Святитель Феофан (Говоров) – архипастырь земли Тамбовской

Metropolitan of Tambov and Rasskazovsky In his first “Word upon entering the flock,” delivered in the city of Tambov on July 5, 1859, Saint Theophan outlined the main task of his activity: “To draw an image of sound Christian teaching, which must be heeded” 186 . As the archpastor of the Tambov land, he showed his flock an example of a zealous worker in the church field, showing his versatile talents in many areas of diocesan life, taking care of deanery in churches and monasteries, upbringing and education, etc. At the Tambov Theological Seminary, the saint opened an icon painting class, in which up to 100 students studied. Perhaps he made the decision to open an icon-painting class after his first trip around the diocese in July - August 1859, when he personally saw how the churches were painted and what icons were in the iconostases. In August of the same year, he demanded that the clergy purchase icons for iconostases painted in the ancient Russian tradition. On August 14, 1859, Archpriest Leonty Krivopolyansky from the city of Borisoglebsk reported to the consistory “that in the newly built church in Borisoglebsk the real iconostasis has not yet been built” 187. The saint put the following resolution on the petition: “So that the icons should not be of Italian painting, but of the Orthodox Church” 188 . He made a similar demand to priest Gavriil Gilyarovsky, priest John Vvedensky and the church warden from the village of Duplyatogo Kurgan, Tambov district, writing on their petition to update the iconostasis: “To oblige them to have the order of icons painted as close as possible to the Byzantine style” 189 . August 24, 1861 The saint ordered the consistory to distribute a circular throughout the diocese stating that “clergy, as well as parishioners who wish to arrange iconostases, should submit plans for iconostases and drawings of icons, carefully finished and drawn not with a pencil, but with ink or paints” 190. Saint Theophan personally replenished the library of the theological seminary. In January 1861 he donated the 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions of Letters on the Christian Life. He made the first contribution, almost 1000 rubles, for the construction of a church at the 1st Tambov Theological School. This was all the proceeds received from the sale of the book “On the Beginning of the Christian Life” 191. The Right Reverend also showed concern for the opening of dean libraries, the need for which he defined as follows: “Spiritual literature is expanding year by year. A priest needs to be familiar with it both in order to improve his knowledge himself and to more conveniently teach his flock the truths of God. Meanwhile, there are very few educational books in the church libraries of the Tambov diocese, as can be seen from the information, and not every church is able to have all the books that may deserve attention. In order to give priests the opportunity to read everything that is considered useful for them, then for this it is necessary to establish deanery libraries...” 192. Such libraries began to appear in 1860. Their opening is associated with a kind of administrative reform. When the dean began to check out books for libraries, the post office, in addition to insurance money, also demanded from them the so-called weights, which were taken from private individuals, not officials. To give the dean an official status in the eyes of secular officials, the saint ordered: “That the deanery of each district be divided into parts, and the dean of each part should establish a seal for official papers, following the example of the Kyiv diocese” 193. This marked the beginning of the creation of full-fledged deanery districts in the diocese. The creation of libraries became one of those important measures with the help of which Saint Theophan wanted to increase the spiritual and educational level of the clergy. Libraries gave priests the opportunity to read more, which means they could carry out better spiritual and educational work among parishioners. In October 1859, the saint ordered the spiritual consistory that the priests “bring their parishioners to the knowledge of the Creed, the Commandments of the Lord and the Lord’s Prayer with other necessary daily prayers, and that they take care of the delivery of teachings in the church, especially with the explanation of the patristic writings, in Russian translation, for which purpose, instruct trustworthy persons to compile a catalog of books” 194. His Grace Theophan obliged all clergy to undergo tests in their knowledge of “subjects related to their positions, and, after the examinations... submit... lists - with a note about who knows their rules 195. The tests were to be carried out by the dean fathers. The saint had special care about the Tambov Diocesan Women's School even during the period of its construction, as evidenced by this fact. State-funded seminarians were to be provided with food and shoes from interest on the capital of the benefactor Truntsevsky. When, for the first half of 1863, it was necessary to withdraw interest from the specified capital, and the total amount was 473 rubles, the saint decreed: “The interest from Truntsevsky’s capital should be put towards the girls’ school, deducted and forwarded to the school administration” 196 . In this regard, the seminary board