Archbishop Hilarion (secular name: Vladimir Alexeyevich Troitsky) was born on September 13/25, 1886 in the village of Lipitsy of the Kashira district of the Tula province (now in the Moscow region) into the family of the parish priest Alexei Troitsky. The grandfather and father of the future Archbishop Hilarion served at the same church in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. During the years of the Soviet persecution, this church lost its bell-tower and was badly damaged, but it has survived, albeit not in its best condition. Now it is being restored in a slightly modified form, according to the models of ancient Russian architecture. Services are celebrated there, and the memory of Hieromartyr Hilarion is honored. On the birthday of the saint, whom the Moscow Sretensky Monastery regards as its Heavenly patron, we talked with the current rector of the Holy Annunciation Church in the village of Lipitsy—Priest Anthony Kabanov.
Priest Anthony Kabanov —Father Anthony, it is quite providential that on the eve of the birthday of Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) we are talking to a priest who serves at the church where the saint was baptized. In our monastery, the dates associated with St. Hilarion are always marked especially solemnly. What happens on this day at the birthplace of Hieromartyr Hilarion?
—I’ll start by thanking God that I serve here. I came to the neighboring town of Pushchino to study science, and then the Lord called me to the priestly ministry. When I studied at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University of the Humanities, I wrote my thesis on the writings of Archbishop Hilarion. I thought that he was close, he was an interesting theologian, and I should dedicate my work to him. However, when I heard that someone else had already defended such a thesis, I was horrified. But then I became acquainted with this man—Andrei Alexandrovich Gorbachev, who has a Masters in Theology. As a result, he became my reviewer. Together with his wife Anastasia, he became very interested in the biography of St. Hilarion and his relatives, and worked with archives. This year, through the efforts of Andrei and Anastasia Gorbachev and thanks to the help of many benefactors, a monument was unveiled on the territory of our church on the occasion of the holy hieromartyr’s birthday in memory of his ancestors and relatives.
After my ordination, I served in various places. And I ended up in Lipitsy thanks to the former rector, Archpriest Mikhail Fedulov, who had labored a lot at this church. He had to retire due to his old age, and I, a young priest, was assigned to this church. I am very grateful to such a work of Providence. So I was privileged to study the works of St. Hilarion and dedicate my thesis to them, and now I have been vouchsafed to serve at his birthplace. Thus, this place is very dear to me.
I would also like to mention the events that are held in memory of Hieromartyr Hilarion. I’ve only been serving here for a year; we’re still working out various concepts, and a community is being formed here. I have already mentioned one important event: the installation of a monument. In addition, we are planning a meeting dedicated to Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky) at the Lipitsy village hall. It will be a lecture with live music and the showing of a film about him.
—What exactly attracted you to the personality of Hieromartyr Hilarion? Why did you study his life and writings?
—For me, it was a series of coincidences, manifestations of Divine Providence. One of the first books I came across when I was exploring Orthodoxy was, There Is No Christianity without the Church, by St. Hilarion (Troitsky), and it caught my attention. I was studying environmental engineering at the university at the time. When I came to faith, I bought this book, and it helped me a lot. Then I graduated from university and went to study science in Pushchino. And it turned out that this town is situated near Hieromartyr Hilarion’s birthplace.
Memorial plaque about St. Hilarion’s birthplace on the wall of the Annunciation Church in the village of Lipitsy
And when I learned about it, it really amazed me, and I was very happy. The holy man who had strengthened my faith at the beginning of my journey was born near this place! Then I wrote my thesis at St. Tikhon’s University, and the Lord sent me to serve here.
—How is the saint’s memory being preserved in Lipitsy?
—Of course, there are local residents, parishioners of the church, who venerate and respect Vladyka Hilarion, and come to prayer services with the akathist. But it’s a very small group of people, whereas most of the village inhabitants are busy with their work and devote little time to the church. We are trying to enlighten people and change this situation in one way or another. We have a lot of people who sympathize with Orthodoxy and the Church, but are not taking any steps towards making veneration, prayer, and services part of their lives. There are many nominal Orthodox, but in fact very few of them live by these values.
—This story is probably typical for the whole of modern Russia, because over eighty percent of our country’s population are baptized, but only four percent, if not less, are active believers. Is your church the only one in the village?
—Yes, it is quite a big church. However, only a third of it has been restored so that we can worship there. And the remaining part still requires restoration work and is not functioning yet. But, God willing, and if the people feel responsible for their native village, church and history, without relying on sponsors or the State, we will finish it someday. In general, there are quite a few churches in other villages throughout the district, and the town is large, with parishes all around, so there are enough people in the Serpukhov Deanery who know this church and this place. A few days ago, a group of pilgrims from Moscow came to visit Hieromartyr Hilarion’s birthplace.
—Father Anthony, do Vladyka’s relatives now live in the village? Because he had a large family.
