Theodore (Pozdeevsky)

He was born in the family of archpriest (in total there were 9 children in the family). He graduated from the Makaryevsky Theological College , the Kostroma Theological Seminary ( 1896 ), the Kazan Theological Academy ( 1900 ) with a candidate of theology degree .

In 1900-1901 - professor scholarship holder in the department of pathology . In 1903 he received a master's degree in theology for his essay: “The ascetic views of the Monk John of Cassian the Roman (presbyter of Massilia)” (awarded the Makaryev Prize ).

On June 15 ( 28 ), 1900 , he received monastic tonsure with the name of Theodore in honor of the great martyr Theodore Stratelates . He was elevated to the rank of hierodeacon , from July 24 ( August 6 ), 1900 - hieromonk . From October 17 ( 30 ), 1901 - teacher of basic, dogmatic and moral theology at the Kaluga Theological Seminary .

On July 3 ( 16 ), 1902 , he was an inspector of the Kazan Theological Seminary .

On February 4 ( 17 ), 1904 , he was rector of the Tambov Theological Seminary in the rank of archimandrite . He actively fought the revolutionary movement, founded and headed the Tambov branch of the Union of Russian People - one of the most significant provincial monarchist structures at that time.

On May 2 ( 15 ), 1906 , an unsuccessful attempt was made on him by one of the seminarians. The political activity of Archimandrite Theodore provoked a contradictory attitude on the part of the clergy - some priests supported him, while the pastoral congress of the diocese banned the organization of Union events at the Serafim school, believing that the church should be out of politics.

From August 1906, Theodore (Pozdeevsky) was the rector of the Moscow Theological Seminary , and from August 1909, the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy (until 1917). He was a professor of asceticism at the department of pastoral theology. A strict ascetic monk, he proved himself a staunch conservative, and initiated the dismissal of a number of liberal teachers (including I. M. Gromoglasov and Vasily Vinogradov ). In his personnel policy, he explicitly preferred monastic brethren and clergy. After the February Revolution , he was dismissed as rector at the request of liberal educators and a large part of the student body.

September 14 ( 27 ), 1909 in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior was consecrated by Moscow Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany ) to Bishop of Volokolamsk , since 1916 - the first vicar of the Moscow diocese .

Since May 1 ( 14 ), 1917 - rector of the Holy Danilov Monastery in Moscow. Until mid-1919 he retained the title of "Bishop of Volokolamsk." In July 1917, at the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Representatives from Monasteries, at which Theodore (Pozdeevsky) presided, he was elected a delegate to the Local Council of the Ruos Church .

His friend Archimandrite Simeon (Mikhail Kholmogorov in the world), who was seriously wounded by a revolutionary in 1907 and has since been paralyzed, lived at Danilov Monastery during his reign. There was a legend that he covered up the future archbishop Theodore during the attack on the latter (in fact, we are talking about two different attempts). Vladyka Theodore visited the patient every day and fulfilled his slightest wish.

In August 1919, after the death of the Archbishop of Perm and Kungur Andronicus (Nikolsky) , Theodore (Pozdeevsky) was appointed Patriarch Tikhon to the Perm Chair; did not accept the appointment, remaining in Moscow. He supervised the activities of the existing theological order of the Higher Theological School in the Holy Danilov Monastery, taught asceticism in it.

On the night of June 27-28, 1920, he was arrested for "campaigning against the Soviet regime." The reason for the arrest and accusation was that during a search of the Holy Danilov Monastery on June 11, 1920, a crowd of believers gathered. He was sentenced to imprisonment “until the end of the civil war”, but on October 25, 1920, the sentence was changed to five years in prison, and therefore was transferred from the internal prison of the Cheka to the Taganskaya prison , and then to Butyrskaya . Thanks to the petition, he was released ahead of schedule on March 18, 1922. However, a year later, on March 14, 1923, he was again arrested and imprisoned, from where he was released on June 20, 1923 on his own recognizance.

On November 2, 1923, by the decree of Patriarch Tikhon and the Provisional Patriarchal Synod, Theodore (Pozdeevsky) was elevated to the rank of archbishop “in view of his outstanding work for the benefit of the holy Orthodox Church — to elevate him to the rank of archbishop and appoint him as manager of the Diocese of Petrograd,” which has been temporarily suspended since September 1923. ruled by Bishop Manuel (Lemeshevsky) . On the back of this document, it was written by the hand of Bishop Theodore: “I received and read this paper with gratitude to His Holiness the Patriarch and the All-Ukrainian Central Council, but I cannot accept the information contained in it - Bishop Theodore. November 21/3, Danilov Monastery. " On November 8, 1923, Patriarch Tikhon decreed: “Reverend Archbishop Theodore should be freed from the administration of the Petrograd Diocese, leaving him to be the administrator of the Moscow Danilov Monastery in the dignity of the archbishop” ^[1] .

