started to look like a joke. I’d tell them, “The chandelier will be alight. Why doesn’t it have a full set of working lights?” “Father, the liturgy takes place in the daytime, why should we turn on the chandelier? And even if we do turn it on, no one will notice what’s burned out and what’s not!” “But how about at least polishing the chandelier for the Patriarch’s arrival?” “We’ve just celebrated Pascha; we cleaned it before the feast…” This is only about the church, covered from top to bottom with icons, large and tiny rugs, and embroidered linens. I knew then that I wouldn’t get any help from the local clergy.
There were many things left to do “outside” the church, because after Liturgy the procession with the relics would board small motor boats and travel to the St. Nilus of Stolobny Hermitage. So, I had plenty of things to keep me busy. I realized that without my helpers from the Ascension Cathedral I wouldn’t manage it all here. I sent for the cathedral’s altar boys, and they started cleaning the chandelier and oil lamps and removed old icons and extra rugs, big and small.
His Holiness the Patriarch said to me: “Get ready, you are going to be asked to attend the Synod soon.” That’s how I was called to archpastoral ministry
Everything went well by the grace of God. I was able to speak privately with His Holiness Patriarch Alexiy, when he retired for a rest between services and official functions to an islet on the Volga where a house had been prepared for him. At my request, his cell attendants picked strawberries, leaving them on long stalks and making a small bouquet. When His Holiness got on a boat to the general gathering place, he invited me to sit next to him, asked me some questions and treated me to the ripened strawberries from his bouquet. This episode remains fixed in my memory. This was when His Holiness the Patriarch told me: “Get ready, you are going to be called to the Synod soon.” That’s how I was called to the archpastoral ministry.
To be continued…