—Boris Tikhonovich Uspensky is our parishioner. His aunt was married to Alexei Alexeyevich Troitsky, St. Hilarion’s brother. Alexei Troitsky may be canonized in due course—he was a clergyman and was shot at the Butovo firing range. The family greatly honors the memory of Hieromartyr Hilarion, and tries to keep all the newspaper cuttings about him.
—Has Vladyka’s house been preserved?
—No. The church in Lipitsy is virtually the only link with him here.
—Are there any museums or exhibitions dedicated to Hieromartyr Hilarion?
—When exhibitions dedicated to the New Martyrs of Serpukhov were held in the town in recent years, of course, there was information about St. Hilarion as well. When events dedicated to the New Martyrs are organized, he is never ignored. The village school, library, and hall also honor Vladyka’s memory at various events. Before my priestly ordination, I used to hold meetings at the House of Scientists in Pushchino, which were open to all visitors. These were small lectures with musical and visual accompaniment dedicated to the New Martyrs. We are currently planning to resume this format if we have the resources.
—When you studied the life of Hieromartyr Hilarion, what touched, amazed or surprised you the most? After all, you looked deep into it, and perhaps there’s something we don’t know?
—I’m unlikely to surprise anyone with anything. As for my personal impressions, I can mention the following. When the saint was in prison for the first time (before Solovki) and described the conditions he was kept in, he said that he liked it there because there were no worries that he would have when he had served as a bishop. No one called him on the phone, no one bothered him, sometimes he would go to stretch his legs and bail out cold water from the basement. He just noted that he had a lot of free time, but not enough books. It astonished me. This passage was in the book, There Is No Christianity without the Church. He had a wonderful sense of humor in such harsh conditions. It immediately sank into my soul, because I am also a great lover of books.
There Is No Christianity without the Church
I was also inspired by his deep, sincere words, quite simply said, concerning the Church and the spirit of Churchliness. I even remember that at the beginning of my conversion, a variety of information about the Church and church people kept coming. But it didn’t bother me much, because it didn’t concern me personally. When you encounter sin inside the Church, it already begins to concern you. The question arises: If they start sinning in the Church and no one believes, will you leave the Church or will you stay? But after all, if you came to God, to His Church, and, as it seems to you, everyone has become corrupted there, why should you become corrupted too and walk away from Christ, justifying yourself by the sins of others?
—You need to have inner strength and strong faith in order not to follow the herd and not start sinning just because others do…
—This spiritual strength and strong faith inspired me to answer that question unequivocally, without any doubts. Stay with Christ, even if everything around is corrupted. I recall how the actor and rock singer Pyotr Mamonov joked, pretending to sniff, “I can smell something rotting in the Church.” Then he would smell himself and add, “It’s coming from my side!”
—Did Vladyka have such faith from birth? In those days, ninety percent were corrupted. They took Communion for appearances’ sake, confessed negligently, and the Lord had to bring them to reason.
—It’s hard for me to evaluate everyone. But still, that era gave us a whole host of people faithful to Christ, who even accepted death, and they lived at the same time. The Orthodox writer Sergei Fudel (1900–1977) recalled how a priest took off his vestments and said that he was deceiving the parishioners, and immediately a very young man climbed onto the ambo and told the faithful not to worry, because Judas also left. That young man inspired people to remain faithful to Christ.
At least, according to the biography of Hieromartyr Hilarion, it is clear that from childhood he was focused on learning, inspired by study and scholarly knowledge related to the Church. He paid great attention to the theme of faithfulness to the Savior and the Mother Church, and considered sinning against the Church to be a major sin of people who call themselves Christians. I cannot answer whether Archbishop Hilarion had any doubts or worries. At least, there is no evidence of this. Rather, it was a talent given to him by God, and he strengthened it—this is what really matters.
The image of St. Hilarion in the iconostasis of the Annunciation Church in the village of Lipitsy —It should be noted that that period produced a great number of Russian holy New Martyrs and Confessors. The new cathedral of Sretensky Monastery in Moscow is dedicated to the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. Do you think there are always such people in our society, or does a crisis make a person wake up and look at the world, at himself, and at Christ in a different way?
—Salvation is always very personal, individual and connected with a huge number of factors, so everything depends on you, on me, and on the parishioners who come and live.
—Father Anthony, do you feel an inner spiritual bond with Hieromartyr Hilarion?
—I keep in mind the Patristic principle that you should not trust feelings. They are basically changeable and can deceive, so I try not to focus on feelings. But, beyond doubt, Hieromartyr Hilarion has played a significant role in my life, and I am very grateful to him for that.
We recently had a daughter, for whom we had prayed to Hieromartyr Hilarion, asking for his help, and traveling to the Sretensky Monastery to venerate his relics. We named her Hilaria after Vladyka. I thank the Lord and St. Hilarion for this priceless gift.
