About the Hieromartyr Hilarion (Trinity)

Your Eminence! Honest fathers! Dear brothers and sisters! Today we remember St. Hilarion (of the Trinity) for a reason: this year marks the 80th anniversary of his martyrdom, and therefore the topic of my speech is an overview of the life and ministry of St. Hilarion. Hieromartyr Hilarion (in the world Vladimir Alekseevich Troitsky) was born on September 13, 1886 in the family of a priest in the village of Lipitsa, Kashira district, then Tula province. Two of his brothers also followed the path of serving the Church: one of them, Daniil, Archbishop of Bryansk, the other, Alexy, after the death of his father, became a priest, taking his place. They survived Saint Hilarion. In 1906, the future saint graduated from the Tula Theological Seminary and entered the Moscow Theological Academy. Even then, Vladimir Troitsky, still very young, 20 years old, inspired significant hopes: when entering the academy, he was considered the best of the applicants. He had brilliant linguistic abilities: already at the academy he spoke three ancient languages ​​- Greek, Latin and Hebrew - and two new ones - German and French. After graduating from the academy, he improved his English, which he later actively used in his scientific works, studying English-language authors and referring to their works. From archival documents we see how brilliantly the future archbishop’s training was: for the best semester essays written in the first three courses, he received the Metropolitan Macarius Prize of Moscow. For excellent completion of the first year, he was awarded a scholarship named after the rector of the MDA, Archpriest A. Gorsky. As a reward for excellent teaching, Vladimir Troitsky was included in a pilgrimage group that in 1908 went to Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and Mount Athos. He visited Constantinople and saw Hagia Sophia. He thought about Byzantium. From Hagia Sophia his thought turned to the significance of the Byzantine ideal for modern Russia. “The ideal of Orthodoxy is not progress, as in the West, but transformation—the ancient Christians lived by it,” St. Hilarion would later write. In 1908, his first significant scientific works were published; they were devoted to the study and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, mainly Old Testament texts, but he also turned to the texts of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Of greatest interest in this early period are the works “Old Testament Prophetic Schools” and “Fundamentals of the Old Testament Priesthood and Prophecy.” Five years ago, on the 75th anniversary of the repose of Saint Hilarion, the Sretensky Monastery published a three-volume set of his works, which included these works of the saint. The collection opens with a large preface dedicated to the life of St. Hilarion, and all articles and works are accompanied by commentaries. This is a very significant publication. Previously, since the saint's articles were scattered among periodicals published before the 1917 revolution, access to them was difficult. These barriers have now been removed. In 1910, Vladimir Troitsky defended his Ph.D. thesis, which was devoted to dogma and was called “The History of the Dogma of the Church.” After graduating from the MDA in 1910, he was left here as a professor's fellow to prepare for the professorship. He was the best graduate of the academy in the previous 50 years. Since August 16, 1910, he is considered to be in educational and spiritual service. As an incentive for his great contribution to Russian theological science (let me remind you that at this time the saint was not yet 24 years old), he was awarded a prize named after Metropolitan Joseph (Semashko) of Lithuania in the amount of 165 rubles. In addition, when applying for a master's degree in theology, Vladimir Troitsky was exempt from exams and was able to concentrate on preparing the text of his master's thesis. In August 1911, Vladimir Troitsky was appointed corrective assistant professor in the first department of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. There were no vacancies in other departments, and he became an assistant professor in this department, although, as we have already indicated, by this time his main interest was focused on dogmatics. Four years after visiting the Orthodox shrines of the East, Vladimir Troitsky went to Europe - to the West. He really wanted, as he writes in his letters, to hear the breath of the West, to hear its heartbeat; he wants to compare the West and the East. This is how he described, for example, his impressions of Cologne Cathedral: “And everything goes up, everything goes up. When I came close to the cathedral for the first time, I felt as if someone was pulling me up too... Some time passes, and you begin to feel that in this beautiful, artistically built church something is missing, and something essential is missing... God is missing here, holiness is missing, life is missing.” In December 1912, having returned from a trip to Western Europe, he defended his master’s thesis on the topic “Essays on the history of the dogma of the Church” and was confirmed in the rank of associate professor. By that time, a procedure had already been established according to which a book was to be published for the defense. The defense went brilliantly. True, other evidence was recently published about how the defense of Vladimir Troitsky’s master’s thesis took place, but, like any new sources, this evidence requires critical evaluation in the context of those that are already known. Issue 7 of The Theological Bulletin contains the memoirs of Alexander Volkov, the former Kerzhensky Bishop Pavel, who removed himself from the rank. In his memoirs, written in 1950, he expresses several unfair, in our opinion, reproaches: he is perplexed as to why Vladimir Troitsky, during the master’s debate, did not