Archbishop of Chernigov Filaret (Gumilevsky) as a historian of the Russian Church

The 19th century in Russia is not only a “golden” century for literature and art. This century of the flourishing of theological science in Russia gave the world many great hierarchs who were not only successful church leaders, but also creatively gifted, politically talented, and deeply encyclopedic people. It is enough to name the names of St. Philaret of Moscow, famous, among other things, for his poetic correspondence with A.S. Pushkin, and theologians and bishops. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Feofan (Govorov) the Recluse. The active development of church historical science can be considered a particularly important phenomenon. The history of the Russian Church was introduced into the programs of Theological Seminaries and Academies in the middle of the 19th century, and from that time on, major studies began to appear, and articles on the history of the Church began to be published in periodicals at theological academies of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Kiev. In the middle of the 19th century, an outstanding historian-hierarch appeared in the field of this science: Archbishop of Chernigov Filaret (Gumilevsky). The future shepherd and scientist, in the world Dimitri Grigorievich, was born on October 23, 1805 in the village of Konobeevka, Shatsky district, Tambov province, in the family of a priest. No one in the village yet knew about the birth of a son to the venerable shepherd, and the holy fool Alexei climbed the bell tower and began to ring the bell. Surprised people rushed to the church and began to ask the holy fool who ordered the call and why? - “Alyoshka is glad that the great Timoshka was born! And he will call, he will call all over Rus'!” - answered the holy fool. Dimitri received his initial upbringing and education in his parents’ family. Their piety and the ascetic life of their aunt-mentor, who lived for 90 years as a girl, early developed in the future Philaret a penchant for monasticism. The boy's mental abilities were discovered in early childhood. At the age of five, he was already reading the Psalter in church, which he knew almost all of by heart. At the age of seven, his father placed Dmitry in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage; two years later, he entered the Shatsk Theological School. During his studies, the Tambov Eminence Jonah (Vasilievsky), taking into account his small stature and humility, changed his former surname Konobeevsky to Gumilevsky (lat. humilis - low, humble). [4:14]. One day, Dimitri and his aunt visited the Sarov Hermitage and visited Elder Seraphim. Having blessed them and looking at Demetrius, the elder said: “This youth will be a great lamp of the Church and will be glorified throughout Rus' as a learned man” [4:13]. These predictions and some other cases that took place in the life of the future Archbishop Philaret were perceived by him and his parents as evidence of his special care by Providence. His father dreamed that Dimitri would take his place and insisted on marriage. At the end of the first year in the theological department, Dimitri began to woo the bride, fulfilling the desire and will of his father. But during the last holidays, Demetrius told his brother Nikita about a vision that he had once while sleeping in the garden: “I see in a dream a saint like Basil the Great who came to me, and he solemnly tells me: your and your father’s plan will be destroyed, and what was told to you in advance by Bishop Jonah will be fulfilled. Take my works from the Tambov Seminary Library, you will see my image in them and read them in Latin and Greek. Moreover, go every day to Matins in the archdeacon’s church and stand before the image of the saint and wonderworker Demetrius of Rostov” [1]. From that time on, Dimitri completely changed his lifestyle and abandoned the thought of marriage. In 1826, he entered the Moscow Theological Academy, and was soon tonsured a monk, ordained a hierodeacon, and then a hieromonk. Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, who closely followed his teaching, gave him his name during tonsure - an exceptional case in the history of the academy. It was felt that the Metropolitan wanted to prepare a worthy successor for himself; he showed such severity and care towards the young monk [6:III]. While still a student at the Academy, Filaret was appointed librarian of the Academy, and after graduating from the Academy he remained with it. In 1831 he took the chair of church history and was appointed censor. Since 1832 he was transferred to the chair of Holy Scripture. Filaret Gumilevsky was the first teacher of church history at the Moscow Theological Academy who made this subject interesting and exciting for students. He himself began to work on lectures and evoked a lively attitude towards the subject in his listeners. He inspired one of them, later his friend and famous successor, Alexander Gorsky, and accustomed him to the painstaking work of a historian [7:48]. But the hieromonk had only two years to read the subject: at the beginning of the 1832/33 academic year, by the will of the Moscow Saint, Philaret was transferred to the department of moral and pastoral theology. Soon he was appointed inspector of the academy, he was also entrusted with the abbotship of the Moscow Epiphany Monastery. On January 27, 1835, Philaret was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, and on December 14 of the same year he was appointed rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, and in October 1841, the great Moscow Saint Philaret contributed to the appointment of his favorite to the Riga See. The news of the new appointment struck Archimandrite Philaret, since he was strongly attached to the Academy, to his work, to the library. At this time, he was already creating his main work: “History of the Russian Church” in five separate editions in Riga and Moscow in 1847–1848 and then republished many times. “The History of the Russian Church” by Metropolitan Macarius, which later became a major labor of study for the science of Russian church history, was just being created. The Metropolitan brings the exposition to the Moscow Councils of the 60s of the XVII century, while the “History” of Archbishop Philaret for the first time includes an overview of the synodal period up to 1826. “History” by Filaret Gumilyovsky is often compared with “History of the Russian State by N.M. Karamzin. According to Archpriest Georgy Florovsky, here “for the first time the entire Russian church history was told and shown as a living whole, told clearly and thoughtfully” [8:365]. According to Professor A.V. Kartashev, “we have had a real scientific history of the Russian Church since the publication of the “History of the Russian Church” by Archbishop Philaret” [2:23]. In 1841, Filaret was installed as Bishop of Riga, in 1848 