Theodore (Pozdeevsky) opposed any compromises with the Renovationist movement , together with other conservative bishops, played a significant role in the fact that the church leadership took an unambiguously negative position with respect to the Renovationists and abandoned attempts to agree with them. From April 16 to October 1924 he was under arrest for the third time. During the investigation, answering a question about political convictions, he said: “I look at the socialist revolution as a means, I find it difficult to determine its usefulness ...”.

He was again arrested on December 9, 1924 and on June 19, 1925 he was sentenced to three years of exile, which he was serving in Dzhambul . He was released on November 4, 1927 with a ban on living in six major cities of the country. Since 1928 he lived in a settlement in Turgay ( Kazakhstan ), then - in Orsk, Orenburg region . It is believed that at this time he joined the catacomb of the True Orthodox Church .

He headed the conservative “ Danilov ” (after the Danilov Monastery , rector of which he remained) opposition to Patriarch Tikhon , and then to Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) ; with a group of like-minded bishops, he believed that they were not tough enough to resist the Bolshevik regime and the Renovationists .

Condemning the actions of the Deputy Locum Tenens, Archbishop Theodore suggested that his like-minded people not rush to a final break with Metropolitan Sergius in the hope of changing his position, and until 1931 did not completely break off canonical communication with him.

According to the memoirs of the shimonakhini Daniil (Machkina) ^[2] :

Vladyka allowed to go only to such temples where the authorities do not remember. He said: "If the monastery begins to remember the power - let them not remember me." He said: "Where Sergius (Met. - Ed.) Is remembered - there you can still pray, and where the authorities remember - don’t go there."

In 1931, Archbishop Theodore and the rest of the Danilovites were banned from serving as synod by Metropolitan Sergius. After that, Archbishop Theodore finally broke communication with the Synod of Metropolitan Sergius. ^[3] .

In 1929 he was again arrested and in 1930 sentenced to three years of imprisonment, which he was serving in the 2nd unit of Svirlag . After being released from exile, he lived in Vladimir . In January 1933, another arrest followed - in Zaraysk , in the case of the Party of the Revival of Russia ; On July 26, 1933, he was sentenced to five years in exile, which he began to serve in Kazakhstan, and since 1935 he was transferred to Syktyvkar .

Adhered to the extreme right position in relation to the clergy metr. Sergius (Stragorodsky). As Bishop Barnabas (Belyaev) later recalled: “The deceased Bishop Theodore, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, excommunicated the Patriarch himself and considered them [his followers] as disguised shoemakers. Therefore, I did not accept the sacrament and constantly sent it to my spiritual children ” ^[4] .

In the fall of 1937 he was arrested in Syktyvkar in the case of the Danilov Brotherhood. Staged in Ivanovo prison and on October 22, 1937 he was sentenced to be shot and shot the next day. There is a version that, shortly before his death, he adopted a schema in prison with the name of St. Daniel of Moscow .

In 1981, by decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, he was canonized as a holy martyr with the inclusion of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia with the establishment of memory on October 10 ^[5] .

In the 1990s, there was a question about its canonization by the Moscow Patriarchate , for which the monks of the revived Holy Danilov Monastery advocated; however, no decision was made. ^[6]

• The ascetic views of St. John of Cassian of Rome. - Kazan, 1902.
• From readings on Pastoral Theology (Asceticism). - Sergiev Posad, 1911.
• To the question of suffering // Theological Bulletin. - 1909, October.
• Towards a new century // Theological Bulletin. - 1914, October-November.
• From the history of the papacy. The significance of Pope Leo the Great in the development of the idea of ​​the papacy // Theological Bulletin. - 1912, July-August.
• The path of spiritual wisdom // Theological Bulletin. - 1910, January.
• The path of renewal // Theological Bulletin. - 1910, September.
• The Beginning of the Knowledge of God // Theological Bulletin. - 1912, September.
• Church and liturgical practice according to the “Decisions of the Apostles” // Voice of the Church. - 1914, February.
• Service to God and Russia. Articles and speeches of 1904-1907. - M., 2002.

• Zosima (Davydov) , hieromonk He laid the foundation on a stone (1876-1906): Archbishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky). A life. Activity. Proceedings. - M. , 2000.
• Zosima (Davydov) “The Activities of Bishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky) in Moscow” (2003)
• Volkov V.A., Kulikova M.V., Loginov V.S. Moscow professors of the 18th - early 20th centuries. Humanities and social sciences. - M .: Janus-K, 2006 .-- S. 252. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-8037-0318-4 .
• The last Investigative Case of Archbishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky) is the publishing house of the Danilov Monastery, 2010.

• Theodore (Pozdeevsky) on the site "Russian Orthodoxy"
• Biography on the site "Institute of Russian Civilization"
• Biography and memories of him
• Biography
• New martyrs will unite us
• Tambov Theological Seminary during the reign of the Holy Martyrs Theodore (Pozdeevsky) and Simeon (Kholmogorov)