answer the question of Professor Mitrofan Dmitrievich Muretov regarding the definition of the Church, although the professor clearly pointed to the definition “Church - the Body of Christ,” which dates back to the Apostle Paul. There is no doubt that V. Troitsky knew this definition, although his own definition of the Church was somewhat different, but he remembered the fate of the defense of Evgeniy Akvilonov, the future protopresbyter, who defended his master's thesis at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1894: Akvilonov was not then approved by the Synod with the rank of master precisely because he insisted on this definition of the Church, spoke of the Church as a “divine-human organism.” The members of the Synod considered this definition an innovation and refused to approve Akvilonov for the rank of master. Only two years later, having rewritten the work and changed its title, Akvilonov defended himself. On March 28, 1913, Vladimir Troitsky’s long-standing desire to become a monk was fulfilled. It is clear why he did not take monastic vows earlier: he devoted all his strength and time to scientific work; now, having defended his dissertation - a brilliant dissertation that still retains relevance - he could devote himself entirely to the service of the Church. In the Paraclete Hermitage of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Vladimir Trinity was tonsured as a monk. It was performed by his teacher and mentor, Bishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky), rector of the MDA. (I would like to say: “Saint Theodore.” I think he will be canonized when the doubts caused by the insufficiently critical perception of his investigative case of 1937, which, in my opinion, is largely unreliable, are dispelled.) By accepting monasticism, Vladimir Troitsky essentially abandoned a scientific career in the academy for the sake of Christ and His Church. Bishop Theodore spoke about this in his speech at the tonsure: “I know and do not want to hide now what your sacrifice to Christ is. You were tempted and, perhaps, are still tempted by love for the school that you serve, and you are afraid that monasticism will deprive you of this school. But what is an academy without Christ?!.. Know, brother, that the same truth of Christ and the grace of God that opened the eyes of your mind and heart, they know how, somehow incomprehensibly for us, but very strikingly, to reward sacrifice with the same thing, but only in a larger amount, which we seem to lose by following Christ.” And indeed: the future Saint Hilarion seemed to have lost the opportunity to concentrate only on science, but gained much more: the Lord rewarded him with the crown of a martyr. Instead of the world-power name Vladimir, which was given at baptism, he is called Hilarion. The name "Hilarion" translated from Greek means "clear, cheerful." Such was the saint. But also always ready to fight. “And above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:16–17), says the Apostle Paul. Hilarion took this shield and sword. On April 11 of the same 1913, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on June 2 - to the rank of hieromonk. On May 30, 1913, he was appointed to the post of inspector of the MDA. Already on July 5, 1913, Saint Macarius (Nevsky), then Metropolitan of Moscow, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and in the same year he became an extraordinary professor at the Moscow Academy of Sciences in the department of the New Testament. He became the youngest archimandrite and professor at the academy for his time. For the rector of the academy, Bishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky), Archimandrite Hilarion became the first and most faithful assistant. When Bishop Theodore went on vacation, when urgent matters distracted him from the academy, Archimandrite Hilarion replaced him in his rector’s work. Of course, he did not have enough time to do science. But Alexander Volkov’s reproaches to Archimandrite Hilarion, expressed in his memoirs, which I have already mentioned, are very unfair, the reproaches that Archimandrite Hilarion wasted his strength in vain. Volkov writes that Archimandrite Hilarion told him how he chopped wood. But why does this lead to the conclusion that he was wasting his energy? And A. Volkov’s statement that Archimandrite Hilarion did almost nothing for science after 1913 is also unfair. Archimandrite Hilarion wrote: “Yes, science, especially theology, in my opinion, should be ancilla Ecclesiae (servant of the Church - D.S.), but such a position is not at all humiliating for science; Serving the Church is not humiliating for anyone. Ancilla Ecclesiae is the real place of science, which it can only occupy for a person who consciously professes his sincere faith in the Church. It is difficult and even impossible to serve two masters, but it is hardly easier not to serve anyone. Two masters demand service and exclusive worship. One Master is Christ, the other is Antichrist. The choice is possible only from these two kings hostile to each other, and we certainly bow to one. Christ's work on earth is the Church, against which the forces of hell are waging their fierce but unsuccessful war. There are the forces of hell, and there is the army of Christ. Both of the warring sides have their own warriors, armed with different armor, including science. Science itself does not at all determine which side a person should take; this is determined by faith, and after faith comes science. If a person believes in Christ, science is for him and in his hands also serves Christ. If a person believes in the Antichrist, he also places the Antichrist’s yoke on science” (“On the Churchliness of the Theological School and Theological Science”). Very important and relevant words for our time. Without time to consider in detail the theological works of Archimandrite Hilarion 1, let us highlight