In memory of the late Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Anthony in Bose

On the night of November 2, after a long and serious illness, Metropolitan Anthony of St. Petersburg (in the world A.V. Vadkovsky), an honorary member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, died in the 66th year of his life. The son of a poor, large but pious family of a priest in the village of Shiringushi, Spassky district, Tambov province, the deceased metropolitan, after completing his education in local religious educational institutions, as a 20-year-old youth, entered the Kazan Theological Academy as part of the XIII course to complete his theological education. With his very attractive appearance, handsome, modest character, extremely delicate attitude towards his comrades, his high religious disposition and good manners, he quickly won the love and favor not only of his fellow students in the course, which produced several very remarkable professors and scientists, but also of his academic superiors, headed at that time by the ever-memorable rector of the Academy, Archimandrite Nikanor (Brovkovich), died in the rank of Archbishop of Kherson. After graduating from the Academy in 1870 with a master's degree, the future Metropolitan of St. Petersburg was left as an assistant professor at the Academy, and he was entrusted with teaching homiletics and pastoral theology. The talented young professor, who took a liking to the history of Russian preaching of the pre-Petrine era and began to independently study it from handwritten sources of the rich Solovetsky library, which is now in the Kazan Theological Academy, not only enjoyed success for his excellent lectures among students of the Academy, but soon took a prominent place among Russian scientists and specialists in the history of ancient Russian writing. His independently prepared essays on the history of Christian preaching, and mainly on the history of preaching among the South Slavs, immediately began to appear on the pages of spiritual magazines of that time: in the Orthodox Interlocutor, in the Orthodox Review and in the Strannik. Collected into one whole and then published twice (in 1892 and 1895) in a special book entitled: “From the history of Christian preaching,” these essays acquired their author, honoris causa, the academic theological degree of “Doctor of Church History,” awarded to him by the council of the Kazan Theological Academy in 1895. The death of his beloved wife in 1879 and the loss of two small children in 1882, carried to their graves in the same week by defteritis, made a deep impression on the religious and mystical professor, and he decided to radically change his path in life. In March 1883, A.V. Vadkovsky was tonsured a monk by the then reigning Kazan Archbishop Palladius (Raev), later Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, his predecessor in the department. This change in the life of Professor A.V. Vadkovsky made a strong impression on everyone who knew him, especially his comrades in the service at the Academy, but, however, it was welcomed by everyone very favorably. “From the depths of the Academy, wrote the academic chronicler, the late Professor A.I. Grenkov, who did not like to lavish praise on his fellow colleagues in vain, what emerges is not a young man who can be carried away by a high ideal, but a mature man in the full development of his spiritual powers. What will happen to me as a teenager? We cannot know all his beliefs, we do not know his exact ideals. But we know him as a person, a Christian and a comrade, and we believe that the ideal of monasticism will find artistic embodiment in him with its best and brightest sides” (Prav. Sobesedn., 1883, III, p. 303). The Kazan archpastor, very pleased that he was able to bring to the altar of the Lord “a man of science, carrying with him the armor of Christian wisdom and truth” (ibid. p. 304), brought Fr. Anthony to himself, placing him in the bishop's house, and began to quickly promote him. On November 14 of the same year, Hieromonk Anthony was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed manager of the supernumerary St. John the Baptist Monastery; On December 12 of the same year, the Council of the Academy of Arch. Anthony is elevated to the rank of extraordinary professor, and exactly a year later he is appointed inspector of his native Academy. But it did not take him long to serve in Kazan among his comrades and colleagues who dearly loved him, many of whom were his highly respected professors. In 1885, on August 12, Archimandrite Anthony was transferred to the post of inspector of the St. Petersburg Academy with the obligation to lecture on a new subject - the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. The purpose is arch. Anthony did not greet him joyfully. It tore him away from his native nest, from his favorite profession, from dear and close to his heart comrades - colleagues and from the dear, unforgettable graves of his beloved wife and children, but he, following the instructions of God's providence and the orders of his superiors, humbly submitted to a new difficult obedience. Timidly and hesitantly, he acted at first in the difficult role of the capital’s inspector of the Theological Academy, fearing not to lose his dignity, and not to incur the disfavor of the higher authorities, who kept a vigilant eye on the young learned archimandrite, in whom even at that time they saw an outstanding church figure, and not to diminish the honor of the Academy entrusted to his care. But inherent in Fr. Inspector of the Academy, gentleness, sincerity, openness, friendliness, cordial benevolence and the respectful respect for the oldest workers of science developed in him by his service at the Kazan Academy earned him sympathy and even love among all