decided: “Since the school for girls of the clergy has not yet been opened, and yet in the seminary amount, due to the high cost of everything, there is a shortage, then ask His Eminence to use the entire percentage amount” 197. The saint did not consider it possible to take the side of the board and ordered: “Strictly monitor expenses and not expand them, but reduce them” 198. In January 1863 Bishop Theophan sent the charter of the women's school, developed under his leadership by the priest Anikita Levitsky, for approval by the Holy Synod. The purpose of the school was defined as follows: “To give shelter to helpless orphans and provide them with a decent education” 199. The tasks were set as follows: “To raise worthy spouses of servants of the throne of the Lord and assistants to them in the matter of moral Christian education of parishioners, caring mothers who can facilitate and replace their labors in the home education of children and knowledgeable housewives” 200. Subsequently, the goals and objectives of the school were adjusted, and it began to accept not only orphans, but also daughters of the clergy. The school studied the Law of God, Russian and Slavic languages, arithmetic, geography, civil history, penmanship and drawing, church singing, and handicrafts “to the greatest possible extent” 201 . The saint drew up the staffing schedule himself. Emperor Alexander II signed the decree on the establishment of a diocesan women's school in Tambov on July 22, 1863. 202, on the day when the decision was made to appoint St. Theophan to the Vladimir See. Under Saint Theophan, the Tambov Diocesan Gazette began to be published. His petition to the Synod on January 18, 1861 was followed by decree No. 202 on permission to publish statements from 1861 “according to the attached... program” 203. Having received the decree of the Synod, the saint determined: “The father-rector of the seminary, Archimandrite Gennady, is appointed editor; the censor was Father Archpriest Moskvin and the father-inspector of the seminary, Hieromonk Sergius. Prepare a message to Mr. Head of the province with a notification about the permission of the Holy Synod to publish the Diocesan Gazette according to the order I made regarding censors, and make an announcement with the same notification to the Mr. Manager of the Chamber of State Property in whose printing house the Gazette will be printed” 204. The first issue of the magazine was published in July 1861. His Grace Theophan also cared about public education. During 1860–1863 Dozens of parochial schools were opened in the diocese. They were supported by donors. The saint himself “at every opportunity, invited people to donate to the great and godly cause of public education” 205 . “Rules regarding rural parish-church schools” were developed, the supreme supervision of which was entrusted to the rector of the theological seminary, and their management became the responsibility of parish priests. The “Rules” proposed one of the ways to maintain schools: “Persuade parishioners to elect from among themselves a reliable trustee of the school, who will be responsible for satisfying all the material needs of the school with the help of parishioners” 206 . The cause of public education did not always meet with understanding among the peasants. The dean of the Usman deanery district, Archpriest John Spiridonov, said in his report the following: “To spread literacy and religious and moral education, priests have established parish schools in all the churches of my department. But this great sacrifice on the part of the priests for the common good did not evoke the necessary sympathy on the part of their parishioners. They took it for a more private and untenable phenomenon” 207. Under Saint Theophan, a religious procession was established with the miraculous Vyshenskaya Icon of the Mother of God. The decree of the Holy Synod about this followed on June 4, 1862. It said: “His Eminence, Bishop of Tambov and Shatsk Theophan, reporting to the Holy Synod about the desire of the inhabitants of the city of Morshansk to transfer with appropriate solemnity the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God from the Shatsk Vyshenskaya Hermitage to the city of Morshansk, in memory of their double deliverance from the raging 1853 and 1859 cholera in the city of Morshansk - petitioned for permission to establish a religious procession with the said icon annually by the 15th of July, so that its stay in the city of Morshansk, in the Trinity Cathedral Church, would last at least a month. The Holy Synod determines: the establishment of a religious procession from the Shatskaya Vyshenskaya hermitage to the city of Morshansk with the icon of the Kazan Mother of God should be allowed” 208. In fact, this decision marked the beginning of the longest religious procession in the Russian Empire, since over time it covered almost the entire Tambov diocese. The saint never ignored the petitions of the Tambov clergy and flock, as well as all kinds of reports and protocols. He treated those who had lost their breadwinner with compassion and warmth. At the same time, he showed the necessary firmness towards priests and clergy who were careless and violated canonical rules and church regulations. In 1861, Saint Theophan stood up for Maria the Theotokos, the widow of the deacon of St. Chernyanoye, Tambov district, left with six