the main directions of his theological creativity. The exegetical direction has already been mentioned; the soteriological direction should also be mentioned. In his famous lecture “Theology and Freedom of the Church,” the learned monk raised the question of the meaning and significance of the Orthodox teaching on salvation. At that time, there were disputes between supporters of the “legal theory” of salvation and its sharp opponents. Hieromartyr Hilarion criticized the “legal theory”; he wrote: “In the scholastic doctrine of salvation, first of all, two forts, two concepts must be demolished to the ground: satisfaction and merit. These two concepts must be thrown out of theology without a trace, forever and completely! Destroy these two forts - the ghostly stronghold of scholasticism will soon fall and crumble." But at the same time, he avoided the extremes characteristic of some critics of the “legal theory” of salvation. He believed that a complete rejection of the “legal concept”, its elements and terminology is hardly legitimate. The soteriological, as well as the generally theological, views of the Hieromartyr Hilarion were, without a doubt, Orthodox. They need to be taken in context, taking into account their development in subsequent works and keeping in mind that some statements are contained in polemical articles, so it is necessary to take into account the context of this polemic. The teaching about the Church is the teaching to which Saint Hilarion devoted his main works. He went down in history as a singer and defender of the Church. In his work “There is no Christianity without the Church,” he wrote: “Sometimes it seems as if our Church is scattered, as if in some kind of confusion. You won’t know who is ours and who is our adversary. A kind of anarchy reigns in the minds. Too many “teachers” have appeared. There is “discord in the body” (1 Cor. 12:25) in the church... We read the ninth article of the Creed without much joy and even with a guilty look... And how many have so much courage to boldly confess: “Yes, I believe in the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, I belong to the holy Orthodox Church, and therefore I am the most advanced person, for in the Church that new life for which is only possible The Son of God came to the sinful earth, only in the Church can one come to the measure of the full stature of Christ, therefore, only in the Church is true progress, true salvation possible!” Sometimes St. Hilarion's views on the Church are called rigoristic; I would call them strict. He said, repeating the words of St. Cyprian of Carthage: “There is no salvation outside the Church.” He put this teaching into practice when he uncompromisingly opposed the Renovationists, all those who tore apart the robe of Christ, pleasing the authorities, arranging church schisms. One can distinguish both a special direction in the theological heritage of the saint and an ascetic direction. In addition, he is a liturgist: some of his works are devoted to this topic. The homiletical heritage of St. Hilarion has still been little studied. Let me give you the following statistics: during the first year of his episcopal service in the parishes of the Moscow diocese, he delivered about 330 sermons. Of course, not all of them were recorded, but from the bits that have been preserved in the archives, from memories, it is possible to restore, if not the texts of the sermons, then the impression they made on the listeners. One can speak of the Hieromartyr Hilarion as a church historian. And this is not only a work written for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov and published in 1915, devoted to a review of the history of the Russian Church until 1613, in which he brilliantly substantiated the historical need for the restoration of the patriarchate several years before this patriarchate would be restored in 1917. In general, Saint Hilarion can be spoken of as a supporter of the neopatristic trend; his call is to return to the heritage of the holy fathers, to abandon that rationalism, that scholasticism that was introduced into our church science from the West. In the summer of 1913, during the absence of the rector, Archimandrite Hilarion acted as rector of the MDA, although officially he was an inspector. As an inspector, Archimandrite Hilarion was primarily concerned with instilling churchliness in students and involved them in active church, educational and preaching activities. He also took care of external discipline. He himself performed monastic vows on the students. I spent a lot of time talking with students and giving instructions. Instructing his tonsures, he tried, first of all, to convey to them the spirit of prayerful joy. His contemporaries note the joy in Christ that the Hieromartyr Hilarion invariably had. One of his students, S.A. Volkov, the author of the memoirs “The Last at the Trinity,” wrote about him: “It was impossible not to admire him... Perhaps integrity was the main feature of his personality. This brave, exceptionally talented man perceived everything creatively... Hilarion graciously influenced me with his personality, directness, authority in defending his convictions, the enthusiasm of his worship, energy and cheerfulness... Hilarion loved to say that as much as a Christian should be aware of his sins and grieve for them, he should rejoice at the infinite mercy and grace of God and never doubt or despair in his life’s feat. He himself had an amazing enthusiasm and love for everything that was dear and close to him - for the Church, for Russia, for the academy, and with this cheerfulness he infected, encouraged and strengthened those around him.” In August 1914, war with Germany began. It will be included in textbooks as the First World War, and in Russian newspapers of that time it was called “great” and “patriotic”. For Hieromartyr Hilarion, it was a consequence of the cultural and spiritual division between the West and the East. The rise of nationwide patriotic consciousness was a reason for him to declare another war. On September 12, 1915, at the Moscow Theological Academy, Archimandrite Hilarion read a brilliant speech, which had the characteristic title “Theology and Freedom of the Church. On the tasks of the liberation war in the field of Russian theology.” Saying: “I want to tell you about the need for a war of liberation in the field of Russian Orthodox theology,” he meant liberation from Western scholasticism and rationalism. “I consider it my moral duty to call you to fight against this harmful Latin-German dominance and its sad fruits in our theology,” he said. The World War aggravated to the extreme the contradictions between Western soulless, machine advancing progress and the Russian element of sacrificial transformation of oneself and the world, which he once thought about on a trip to Greece and Athos. “The ideal of Orthodoxy is not progress, but transformation,” said Saint Hilarion. The conclusion is aphoristically accurate. He wrote: “The great struggle of peoples unfolding before us is a struggle between two ideals: progress wants to destroy transformation, forgetting the word of Christ that the gates of hell will not prevail against the truth.” His call was heard, and the work to overcome scholasticism in Russian theological science began. In the spring of 1917, the leadership of the academy had to withstand a series of attacks from “progressive” figures: future renovationists, the new chief prosecutor V.N. Lvov, professor B.V. Titlinov and others. On May 1, the Holy Synod in its new composition removed Bishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky) from the post of rector of the MDA, and inspector Archimandrite Hilarion (Troitsky) was appointed acting rector. He performed these duties for several months until a new rector of the MDA was elected in September 1917, who became Archpriest Anatoly Orlov. Hieromartyr Hilarion did not share some of the views of Bishop Theodore. This was manifested, for example, in June 1917, when, on the initiative of Bishop Theodore, a congress of learned monasticism was convened, which adopted a resolution according to which the teaching staff of the MDA should be formed only from monks. Archimandrite Hilarion opposed this resolution, although it was adopted by a majority vote. “The history of academic science in general makes it necessary to be very cautious in accusing academy professors of unorthodoxy, since there are well-known facts when the provisions of scientific works, hastily declared harmful to Orthodoxy, soon became generally accepted truths,” said Archimandrite Hilarion. The plan to create a “monastic academy,” however, did not materialize for objective reasons. At the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917–1918, Archimandrite Hilarion acted as an active supporter of the restoration of the patriarchate. His speech “Why is it necessary to restore the patriarchate?” 31-year-old Archimandrite Hilarion spoke at the general meeting of the Council on October 23, 1917. It seems to us now that the Council was unanimous in its desire to revive the patriarchate, but this was not at all the case. Among the participants in the Council there were many who opposed the patriarchate, considering it the introduction of papism into the Church. A contemporary of these events, M.E. Gubonin pointed out that “there was a conviction that it was this speech of Archimandrite Hilarion that brought the final triumph to the idea of ​​​​restoring the patriarchate at the Council, for only after its delivery did the cathedral renovationists stop their endless attacks against the patriarchists and the patriarchate was restored.” Archimandrite Hilarion's speech was so vivid and convincing that even some of those who had previously spoken out against it voted for the restoration of the patriarchate. He ended his speech with the famous words: “Moscow is called the heart of Russia. But where does the Russian heart beat in Moscow? On the stock exchange? In shopping arcades? On Kuznetsky Most? It is fought, of course, in the Kremlin. But where in the Kremlin? In district court? Or in the soldiers' barracks? No, in the Assumption Cathedral. There, at the front right pillar, the Russian Orthodox heart should beat.” At that time, Archimandrite Hilarion could not ignore his beloved academy, where he arrived on October 24. A huge audience gathered: all professors, teachers, students. Everyone came to listen to what he had to say, and among the members of the academic teaching corporation there were also different opinions on the issue of the patriarchate. For three hours Archimandrite Hilarion convinced the academy of the need for a patriarchate for the Church. Eyewitness to the events S.A. Volkov recalled this lecture: “Of course, it was read as brilliantly as only Hilarion could do: the restoration of the patriarchate in Russia was his cherished desire, as if the meaning of his life, to which he devoted all his strength.” The lecture ended with a standing ovation. The majority of students and members of the teaching corporation were on the side of Archimandrite Hilarion. During this difficult time, Archimandrite Hilarion devoted a lot of energy to serving the academy, being elected vice-rector of the academy in October 1917. At the same time, the Missionary Council was created under the Holy Synod, which entrusted Archimandrite Hilarion with giving public lectures for workers and ordinary residents of Moscow. Such lectures were still possible. Six-month courses were organized, where the lecturer on the New Testament was also the Hieromartyr Hilarion. From 1919 he lived mainly in Moscow. On February 1, 1919, he wrote to N.N. Glubokovsky: “I live in Moscow... I am more involved in worship and preaching. The Academy drags out its life