he was transferred to the Kharkov diocese, and in 1859 he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Chernigov. For his numerous and important scientific works, Filaret was elected a full or honorary member of many spiritual and secular scientific societies and institutions, in particular he was an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Archbishop Filaret divides the church history of Russia into five periods: 1) from the beginning of Christianity in Russia to the Mongol invasion (988–1237); 2) from the Mongol invasion to the division of the Russian metropolis (1237–1410); 3) from the division of the metropolis to the establishment of the Patriarchate (1410–1588); 4) the period of the Patriarchate (1589–1720); 5) synodal administration (1721–1826). At the end of each issue there was an alphabetical index of remarkable persons and objects - an innovation that was not generally accepted in Russian scientific writings until the very end of the 19th century. The presentation within each period covers: the spread of Christianity; Church teaching and worship; church administration; life of Christian society (including monasteries and church schism). Filaret’s “History” contains a lot of information and small details, partly from handwritten sources. A very important reference book for Russian church history is the 2-volume work of Archbishop Philaret “Review of Russian Spiritual Literature.” Philaret’s “review” includes a much larger number of authors than the then well-known “Dictionary of Russian Secular Writers” by Metropolitan Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov). Archbishop Philaret includes in his “Review”, in addition to spiritual writers themselves, those secular authors who wrote on church-religious topics, like Prince Kurbsky, Speransky, Nadezhdin, Khomyakov. Let's name a few more historical works by Archbishop Philaret: “Russian saints, revered by the whole Church or locally: An experience in describing their lives” (in 4 parts. Chernigov, 1861–1865; 3rd ed.: St. Petersburg, 1881); “The Lives of Saints Honored by the Orthodox Church” (in 12 books. Chernigov, 1861; 3rd ed. St. Petersburg, 1900); “Historical and statistical description of the Kharkov diocese” (in 5 parts. Moscow - Kharkov, 1849–1859); “Description of the Chernigov diocese” (in 7 parts). In addition, Archbishop Philaret authored many articles on church history in spiritual and secular journals [5:80–83]. Critical source studies in Russian church history begin with Professor Filaret (Gumilevsky), which reached its peak in the works of Professor Archpriest Alexander Gorsky, professors K.I. Nevostruev and E.E. Golubinsky. This “criticism” means, first of all, scientific integrity. Bishop Philaret’s gift in studying and comparing sources was also noted. In July 1842, the archpastor went to Riga. Seven years of bishop's service there brought him a lot of work, worries and sorrows. The conditions of service were very difficult. The saint with all his might supported the desire for Orthodoxy and original culture among the indigenous population: Latvians and Estonians - worship and teaching in schools in their native language. During his stay in Riga, he opened 63 parishes, established 20 permanent and 43 temporary churches, and initiated a petition for the opening of a theological school and parish schools. This activity provoked sharp opposition from the barons and the German party. The enemies tried with all their might to stop the activities of the archpastor. In 1848, Filaret was transferred to the Kharkov See, where he labored for more than ten years before his appointment in 1859 as Archbishop of Chernigov and Nizhyn. In Kharkov and Chernigov, the saint paid great attention to the spiritual education of youth, established seminaries, diocesan schools, monitored the educational process, developed teaching programs for educational institutions, donating his printed works for their material support. The Reverend Philaret was a member of the Society of Russian History and Antiquity (since 1847); full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society and honorary member of Kharkov University (since 1852); honorary member of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society (since 1856). Filaret gained particular fame and popularity for his literary activities. Filaret’s works are striking in the mass of critical articles and notes. This was a feature of his talent - to check everything with the eye of a critic, to treat every subject with inquisitiveness [3]. Over time, he no longer had a special task, a specific issue, the solution of which would occupy him exclusively. The variety of subjects that the archpastor took on was especially noticeable in the last 10 years of his life. Archbishop Filaret is also known as a wonderful preacher of the word of God. Particularly edifying are his “Conversations on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” which the Right Reverend delivered to the Kharkov flock during the days of Great Lent. During his intensive scientific work, he vividly responded to all events in public life: he visited prisons, during the Sevastopol campaign he blessed passing squads, served prayer services; when the hospitals were overcrowded with the wounded, he gave the seminary premises for them, transferring the students to private apartments. He did not leave his flock even in the most difficult moments of his life. During the cholera of 1866, he undertook a tour of the diocese, saying: “The people have lost heart, they should be encouraged.” On the way, he himself fell ill and died on August 9 in Konotop. From Konotop to Chernigov, for 180 miles, tens of thousands of people, replacing each other, accompanied the coffin of their beloved archpastor [4]. However, there was not a single case of cholera. They simply forgot about the disease. Cholera did not reach Chernigov and stopped. Thus, the great archpastor of the Russian Church, writer and scientist, Archbishop Filaret, whose works are of great importance even today, passed away from earthly life. 1. Dimitrevsky F. Something from the childhood and youth of Filaret Gumilevsky // Chernigov diocesan news. 1870. No. 21, 22. 2. Kartashev A.V. Essays on the history of the Russian Church. Paris, 1959. 3. Kotovich A. M. In memory of the historian and publicist Archbishop Filaret (Gumilevsky). // Russian Antiquity. 1907. 4. Listovsky I.S. Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. Chernigov, 1895. 5. Korsunsky I. F. Filaret (Gumilevsky) // Russian Biographical Dictionary. St. Petersburg, 1901. 6. Filaret, Archbishop. History of the Russian Church in five periods. M., 2001. 7. Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy A.V. Gorsky and his contribution to the development of Russian church historical science // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 2002. No. 12. 8. Florovsky G. Ways of Russian theology. Vilnius, 1991.