children. Deacon Alexy Glagolev, who took the place of her son-in-law, undertook to pay her 25 rubles in silver annually, but then asked the consistory to reduce the payment by half, and she agreed with him. Bishop Theophan ordered otherwise: “The obligation on Glagolev will remain as before” 209. The saint also showed concern for the family of the future holy martyr, Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany), who was studying at the seminary at that time. In the case of the sexton Kozlov Vasily Tikhomirov, who took the place of the deceased sexton Fyodor Churyukovsky with the obligation to pay his widow Paraskeva 30 silver rubles a year, the saint also found himself on the side of the widow. Tikhomirov asked to be exempted from payment, since “in the absence of his own home, instead of which he is forced to rent an apartment" 210, he is burdened this payment, and the consistory agreed to halve the payment to 15 silver rubles. On April 19, 1862, Saint Theophan decreed: “The clerk must be obliged to give the widow 20 rubles” 211. In matters concerning clergy, the saint tried to be lenient and delve into the essence of the problems, making a fair decision. When in 1862 the supernumerary priest Pyotr Grigoriev p. Annino of the Tambov district asked to carry out an investigation into the alleged indignation of the temporarily obliged peasants of the city of Chicherin, and at the same time the spiritual consistory ordered such an investigation to be carried out, Saint Theophan ordered: “Suggest to the priest. Grigoriev to terminate the case, making sure that the diocesan authorities do not want any stain on him” 212. In the same 1862, a peasant from the village. Golovshchino, Lipetsk district, Stepan Istomin asked for an investigation into the offense caused to him by the staff priest Pavel Lvov. The consistory ordered such an investigation, but the saint wrote the following resolution: “Do not conduct an investigation, and demand an explanation from priest Lvov” 213 . The saint became principled when it was necessary for a fair consideration of the case. Thus, priest Joachim Kochetov was moved by the saint’s predecessor in the department from the village. Khomutovka in the village. Ermolovo, but, despite the order of the diocesan authorities, did not vacate the estate for the settlement of the priest Dimitry Dobrokhotov, appointed in his place. The spiritual consistory ordered priest Joachim to move out within two months and punished him with a fine of one silver ruble. Saint Theophan toughened the punishment for the disobedient priest: “Kochetov will be fined ten rubles for disobedience and henceforth every month a five ruble fine will be collected from him until he cleanses the estate” 214. After the death of St. Theophan the Recluse, many noted the good qualities of his soul, which manifested themselves during the years of service in the Tambov diocese, and above all, his respectful attitude towards people. “Our relationship was of Christian humanity, truly humane not in words, but in deeds. We almost forgot the word - subordinate: as a father, as a meek and loving teacher, we boldly and trustingly turned to our Lord - Chief. And a meek, fatherly word, a Christian-affectionate address was the answer to everyone who turned. God is my witness, and all our brothers and sisters will testify with an oath in Christ that none of us heard the terrible, soul-chilling words of our superior from the lips of the Lord who is leaving us.”215 Feofan, bishop. Words to the Tambov flock. St. Petersburg, 1861. P. 6. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1670. L. 56. About drawings for newly erected iconostases and icons // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1862. No. 44. P. 122. Svirin A.N. On the establishment of dean's libraries during the reign of St. Feofan at the Tambov Department // Feofan readings. 2012. Issue. VI. P. 230. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1751. L. 158. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1672. L. 70. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1673. L. 47, 51. GATO. F. 186. Op. 69. D. 2. L. 66. GATO. F.186. Op. 67. D. 1. L. 69. Draft Charter of the School for Girls of the Clergy // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1863. No. 23. P. 215. Lebedev V., archpriest. Historical note about the Tambov Diocesan Women's School for 50 years of its existence: 1863–1913. Tambov, 1914. P. 37. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1724. L. 122 vol. Klyucharev A.S. His Eminence Theophan the Recluse and his pastoral activity (1815–1894). Kazan, 1904. P. 63 Rules regarding rural parish-church schools, approved by the Diocesan authorities // Tambov Diocesan Gazette. 1862. No. 4. P. 54. Description of the state of parish schools // TEV. 1863. No. 4. P. 96. On the establishment of a religious procession with the icon of the Kazan Mother of God from the Shatsk Vyshenskaya hermitage to the city of Morshansk // TEV. 1862. No. 2. pp. 23–24. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1724. L. 179. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1752. L. 173. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1751. L 45 vol. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1752. L. 330. GATO. F. 181. Op. 1. D. 1703. L. 54. Speech presented to His Eminence Theophan during the farewell dinner // TEV. 1863. No. 15. pp. 544–545.