barely, but it drags on nonetheless.” However, the active work of Archimandrite Hilarion did not go unnoticed by the special services. The Cheka had already turned its close attention to the Church. F.E. Dzerzhinsky wrote a letter to the Politburo, which stated that only the Cheka should deal with the Church. On March 10, 1919, Archimandrite Hilarion was arrested for the first time. He spent three and a half months in Butyrka prison. Members of the MDA corporation petitioned the authorities for his release. On May 3, 1919, Professor S.S. Glagolev wrote: “Father Hilarion was arrested, he is now in Butyrka prison. There really is no case against him, but it seems they are not going to release him soon.” Archimandrite Hilarion was released only on June 7, 1919. On May 24, 1920, in the Trinity Church of the Patriarchal Metochion in Moscow, during his consecration as bishop, which was performed by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, Hieromartyr Hilarion said: “Before I read books, now I must read human hearts, these wisest and often completely incomprehensible letters. Then I wrote with ink on paper, from now on I will have the grace to write the image of God in human souls. Before I taught, from now on I must lead to salvation. Previously, I could have remained hidden - now you appoint me to the church candlestick. Previously, I could hide from people and be in pleasant obscurity - from now on I must shine the light of good deeds on people. With all my soul I loved the academic life, detached from the world, elevated above the world, solitary, as if deserted. Now you are taking away the hope of returning to this desert again and completely.” On May 25, 1920, he was consecrated by Patriarch Tikhon as Bishop of Vereisky, vicar of the Moscow diocese. At the same time, Bishop Hilarion was appointed abbot of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery. By this time, the monastery buildings had already begun to be occupied by Soviet institutions, and the bishop lived on Sretenka in the apartment of his friend from the academy, Archpriest Vladimir Strakhov. After his consecration, Saint Hilarion becomes Patriarch Tikhon’s closest assistant in the management of the Moscow diocese. A particularly heavy burden fell on him after the arrest and exile of Bishop Peter (Polyansky) of Podolsk in the summer of 1921. The administrative experience accumulated at the academy allowed Saint Hilarion to brilliantly cope with many burdensome matters. But at the same time, he also found time for the academy, although on April 21, 1920, as a result of his appointment as Bishop of Vereisky, he was relieved of his vice-rector position, remaining a professor. The academic year 1921/1922 began on August 2/15 in the premises of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery in Moscow. On June 9, 1921, Bishop Hilarion wrote to Professor N.N. Glubokovsky: “The Academy is now being dissolved. Classes are being conducted, but barely, because students are physically unable to study. Yes, and professors too... I, too, am a professor, but a bad one... I always have audiences of thousands in front of me, but more in churches, where we give lectures, but in relation to the public.” During the first year of his hierarchal service in the parishes of the Moscow diocese, Bishop Hilarion served 142 liturgies, more than 142 all-night vigils and delivered 330 sermons, and this despite the fact that that year he was ill with typhus for more than a month. Saint Hilarion, with the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon, actively performed ordinations for churches in Moscow and the Moscow province. Among his henchmen there are also new martyrs. Thus, in 1921, Bishop Hilarion ordained the future hieromartyr John Khrenov as a deacon at the Church of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste. In 1920–1921, Bishop Hilarion often served in churches in Vereisky district. During one of his trips to Vereisky district, Bishop Hilarion took part in a dispute with anti-religious agitators, who suffered a complete defeat. Local authorities even tried to arrest the bishop. In Moscow, at the Sretensky Monastery, he participated not only in Sunday and holiday services, but also in everyday ones. Moscow writer N.P. recalls. Okunev: “During Holy Week I felt drawn to church. I went to the Sretensky Monastery several times. Bishop Hilarion was attracted there, not by his magnificent episcopal service, but by his participation in services as an ordinary monk. One day (during the all-night vigil from Wednesday to Thursday) he appeared in the cathedral church of the monastery in a simple monastic cassock, without a panagia, without crosses, in a kamilavka, and went to the left choir, where he sang everything that was required, in the company of four or five other ordinary monks, and then went out in the same simple outfit to the middle of the church and soulfully read the canon, not forgetting to sing along with the choir in irmosakh. Having read the canon, one sang “I see Your palace, my Savior, decorated.” Well, I'll tell you, he sang! His voice is most pleasant, clear, sonorous, young (he is 35 years old), high. Tenor. He simply sang not according to the notes, but so touchingly and sincerely that I, perhaps, have never heard such a wonderful performance of this wonderful song in my entire life.” In the summer of 1921, Saint Hilarion wrote: “The summer was spent in continuous travel around Moscow and the Moscow province. After all, even in Moscow there are ends up to ten miles. There is absolutely not enough time, and you are in a hurry. You often get tired. It’s good that, tired, I’m leaving soon - apparently I’m still young.” A new arrest followed in September 1921. The reason was that on the patronal feast of the Sretensky Monastery, Saint Hilarion obtained from the director of the Tretyakov Gallery I.Ya. Grabar gave permission to take the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God to the Sretensky Monastery for one day, which caused a significant gathering of believers. The saint spent some time in prison, but was soon released. In February 1922, the authorities adopted a decree on the confiscation of church valuables, aimed at robbing the Church. The authorities wanted Patriarch Tikhon to issue a decree on the surrender of valuables by the clergy, and in order to force him to do this, his inner circle was arrested. In the case of Patriarch Tikhon there is a “List of persons subject to seizure in the 6th department,” which included the patriarch’s closest assistants. On March 22, 1922, Bishop Hilarion was arrested. Before being sent into exile in the Arkhangelsk region, he was kept in the Internal Prison of the GPU on Lubyanka. On April 9, 1922, the head of the 6th department of the secret department of the GPU, A. Rutkovsky, issued a resolution on the selection of a preventive measure. The conclusion on the “case of Mr. Troitsky Illarion Alekseevich” stated: “He is not a member of the so-called Synod and the Supreme Church Council, but carries out individual orders of the patriarch and metropolitan. He is present in the patriarchal courtyard, where he receives all kinds of walkers and visitors who come on Church business, conducting business negotiations with them. In addition, Troitsky organizes debates in working-class areas and, possessing great erudition on theological issues, discredits the worker opponents who oppose him. Trinity is listed as the Bishop of Vereya, where he essentially should be. His stay in Moscow was explained by the enormous benefit that he brings to the Church and its ruler, the Patriarch... Among the highest clergy, Trinity was earmarked for the post of Moscow Metropolitan.” On June 22, 1922, at a court hearing of the GPU board, it was decided to exile Saint Hilarion to the Arkhangelsk province for a period of one year. Patriarch Tikhon once said sadly: “I appoint my bishops to the south, and they are taken to the north.” Letters from St. Hilarion from exile, addressed to relatives and friends, have been preserved. His soul was in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, especially on the day of memory of the saint. In a letter dated July 18, 1922, he wrote: “Today I cannot think about being anywhere except Posad and the Lavra. Since the morning I have been there, I remember the past days...” The conditions in which the saint was located were miserable, this was noted even in the search reports that were carried out in his room. Saint Hilarion wrote: “The Lord helped me to get settled here, so that I can live without annoying worries, and the squalor of the situation does not upset my proletarian soul at all...” He decides to study accounting: “I want to learn to become an accountant: a course of lectures on bookkeeping is already on the table.” But his main occupation was reading church history books. He wants to analyze, in the context of church history, the events associated with the Renovationist schism, which was initiated by the authorities in 1922 and supported by part of the episcopate and clergy. He writes: “I live very modestly and wretchedly, but my soul is nourished by a rich meal of books on Russian church history. But heresy reigns supreme in Nizhny. Evdokim is one of the traitors who took the white hood from the dirty and filthy hands of the “living church.” You cannot pray with such people...” An interesting document was preserved in the investigative file of Bishop Hilarion. On December 12, 1922, Bishop Hilarion, with his own hand (and as indicated in the document, at his own request) wrote an addition to his testimony during interrogation, in which there are words concerning Bishop Hilarion’s attitude towards Soviet power: “And my views on Soviet power are such that I cannot have a negative attitude towards it... Soviet power was the collector of the Russian state, uniting everything - from Petrograd to Vladivostok. The Soviet government defends the independence of Russia, political and economic, while other people, having become in power, would immediately turn Russia into a colony for Western capitalism... With this view of my political situation, of course, one cannot talk about my negative attitude towards the Soviet government. I’m not involved in politics, I’m more interested in science, but as a citizen I consciously accept both the revolution that took place and the existing government.” Thus, six months before the famous statement of Patriarch Tikhon to the Supreme Court on June 16, 1923, Bishop Hilarion deduced a “formula of loyalty” in relation to state power, which again united the country practically within its former imperial borders, opposing the West, from where, according to St. Hilarion, the main danger to Russia comes. However, loyalty ended where harm began for the Church, whose interests were above all for St. Hilarion. In December 1922, the authorities signed a conclusion that stated: “In order to completely expose Troitsky’s anti-Soviet activities or his reconciled views on life... Troitsky should be released from custody...” Bishop Hilarion’s term in exile ended on June 22, 1923, and on June 13 a new search was carried out in his apartment, but nothing except a few issues of the newspaper “Science and Religion” was found. Bishop Hilarion arrived in Moscow, apparently, in early July 1923 and immediately went to the Donskoy Monastery to see Patriarch Tikhon, who was released from prison on June 27, 1923. Until his last arrest in November 1923, Bishop Hilarion was the closest assistant to His Holiness the Patriarch. And the patriarch entrusted him with the main task - the eradication of the renovationist schism. The first step on this path was the reconsecration of the Sretensky Monastery Cathedral, where since 1922 the followers of one of the leaders of the