the professors, colleagues and students of the St. Petersburg Academy. Sympathy for him increased even more when Archimandrite Anthony was appointed rector of the same Academy, with the elevation to the rank of Bishop of Vyborg, second vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese. In the legends of former students of the Academy, this time is still considered the happiest and is remembered by everyone with deep gratitude, despite the fact that one of his closest predecessors in the rectorship was the enormously popular rector of the Academy, Protopresbyter I. L. Yanyshev. As the second vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese, Bishop Anthony was entrusted with overseeing the teaching of the Law of God in secular educational institutions of all departments. This duty, carried out by the Bishop with love and rare conscientiousness, brought Bishop Anthony closer to the highest St. Petersburg society and to the capital's o.o. teachers of the law. On all these young people, with a very handsome appearance and attractive spiritual qualities, the rector of the Academy, Bishop Anthony, who often spoke before them with a sincere, live, improvised speech, made a charming impression. His name passed from mouth to mouth in St. Petersburg with a whole stream of enthusiastic praise, admiration and fortune-telling about his future career in life. With the death of the venerable Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Isidore, his vast diocese was divided into three independent departments: St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Finland. The last chair in the rank of archbishop was occupied in 1892 by Bishop Anthony of Vyborg with the right to have a residence in St. Petersburg (he was located at the Mitrofanievsky Synodal Metochion, the corner of Kabinetskaya and Zvenigorodskaya), as a permanent member of the Holy Synod. Archbishop Anthony, with his characteristic tact, energetic persistence and vigilant caution, set about establishing a new diocese entrusted to his care among a population alien to Orthodoxy and hostile to Russia. And with his correct, humane attitude, imbued with the spirit of evangelical meekness and love for the Finns, among whom his small flock was scattered, and his frequent tours of parishes and schools, in which his apostolic word, filled with zeal, was constantly heard, Archbishop Anthony managed to gain love and respect for himself not only among the Orthodox, but also among the Finns. At this time, the deceased bishop managed to closely study the interesting in many respects inhabitants of the famous Valaam monastery, to which he often liked to spend the summer months. Personally inclined to a contemplative life - and deeply thoughtful about the fate of the Orthodox Church in general and the Russian Church in particular, where monasticism, as is known, had a tremendous influence on the cultural life of the people and on the peaceful colonization of our remote outskirts, apparently doomed to desertion and the absence of any signs of life, Bishop Anthony studied with keen interest the life of monastics and especially the life of the harsh anchorites living in hermitages on the deserted rocky islands of Lake Ladoga. “Surrounded by the formidable water elements,” the bishop told the monks of the monastery on June 26, 1892, when the new cathedral was consecrated, the islands of the monastery for a number of centuries have at times experienced a powerful pressure of sea waves, as if ready to crush them with fury and drown them in their depths, but the strong rocks of the islands cheerfully withstand this pressure and stand until now strong and majestic and no less than the waves menacing, just like many centuries ago. In the history of the monastery, such indestructible rocks were and will be the names of its venerable founders (Reverend Fathers Serius and Herman), who preserved it intact, undestroyed and glorious in all the troubles and adversities of its centuries-old and long-suffering life in the past" (Metropolitan Anthony. Speeches, words and teachings pp. 230-231, ed. 3 St. Petersburg, 1912 g.). The Holy Synod at this time entrusted the young Archbishop of Finland, full of strength and energy, with flattering and important assignments - to chair the commission in 1893 on the issue of uniting the Old Catholics with the Orthodox Church and to be a representative of the Russian Church at the jubilee of the venerable Queen of England in 1897. This trip abroad and stay in London made the name of Archbishop Anthony known far beyond the borders of our fatherland and earned him two honorary doctorates from the oldest English universities - Oxford and Cambridge. On December 25, 1898, after the death of Metropolitan Palladius of St. Petersburg, Archbishop Anthony was called by the Highest Will to take the place of his spiritual father, his mentor in the first steps of monastic life. The St. Petersburg flock, who recognized Archbishop Anthony well from his previous activities in St. Petersburg, which took place before their eyes, joyfully welcomed their new archpastor and surrounded him with love, deep respect and devotion, which they retained for him until his long-suffering death and the solemn interment of his mortal remains in an ordinary grave among the monks of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. As a diocesan bishop, Metropolitan Anthony constantly showed to the subordinate clergy feelings of humanity, cordial, charming affection, benevolence and noble simplicity, alien to pomposity, familiarity and exaggeration. Therefore, the remarkably kind and trusting relationship that has developed between the archpastor and his subordinate clergy is quite understandable. The parish life of the capital and the church teaching activities of the pastors attracted