Renovationism, “Metropolitan” Antonin (Granovsky), settled. Antonin, in addition to the transition to the Russian language in worship and the Gregorian calendar introduced by the renovationists, also practiced other innovations. So, he moved the throne from the altar to the middle of the church. Being a supporter of the “diversity of the liturgical life of the Church,” he actively “improvised” in this area, for example, introducing poems by modern poets into the liturgical sequences. On July 5, 1923, on the eve of the holiday in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Bishop Hilarion consecrated the Cathedral of the Sretensky Monastery with a great ceremony. A similar consecration is performed in the event of desecration of the church. The saint considered renovationist “divine services” to be precisely such desecration. To appreciate the significance of this event, one must remember that by that time most of the churches, about half of the episcopate, and tens of thousands of priests were Renovationist. Saint Hilarion showed with all clarity that renovationism is not just a schism in the Church, it is defilement before God. On July 6, after the patriarchal service in the Church of the Sretensky Monastery, Saint Hilarion delivered a sermon directed against the Renovationists to the large flock who came to the monastery that day. The renovationists were in a panic; their leader Vladimir Krasnitsky wrote in his letter to the GPU dated July 9: “I earnestly ask you to pay attention to... Hilarion. On July 6, while preaching in the Sretensky Monastery, he made such a pogrom speech... In the crowd, in the fence and on the street, physical interpretations were made, and the matter ended with arrests. Over the past ten days, Tikhon’s followers have become extremely insolent, they behave defiantly and are ready to proceed to beating, and this mood - definitely pogrom and clearly anti-Soviet - is created by him, Bishop Hilarion. If a limit is not put on his clearly counter-revolutionary activities, then public unrest and the beating of renovationist churchmen are inevitable.” Public lectures and debates in which the Bishop took part were of great importance. And at each of his speeches two or three GPU officers were certainly present. Their reports were preserved in the investigative file of Bishop Hilarion. The most significant were the disputes between Archbishop Hilarion and the married “Archbishop of Krutitsky” Alexander Vvedensky, whom Saint Hilarion always defeated in these disputes. On August 17, 1923, Archbishop Hilarion gave a public speech at the Polytechnic Museum on the topic “Tikhonovites and Renovationists,” in which he condemned all renovationist groups as schismatic and anti-canonical. And, of course, Saint Hilarion condemned the decision of the Renovation Council of 1923 to remove the dignity of Patriarch Tikhon. The disputes were suppressed by the authorities in September 1923. Documents related to the public debates of St. Hilarion were published in 2006 in No. 5–6 of the Theological Bulletin. In 1923, the “religious NEP” began, accompanied by some softening of state policy towards the Church. The GPU was forced to ease repression. In addition, Saint Hilarion managed to convince the head of the 6th, “anti-church” department of the secret department of the GPU, Evgeniy Tuchkov, that he was loyal to the “powers that be.” Saint Hilarion became the administrator of the Moscow diocese. In August 1923, he became part of the then formed temporary Synod under the patriarch from among three bishops. In addition to him, the Synod included Archbishops Seraphim (Alexandrov) and Tikhon (Obolensky). On August 26, on his name day, Patriarch Tikhon elevated Saint Hilarion to the rank of archbishop. After this date, in all documents of the patriarchal office he is called an archbishop. Protopresbyter Vasily Vinogradov was mistaken when he wrote in his memoirs that Saint Hilarion was not an archbishop. In August-September, the GPU initiated negotiations between the delegation of the Patriarchal Church with the participation of St. Hilarion and the Renovationists, who at that time were headed by the former rector of the MDA “Metropolitan” Evdokim (Meshchersky). False rumors were spread that Saint Hilarion allegedly persuaded Patriarch Tikhon to renounce. But Saint Hilarion was a faithful companion of Patriarch Tikhon. It must be taken into account that in the dialogue with the authorities, he, like St. Tikhon, was forced to follow the path of a policy of maneuvering. When the authorities realized that their hopes were not justified and Patriarch Tikhon would remain the head of the Church, they brought down their anger on Saint Hilarion. In the reports of the OGPU for November 1923, he is already listed as an enemy of the Soviet regime. Archbishop Hilarion was arrested on November 15, 1923, according to a warrant signed by the notorious Heinrich Yagoda; At the same time, the bishop’s correspondence was confiscated. On December 7, the NKVD commission on administrative expulsions made the following decision: “Trinity should be imprisoned in a concentration camp for a period of three years.” The saint was sent to the Solovetsky special purpose camp. Patriarch Tikhon more than once asked the authorities to release St. Hilarion. He expressed his readiness to send him to serve in Simbirsk or some other place where he would not be noticeable to the authorities, but its representatives turned deaf to the patriarch’s pleas. We often say when looking at someone's biography: "stages of life." The further life of the saint was completely connected with other stages - camp, prison, transit. He still retained his characteristic optimism. Outwardly he was clear, confident, cheerful. A tall, broad-shouldered hero with blue eyes and a light brown beard - a real Russian saint! The camp involuntarily forced him to return to the main themes of his theological work - the Church, freedom, salvation. Many bishops and monks believed that it was impossible to lead a truly monastic life in the camp on Solovki. But Saint Hilarion was confident that the place where the Lord placed him was the most favorable for salvation. Solovki became Golgotha ​​for St. Hilarion. But Golgotha ​​is not only execution, pain, death, but also triumph. During the time of Peter I, the Russian schema-monk Jesus, exiled to Solovki, founded the Golgotha-Crucifixion monastery here, as if anticipating that the Solovki would suffer the fate of the Russian Golgotha. In July 1925, Saint Hilarion was transferred to the Yaroslavl prison, and the head of the 6th department of the secret department of the OGPU, E. Tuchkov, began negotiations with him. Preparations were being made for the removal of Saint Peter from the post of locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. Tuchkov offered Vladyka Hilarion a return to Moscow, where he was to join the group of bishops who were preparing a church coup. These were the future Gregorians, then led by Bishop Boris (Rukin). But Saint Hilarion not only rejected these temptations, but also told his cellmates about this, divulging the “operational techniques” of the OGPU. The security officers did not forgive this. In 1926, when the term of imprisonment expired, a new criminal case was opened against the saint. He was given a new three-year sentence and returned to Solovki. He was placed on Sekirka, in a punishment cell. “Everything is possible for the Lord,” the saint joked, “once He made theologians and apostles out of fishermen, now He has made fishermen out of theologians again.” The Christian joy of the ancient ascetics did not leave His Grace Hilarion during the years of imprisonment. He was amused by the thought that the Solovetsky camp could be a school of many virtues: non-covetousness, meekness, humility, abstinence, patience, hard work. In 1927, Saint Hilarion did not agree with the text of the Declaration, but did not break the canonical connection with Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), understanding the forced nature of the signing of this document by the head of the Church. He did not agree with the church division, named after the founder Josephite, and did not support other movements of “non-rememberers”. During the typhus epidemic, the saint, thanks to his activity and universal authority, defended the right of clergy to wear a beard. In addition, with the assistance of the saint, the imprisoned clergy gathered in the 6th company received some weakening of the regime. But the most important thing is that sometimes it was possible to perform divine services, both secret and sanctioned by the camp authorities. Such was the famous Solovetsky Easter of 1925, when all the prisoners gathered in one of the churches for a divine service, which was led by St. Hilarion himself. In 1929, the “unloading” of Solovki began. On October 14, a special meeting of the OGPU board sentenced Archbishop Hilarion to three years of exile to Kazakhstan. The bishop was sent to Alma-Ata in stages. On the way he was robbed, and he arrived in Leningrad already sick with typhus, the epidemic of which was then raging among prisoners. On December 19, Archbishop Hilarion was transferred to the prison hospital. The bishop had a high temperature, but he had to walk the entire way around the city. From the hospital he wrote to Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov): “I am seriously ill with typhus, I am lying in a prison hospital, I must have become infected on the road; on Saturday, December 15/28, my fate is decided. I’m unlikely to survive the disease crisis.” The archpastor's once strong body was greatly undermined by camp life. The Lord was fading away, typhus was taking away his last strength. Vladyka Hilarion, a fighter with the camp authorities for the right of the clergy to wear a beard, now lying unconscious, was completely shaved by doctors. Shortly before his death, he felt better. Metropolitan Seraphim's cell attendant, Hieromonk Nikandr, confessed and administered the Holy Mysteries to him. Before his death, in delirium, and therefore without any self-control, he often repeated: “Now I am completely free, no one will take me...” On December 15/28, 1929 at 4 o’clock the saint departed to the Lord. Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) and the archbishop's sister asked for the body of the deceased archpastor for burial. At that time, handing over the bodies of the dead to relatives for burial was still practiced. The body that was handed over was not recognized: a gray-haired, beardless old man with a shaved head, although he was only 43 years old. The funeral service took place in the Resurrection Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent in Leningrad. Saint Hilarion was glorified among the locally revered Moscow saints on May 10, 1999, and at the Jubilee Council of Bishops in 2000 he was numbered among the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. I would like to end with the words of St. Hilarion, addressed to students of theological schools, especially to talented students, and these are the majority among our students: “Whoever wants to be guided by the New Testament view of his activities must decisively reject prejudices alien to Christianity, according to which talent is a true advantage and serves as a subject of honor and “noble” pride for its owner. It is necessary, first of all, to humble one’s sinful exaltation, to recognize oneself as a slave, a helper, a builder, a “steward” of the Lord’s grace.” The theological heritage of the Hieromartyr Hilarion is considered in the dissertation of Georgy Adrianov “Archbishop Hilarion (Trinity) and his theological heritage (experience of systematization and evaluation),” defended in 2000 at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.