his special attention, and he often devoted not only days, but even entire evenings to these aspects of pastoral activity, sitting for long periods at meetings of pastors and teaching them with his meek edifying words. The bishop treated the needs and requests of the clergy with complete benevolence and gave scope to every new undertaking, as long as it tended towards the good of the saint. Church and for the benefit of the flock, trying, in turn, by all means to raise the authority of the capital's clergy in the eyes of a demanding and extremely mixed, motley flock. As a church administrator and chairman of the All-Russian Holy Synod, the deceased Bishop, along with the firmness and steadfastness of his own convictions, combined a spirit of rare condescension and tolerance for the opinions and views on many church issues of others, even from among his subordinate clergy. His ability to direct and lead opinions in crowded meetings of people of the most diverse trends and views was reflected with particular clarity in the so-called “pre-conciliar presence,” which he brought to a happy end not without enormous moral efforts on his part. As a church-political figure, the late metropolitan always wanted to harmonize church interests with new emerging trends in state life, but without any compromises or concessions tending to weaken church authority. The latter, however, was not easy for the bishop, and because of this he had to endure quite a few griefs and disappointments during his lifetime... In his personal life, the late Metropolitan was distinguished by his modesty, accessibility, simplicity and rare generosity in distributing his funds to works of mercy and to help needy student youth. He always had a lot of envious people and ill-wishers, but, remarkably, the late ruler himself was alien to feelings of revenge and not only willingly forgave personal insults to his ill-wishers, but, if he could, then willingly did good to them. He not only never condemned anyone, but also did not like to listen to the condemnation of others in front of him. The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, considering the late metropolitan its honorary member, due to the lack of a department in the capital, was not in constant and lively communication with him, but it cannot, however, fail to remember with a kind word some facts from the life of the bishop, when he expressed his sympathy and benevolence for his activities. Thus, Vladyka Metropolitan Anthony willingly agreed to lead a solemn prayer service performed on the occasion of the celebration of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society twenty-fifth anniversary of its existence from the day of its opening, May 21, 1882, in the Peterhof Palace on May 21, 1907, in the presence of the Sovereign Emperor, the Empress, the August Chairman of the Great Princess Elisaveta Feodorovna, many Grand Dukes and Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, members of the Holy Synod, members of the State Council, State Duma, ministers and high-ranking guests. The Bishop, along with other invitees in Peterhof, then attended the solemn anniversary meeting of the Society, chaired by His Majesty the Sovereign Emperor, in the merchant hall of the same Peterhof Palace. The next day, the deceased Metropolitan Anthony performed a prayer service for the same occasion in the palace of the August Chairman of the Society, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, near the Anichkov Bridge, and was present at the ceremony in the same palace presided over by Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. At this act, the Bishop read the address to the Society on behalf of the Holy Synod and blessed the Society for new useful works in the future of his happy life with an icon of the Resurrection by an artistic brush, in a silver frame. Having presented the holy icon to the August Chairman, the Metropolitan, as the holy archimandrite of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, then read the second address from the said Lavra. “Heartily desiring to commemorate the memorable day of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the existence of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society with some kind of good deed for the benefit of the Society, said Metropolitan Anthony, the Spiritual Council of the Lavra, according to its journal definition, approved by Me, has the honor to ask the Council of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society to accept the three thousand (3000) rubles (certificates) forwarded to this 4% of state rent) for the establishment of a scholarship in Bose for the late Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich in one of the schools of the Society at his discretion.” Having accepted with deep gratitude this generous donation from the gracious Metropolitan and Holy Archimandrite Lavra, the Council of the Society established a scholarship in the name of the late August first chairman and founder of the Society, Grand Duke Serius Alexandrovich, in the seminaries of Nazareth and Beth Jal, with the right to use it, during six years of study in them, in turn by one of the poorest, but diligent students or students, admitted to the seminary in excess of the established set of fellows in the amount of 40 people. But the relations of the late Metropolitan Bishop were not limited to these acts, so to speak, of official and casual benevolence and attention to the Palestine Society. The writer of these lines more than once, on the affairs of the Society, on behalf of its vice-chairmen, had to make various kinds of requests and petitions, and he can now openly testify that there was no case when he left the good ruler with a refusal. May the mother earth rest in peace to him! You might be interested in: