Saint Philaret (Amphiteatrov), Metropolitan of Kiev. Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev and Galicia (Fyodor Grigoryevich Amfiteatrov)

Church calendar. January 3 (December 21 old style).

The Advent continues.

Commemorated today: Martyr. Themistocles of Myra, 3rd century. Mts. Juliania and with her 500 husbands and 130 wives who suffered in Nicomedia in 304. St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, All Russia, miracle worker of the XIII-XIV centuries. Blgv. book. Juliania Vyazemskaya, Novotorzhskaya, XIV century. Blzh. Procopius, Christ for the sake of the holy fool, Vyatka, XVII century. St. Philaret (Amfiteatrov), in the schema of Theodosius, Metropolitan of Kiev in the 19th century.

Sshmchch. XX century: Bishop of Belevsky Nikita (Pribytkov); Mikhail Kiselyov, presbyter; Sergius Tsvetkov and Leonty Strotsyuk, deacons.

We congratulate the birthday people on the day of the angel!

Brothers and sisters, today we are talking about St. Philaret (Amphitiatrove).

In the world, the servant of God Theodore was born on April 17, 1779 in the village of Vysokoe, Kromsky district, Oryol province, in the family of Georgy Amfiteatrov and was the fourth child of eight children. He received his education at the Oryol Theological School, and then at the Oryol Seminary, from which he graduated in 1797.

On November 7, 1798, at the Oryol Seminary, he was tonsured with the name Filaret, in honor of St. Philaret the Merciful. On January 13, 1799, he was elevated to the rank of hieromonk. Hieromonk Filaret worked for twenty years in the field of teaching future clergymen. From 1802, Father Filaret was the rector of the Oryol-Sevskaya Seminary, from 1804 - the rector of the Ufa Seminary, from 1810 to 1813 - the Tobolsk Seminary.

Prior to his tenure as rector in Tobolsk, Archimandrite Filaret was cruelly and unjustly persecuted by his diocesan bishops. His Grace Ambrose, Archbishop of Tobolsk, wrote to St. Petersburg: “Your Eminence did not send me to be tested by a man, but by an Angel in the flesh!” It was in Tobolsk, on the most severe outskirts of Russia, that the time of suffering ended. Having stayed in Tobolsk for less than two years, the archimandrite remained memorable here.

The merit of the sixth rector of the Tobolsk Seminary was his patronage of the material improvement of the spiritual institution. Under Father Filaret's rectorship, the number of students reached 711, and he had to use a lot of worries and efforts to properly feed and educate the seminarians. Archimandrite Filaret taught philosophy and independently studied French.

In addition to these activities, he had to serve as rector in the Znamensky Monastery, worked in the Consistory and acted as dean of the monasteries of the Tobolsk diocese. As rector of the Tobolsk Znamensky Monastery, Archimandrite Filaret is also memorable for the fact that he was the first to give his blessing to celebrate the early daily liturgies, at which he himself prayed "incessantly."

From 1814 to 1820, he served as inspector and rector, first of the St. Petersburg and later of the Moscow Theological Academies. In St. Petersburg he met Archimandrite Filaret (Drozdov) and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology. It is about him that they will later be remembered: “Our father, rector, Archimandrite Filaret, was truly filled with the spirit of piety and Christian love. His administration at the academy was truly paternal; We were his children."

On June 1, 1820, Father Filaret was consecrated Bishop of Kaluga and Borovsk. From 1825 - Bishop of Ryazan, from 1828 - Archbishop of Kazan, from 1836 he ruled the Yaroslavl diocese, and on April 18, 1837, at the age of 58, he was appointed to Kiev with the elevation to the rank of metropolitan.

Wherever Vladyka Filaret was, his archpastoral zeal manifested itself everywhere. Being the Bishop of Kaluga, he opens a theological school in Borovsk, in Ryazan his administration proceeded "peacefully and meekly." In Kazan, his missionary talent manifested itself. For nine incomplete years of governing the Kazan flock, Archbishop Filaret converted about five thousand foreigners to Christianity. The old-timers of Kazan already then said that Vladyka Filaret was a saint, “and it’s impossible to say how kind and affectionate he was.”

In Kiev, the saint paid special attention to the Lavra. The fame of the Kiev Theological Academy, ruled at that time by Metropolitan Filaret, was not limited to the borders of our fatherland, many left both Parisian and German universities to get an education here, many joined Orthodoxy.

A strict ascetic, Saint Philaret stood at the level of contemporary science. He had the gift of spiritual knowledge. Apparently staying with people, he was constantly inwardly staying with God, praying in his mind and heart, leading a fasting lifestyle. Saint Philaret also possessed the gift of healing. When a girl was brought to him in one house, Vladyka, knowing nothing, asked her with the usual caress: “What is your name, good child?” To the amazement of everyone, the girl suddenly answered in a firm and clear voice: “Masha,” and from that moment she began to speak, although she had been mute from birth.

Striving for perfection, the saint accepts tonsure into the great schema with the name Theodosius. This followed seventeen years before his death, namely August 13, 1841. Vladyka Filaret suffered a lot from his cell-attendant, Father Nazarius.

On December 20, 1857, Saint Philaret blissfully ended his earthly life; his face was frozen with the perfect calmness of a righteous man. Even Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich appreciated the personal traits of the saint's character and said: "There is not much to worry about church administration: as long as the wise Filaret and the pious Filaret are alive, everything will be fine." Brothers and sisters, let us prayerfully turn to our wondrous hierarchs so that even today they will guide us and take care of the Russian Church.

Holy Hierarch Philaret, pray to God for us!

Deacon Mikhail Kudryavtsev

His Eminence Philaret, Metropolitan of Kiev, was born on April 17, 1779 in the village of. High, Kromsk district, Oryol province, and at baptism was named Theodore. His father, Georgy Nikitich Amfiteatrov, was a priest in the said village, and his mother was Anastasia; they were pious people, brought up their children in faith and piety and guarded them from evil influences. Theodore's parents were simple people and did not possess wealth, although they did not suffer extreme need. They replenished the insufficiency of priestly incomes with their industriousness in terms of agricultural work and occupations. They had their own house with a garden and a kitchen garden, a hemp plant and a bee-keeper. Himself about. George and his wife, all the household and children, as they grew older, were engaged in rural work along with hired workers.

In infancy Theodore was in poor health; according to some reports, he, to the great grief of his parents, was born almost blind. Although his sight was then gradually opened, however, all his life he looked out to be short-sighted. With a large family, Fr. George, which consisted of his wife and eight children, it was difficult to expect that the children were constantly surrounded by special parental care. But due to Theodore's bodily weakness, his mother, for all her burden with family and various household chores, surrounded him with special care, especially since from his side she noticed gratitude and sympathy for her labors. However, with subsequent age, Theodore's bodily weakness disappeared. As a man, he had a strong physique, and to a ripe old age he retained indefatigability in the labors of pastoral service and in the exploits of a strict monastic life. Such a bodily strength he achieved by a temperate and correct life, which he always led from early childhood.

Theodore was always unusually quiet and modest, content with very little, starting with breast milk, which he hardly took on Wednesdays and Fridays. These qualities of his, which passed from infancy to his subsequent childhood years, attracted to him the disposition and love of his parents and household that were superior to other children. From the very youthful age, Theodora began to show a tendency to an ascetic life. His father often sent him to the beekeeper to observe the bees. Here, in complete solitude in the midst of nature, Theodore read Chet-Minei and was carried away by the life of the holy ascetics. The life of Philaret the Merciful made a particularly strong impression on him, so that he, while still a young boy, decided to take the name of this saint of God and imitate his deeds, entering the monastic rank. With age, his inherent meekness and humility began to manifest itself in the fact that he often retired from the company of his relatives and peers to solitude, which he used for prayer. Often during field work, when his family sat down to dinner and rested, he went into the forest adjacent to the field and there prayed on his knees at the village church. He did this at home too, hiding for prayer in some secluded corner; he often woke up at night and began to pray. He did not miss a single divine service, but he came to church first and left after everyone else. Such a vocation and zeal of Theodore for spiritual exploits, once kindled in his soul, never ceased later, but at times flared up with such a bright flame that could not remain unnoticed by others. Of course, first of all, the parents noticed in Theodore a desire for pious deeds and rejoiced at his such mood. Along with the growth of the body, he also grew spiritually; ascending the steps of service higher and higher, at the same time he made more and more spiritual ascent to God.

Very early, from the age of six, Theodore showed a desire for learning. He received his initial training at home under the supervision and guidance of his own uncle, deacon John Nikitich. Theodore was taught to read the Psalter and the Book of Hours and to write. In addition, he was taught the basics of other sciences taught in the then religious schools, and especially the Latin language. His teaching was so successful that in the 10th year he was accepted directly into the second class of the theological school, and at the age of 16 he was already in the theological class of the Sevsk Theological Seminary. Throughout his school and seminary studies, Theodore always showed the best successes, which he achieved by independent work. The striving for monastic life that lived in him was also evident at that time. He tried twice to enter a monastery, but his parents persuaded him to postpone this matter until the end of the course of study.

At the age of 19, he completed the course of the Sevsk Seminary and was appointed teacher of the same seminary. Now he had a full opportunity to fulfill his cherished desire to become a monk. With the blessing of his parent, who tried to marry Theodore, and refused this, Theodore took the vows as a monk with the name Philaret and soon, then, was consecrated to the rank of hieromonk. However, the teaching position did not satisfy him, and his soul aspired to the monastery. Filaret asked his archpastor, Rev. Dosifey, let him go to the Beloberezhskaya desert; but the Rev. Dositheus restrained him. Soon, Hieromonk Filaret was made prefect (inspector), and then rector of the Sevsk Seminary, and elevated to the rank of abbot. The new service required from Filaret so much intensive work to improve himself in the sciences that he completely upset his health, which was also facilitated by the bad climate of the city of Sevsk. Mental suffering soon joined the bodily ailments. Having hitherto treated Filaret favorably, Rev. Dositheus changed after Filaret, with his speech, attracted the attention of Metr. Moscow Plato. Rev. After this, Dositheus began to show hostility towards Filaret, which was especially pronounced in connection with Filaret's persistent harassment that the Sevsk seminary be transferred to the city of Orel, which the reverend greatly did not want. Dositheus. Hegumen Philaret, through the intrigues of the Rev. Dositheus, was transferred to the city of Ufa, "a city that could hardly have been worse then in Russia", also the rector of the seminary, with the elevation to the rank of archimandrite. Here, Archimandrite Filaret experienced such trials that he almost lost heart. Strict Bishop Augustine of Ufa, who led an extremely peculiar life, met Archimandrite Philaret with a very unfriendly attitude, partly because of his strange nature, partly on the slander of Bishop Dositheus, Bishop Augustine subjected Archimandrite Philaret to many undeserved humiliations and insults. to complete despondency, and he was not far from it, but the grace of God supported him. After one of the strongest insults from Bishop Augustine, Philaret prayed long and fervently at night and fell asleep during this prayer. In a half-asleep vision, he saw a hand writing on the wall: "Don't be afraid! The fate of Archimandrite Filaret is in God's hands!" After that, he felt a gratifying feeling of calm and consolation. Shortly thereafter, Archim. Filaret was transferred by the rector of the seminary to the city of Tobolsk, where he was graciously received by Bishop Ambrose, who knew him from Ufa, who comforted and encouraged him. Here archim. Filaret rested from the sorrows of Ufa, which he recalled with gentleness and complacency, as a school of patience, where he learned to weep over his sins, pray fervently and complacently endure all sorts of trials. He bore no malice towards his oppressor, Bishop Augustine, and subsequently, when he became a metropolitan, repaid him kindly by obtaining an increased pension for him.

Since the translation of archim. Filaret in Tobolsk begins his elevation. After four years of work in the Tobolsk seminary, he was called to St. Petersburg for a series of priestly services and preaching the word of God. Here he gained the position of the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, the later famous Metropolitan of Moscow, Filaret, with whose assistance he was appointed to the post of inspector of the same academy and awarded the highest academic theological degree of Doctor of Theology. From here he was transferred to an inspector's position in the then newly opened (1814) Moscow Academy. Two years later he was made rector of the same academy. Serving here was worth archim. Filaret many labors, which he did not spare for the benefit of education and upbringing.

As a rector and educator of spiritual youth, he was distinguished by simplicity, kindness, directness and openness in dealing with pupils, paternal care for their welfare, purely fraternal participation in all their interests and generous charity. He left a good memory of himself in his pets, who called him not a man, but an angel, and testified to the charming effect of the archim's personality on them. Filaret.

Five-year service archim. Filaret at the Moscow Academy ended with his elevation to the rank of bishop, in which rank he successively served in Kaluga, Ryazan, where he was granted the rank of archbishop for participation in the Coronation of Emperor Nicholas I, and in Kazan. With his piety, special zeal for worship and the preaching of the word of God, zealous concern for the construction of God's temples and the improvement of monasteries, concern for schismatics, Rev. Filaret left behind the memory of an unforgettable archpastor. On February 25, 1828, he was transferred from Ryazan to Kazan. Archbishop Filaret was sent here in order to counteract the falling away of the baptized Tatars into Mohammedanism and arrange a mission to enlighten the pagans and Mohammedans of the Kazan region with Christianity. He zealously took up the conversion of foreigners to Christianity; he himself traveled around foreign villages, preached the teachings of Christ to foreigners, attracted them to himself with meek and paternal courtesy towards them, inspired the clergy to treat them the same way, built and consecrated new churches. He established a mission for the conversion of unbaptized foreigners to Christianity and the confirmation of those who waver; under him, rules for missionaries were drawn up and it was supposed to prepare seminary pupils for missionary work. All these measures brought good results: the falling away from Orthodoxy of baptized foreigners ceased, many foreigners were converted to the holy faith. – Archbishop Philaret took great care of the improvement of theological educational institutions and the splendor of the cathedral. During the halera of 1830, he prayed for forty days in a country bishop's house for the deliverance of the city from a devastating disease. He established holidays throughout the diocese: the day of the death of St. Herman (November 6), his transfer to St. relics (July 23), the day of the repose of St. Barsanuphius (April 11). During the famine of 1833 and 1834. he distributed food aid to the starving population at the bishop's house. Archbishop Filaret was a strict archpastor, many of the guilty clergy were deprived of their dignity and title.

Among the numerous archpastoral labors of Archbishop Philaret, the desire for a solitary monastic life did not leave. He was already thinking about whether to retire to a monastery in order to be able to devote himself to the monastic deeds dear to his heart. He chose for himself a place for this - the Raifa hermitage, where he began to arrange a cell for himself. But unexpectedly he was summoned to St. Petersburg to attend the Holy Synod, from where he never returned to Kazan. He was awarded the title of member of the Holy Synod and transferred to Yaroslavl. But he had not yet had time to visit his new diocese, when he received the highest appointment - to be the Metropolitan of Kiev (April 18, 1837), in which dignity he spent 21 years of his life and activity.

With the appointment of Filaret as Metropolitan of Kiev, his activities were transferred to the South-Western Territory of Russia. To govern a diocese here is far from being the same as to govern any Great Russian, even Kazan with its non-Christian and non-Christian population. The fate of Orthodoxy in the Western Territory, historical life The people and the clergy have for centuries worked out here a special way of life, special concepts, special relationships. To understand, to study, to reconcile these local peculiarities, in a word, to manage a diocese in the Western Territory at that time was not an easy task. Metropolitan Filaret, at the cost of great labor and struggle, managed to understand and study local diverse features and reconcile relations between different parts of the population of the Kiev diocese.

As Archpastor, Met. Filaret showed in Kiev the same vyskiya of dignity, which were noted in him earlier. The peculiarities of folk and church life in the Kiev diocese required for its management a person who, in the spirit of love and peace, by word and example, would serve as the spiritual edification of his flock. Such a spirit of management was manifested by Met. Filaret, so that in this respect he became an example for his successors to follow. He drew attention to the slow conduct of business by the consistory and took the most decisive measures to eliminate this undesirable phenomenon. At the same time, he tried to eradicate various shortcomings and vices of the clergy, armed himself against quarrels, denunciations, complaints, so frequent among the southwestern clergy, he treated drunkenness with particular severity. Guilty of this vice, he always forbade the sacrament. To resort to such strict measures was prompted by his desire to raise morality in the clergy. Metropolitan Filaret always opposed the frequent movements of clerics, allowing them only in cases of extreme necessity. In connection with the custom of the hereditary transmission of revenge prevailing at that time in the clergy, many abuses and undesirable phenomena occurred; one of these was that a large number of half-educated people passed to the clergy places, because the teaching was rushed to get a place. In the elimination of this Met. Filaret forbade healthy people to leave the state before the age of 60 and did not assign half-educated people to their places. By this measure, he raised the educational level of the clergy. With a strict attitude towards the clergy, Met. Filaret was his defender from the attacks of the secular authorities, from which denunciations were often received against the clergy. The secular authorities accused the clergy not only of malfunctioning in the service, but often of political unreliability. On the basis of the dissatisfaction of the peasants with their owners, various misunderstandings arose between those and others. The landlords suspected the instigation of the clergy, who stood in close proximity to the people, and reported this to the authorities. Metropolitan Filaret was attentive to such complaints, checking their validity; in cases of unfair denunciations, which happened often, he stood up for the clergy. Metropolitan Filaret was very zealous about the material support of the clergy, fatherly grieved for widows and spiritual orphans, he himself generously donated and attracted donations from others to the Diocesan Guardianship.

Regarding his flock, Met. Filaret took measures to strengthen the principles of the Orthodox faith and piety in her. Noticing that crosses were not placed on babies at baptism, he issued an order to the clergy on the indispensable laying of crosses on babies at baptism and sent hundreds of thousands of crosses around the diocese for free distribution; and he made it an indispensable duty for priests and their families to wear such crosses as an example to parishioners. For the enlightenment of the Orthodox, he distributed prayer books. Partly due to the carelessness of the clergy, partly due to the poverty and scarcity of churches, in the Kiev diocese marriages were often performed in huts and even taverns. Metropolitan Filaret declared such marriages invalid and forbade marriages to take place anywhere other than churches. Along with this, he took care of the repair of old and the construction of new churches, vigilantly ensuring that Catholic churches were not built to the detriment of the Orthodox Church. In parishes consisting of Orthodox and Catholics and where there were churches, he supplied priests, possibly efficient and serviceable.

With truly paternal care, Met. Philaret was used by Kiev spiritual and educational institutions. In this regard, special happiness fell to the share of the Sofia Theological School. Metropolitan Filaret opened it, arranged it and treated its life and needs with unflagging attention, not sparing even his own funds for it. He called this school his, the students - children or his relatives. He was a kind father to teachers as well. Through his efforts, the Sofia School was brought into exemplary order. At the same time, he, of course, did not forget about other spiritual educational institutions. The no less solicitousness of Mr. Filaret extended to the theological seminary, following the mental and moral development of the pupils, whom he looked upon as future pastors of the church. He took an active part in the election of rectors, in the compilation of textbooks on theological sciences. To raise the successes and improve the behavior of the pupils, he did not stop at strict measures. The same attentiveness on the part of Mr. Filaret was also used by the theological academy. He followed the spirit and direction of theological science at the academy, gave instructions to professors on the sciences they taught, although he himself was not known as a scientist, but, on the contrary, was revered as a simpleton; he himself appointed rectors, inspectors and professors, appointing worthy people to these positions; with paternal care, he entered the lives of students, who, for his kindness, called him grandfather, disposed them to monasticism, so that later many saints came out of them, and attended academic exams. With his concerns, Mr. Filaret raised the Kiev Academy to such a height that it attracted pupils even from abroad, mainly from the Slavic lands (Moldavia, Serbia, Bulgaria). He did not disregard secular educational institutions: the university, the cadet corps, the institute of noble maidens.

As rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Met. Filaret founded his permanent residence here and turned his concerns to arranging the external life of the monks and their religious and moral life, directing everything to ensure that the inhabitants of the Lavra lead a strictly monastic life, in which he himself set a high example for them. 17 years before his death, he took the schema. Accurately and zealously fulfilling all his official duties, Met. Filaret, with highly ascetic rigor, fulfilled all the statutes and rules of monastic life, always being in abstinence and labor, keeping his mind in the thought of God and his heart, striving for the love of Christ. From the time of his consecration to the clergy, he inexorably performed in St. the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts on the Fortecost, and in the first week he ate the most meager food once every two days. He was a faster in the strictest sense, following the example of saints of God resting in the Lavra. For the last forty months of his life, he received Holy Communion daily. Mystery. In addition to cell prayer - morning and evening - which took up a lot of time every day, Met. Filaret also prayed at any other time, for example, walking through the forest that surrounded the Goloseevskaya hermitage (7th century from Kiev), in which he liked to retire every summer. There he often prayed on a hillock, from which a beautiful view of Kiev and especially the Lavra opened up. He constantly read the word of God, so he memorized the Gospel and the psalter. In the secluded Goloseevskaya monastery they came to Metr. Filaret, the poor and unfortunate for material and grace-filled help, and he did not refuse it to anyone. – His love for the churches of God was also manifested in Kiev in his concern for the grace of the Lavra churches, the Kiev Sophia Cathedral, the Church of the Tithes, etc. He built a church at his own expense in the Goloseevskaya Hermitage. At the Lavra, he arranged a hotel, a hospice, a hospice hospital, a monastery hospital and a pharmacy.

Metropolitan Filaret, as a member of the Holy Synod, personally took part in its affairs; but even fifteen years before his death he completely abstained from this.

With a strong physique, Mr. Filaret lived to an advanced age and almost to the end of his life retained his strength and vigor. Only two years before his death, after a serious illness, he apparently began to languish; he became very sensitive to colds, and various ailments began to visit him. Every time he fell ill, he considered his illness to be dying and prepared for death. At the same time, he was not afraid of the hour of death, but expected it with joy, quite confident that he would be fine after death. Like the Apostle Paul, he wanted to resolve himself and be with Christ. He spent the last years of his life, one might say, in constant thought about death and in constant concern for worthy preparation for the transition to eternal life. For more than the last three years, as already mentioned, he took communion with St. Mystery found fertile reinforcement in this as well. Despite his illnesses, he did not weaken his cell prayer until the last days; the hours he spent in prayer and at the Divine Liturgy, he considered the most gratifying and precious for himself. Despite his readiness to die, he nevertheless did not reject medical means to maintain his health and dutifully fulfilled all the prescriptions of doctors, considering himself obliged to still bear the burden of life, if it was pleasing to God. During his illnesses, he repeatedly intended to apply for retirement, but he failed to fulfill this, and he finally decided, following the example of the Lord, to "hang on the cross" to the end. 1857 was the last year in the life of Met. Filaret: from that time on, ailments began to visit him especially often. On December 1st of this year, he contracted inflammation of the right lung; this disease, severe for his age, led to his death. Although medical remedies temporarily supported his strength, however, they weakened more and more. At the beginning of his illness, he himself went to church for communion, but then he could no longer do this, and he was communed in his chambers. On December 18, the sacrament of unction was completely over him. On the night of December 20, having taken on his bed the position that is usually given to a person in a coffin, he sang in a trembling and interrupted voice: early in the morning of December 21, Metropolitan Philaret, as was customary, took communion with the Holy Mysteries and confessed before his death. reading the canon on the exodus of the soul and 17 and 18 kathismas, Met. Filaret, at the age of 79, died quietly. A large Lavra bell spread the sad news about this throughout Kiev. On December 29, the late Met. Filaret was buried near the nearby caves in the cave church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, where the deceased himself appointed the place of his eternal rest.

Tags: Kazan archpastors

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Filaret (Amphitheater), in schema Theodosius, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (04/17/1779–12/21/1857)

In the world of Feodor Georgievich Amfiteatrov, he was born on April 17, 1779 in the village of Vysokoye, Kromsky district, Oryol province, in the pious family of priest Georgy Nikitich Amfiteatrov. He was born very weak and almost blind, but this weak baby did not even take mother's milk on Wednesdays and Fridays. In childhood, Theodore was very fond of visiting the temple. From the age of six, he began to learn to read and write. His grandfather was his first teacher. In the 10th year of his life, in 1789, Theodore was accepted immediately into the 2nd grade of the Oryol Theological School. In 1795, as the best student of the school, he was transferred to the theological class of the Sevsk Seminary, from which he graduated in 1797.

Fulfilling his long-standing desire, Theodore, after graduating from the seminary, filed a petition for tonsure as a monk. This request was accepted. On November 7, 1798, he was tonsured a monk with the name Filaret. As an outstanding graduate of the seminary, distinguished by good morals, he was left at the seminary as a teacher. On November 9, 1798, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on January 13, 1799, a hieromonk. In the first years of his service in the spiritual field, success accompanied Filaret in everything. At the age of 23 (in 1802), in the rank of abbot, he was already the rector of the Sevskaya Seminary and rector of the Svensky Monastery.

In 1804 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. A zealous performer of the duties assigned to him, he enjoyed the special patronage of the bishop of the Oryol diocese, Rev. Dositheus. But this patronage was not used by Archim. Philaret for personal gain. If only the matter concerned direct duty and the benefits of service, then he acted decisively, without fear of negative consequences. Such behavior Archim. Philaret led to the fact that the attitude of Bishop. Dositheus towards him gradually changed for the worse, and the latter tried to completely expel him from the diocese.

In 1804, Filaret was transferred from the Oryol diocese to remote, remote Ufa. At that time, this diocese represented a sad look. Filaret was appointed rector of the Orenburg Theological Seminary and rector of the monastery. He can even be called the founder of the Orenburg Seminary, since at that time it was just beginning to operate.

Severe trials and sorrows befell Archim. Filaret. The first year and a half of this period of life, when Bishop was at the head of the diocese. Ambrose (Kelembet), everything went well with Filaret. But with the appointment to the Ufa cathedra, Rev. Augustine (Sakharov), to whom Archim. Filaret was characterized by Bishop Orlovsky. Dositheus on the negative side, his position has changed dramatically. On the slightest occasion, ep. Augustine pursued archim. Filaret, wrote complaints against him to the Holy Synod. Such oppression continued throughout the entire Ufa period of the life of Archim. Filaret. He patiently endured all insults and humiliations, but, in the end, he had the idea to leave everything, retire to some remote monastery and, hiding his dignity, begin the life of the last monk. But the Lord did not leave his chosen one. Once, after a fiery tearful prayer, kneeling Filaret, being half asleep, saw a hand writing on the wall: “Do not be afraid! The fate of Archimandrite Filaret is in the hands of God!”. Since that time, the life of Archim. Filareta has completely changed. At the request of Archpriest Turchaninov, who knew Philaret well, before Metropolitan Ambrose (Podobedov), by decree of the Holy Synod of November 10, 1810, he was transferred to Tobolsk for testing. The head of the Tobolsk diocese, ep. Ambrose (Kelembet), who previously knew Philaret, in his reports to the Metropolitan and the Holy Synod about the character and behavior of the newly sent archimandrite, called him “not a man, but an angel in the flesh.”

Thanks to such positive reviews, less than three years later (December 2, 1813), Archim. Filaret was summoned to St. Petersburg for a series of priestly services and preaching the word of God and was appointed rector of the Volokolamsk Joseph Monastery. This call to Petersburg meant recognition of his merits and merits and was, as it were, a stepping stone to further promotion. At the suggestion of the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Filaret, later the famous Metropolitan of Moscow, Archim. Filaret, by decree of the Commission of Theological Schools of February 15, 1814, was appointed inspector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Filaret's service as an inspector lasted only six months, but it was very important for him. During this period he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity (1814). The doctoral degree was awarded to Archim. Filaret not for scientific work, but for his position and for his impeccable lifestyle. In the same year, Filaret was transferred to the post of inspector at the newly opened Moscow Theological Academy. This appointment also took place at the direction of the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, Filaret (Drozdov).

Arriving at a new destination, Archim. Filaret took up the improvement of the opening academy. October 1, 1814, on the day of the Feast of the Intercession Holy Mother of God, the grand opening of the Moscow Theological Academy took place. Archim. Filaret, being an inspector, and a year later also the rector of the academy, showed himself to be a deep expert in his field. He was both a mentor and a teacher, and a real father to his pupils. His lectures on dogmatic theology were distinguished by brevity, clarity and accessibility and were attended by students with great desire. According to the listeners themselves, something in the nature of gospel was heard in his lectures, and therefore they listened with reverence. Subsequently, dogmatic theology was read from the lecture notes of Archim. Filaret.

The relations of the rector with the students were friendly and fraternal. He had an approach to everyone, brought up his pets not with punishments, but with suggestion and an example of personal behavior. The rector did not praise the offenders, but spared them and by this method of education he almost always achieved positive results. His pupils subsequently spoke of their rector in the following way: “His management at the academy was truly paternal, we were his own children.”

During the reign of archim. Filaret, revisions of the Moscow Academy were carried out twice by the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy Filaret. The results of these revisions were clearly expressed in the following fact: after the second revision in 1818, the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, Filaret (Drozdov), then Bishop of Revel, took off his panagia and presented it to the rector of the Moscow Academy as a sign of special respect and recognition of his merits . On the high evaluation of the rector's activity archim. Filaret was also evidenced by the fact that during the four years of rectorship he was awarded various awards and incentives 6 times.

In 1819, the Holy Synod issued a decree on his elevation to the rank of bishop. On June 1, 1819, he was consecrated bishop of Kaluga and Borovsk. The ordination was performed by Met. Moscow Seraphim with Bishops: Georgian Metropolitan. Jonah, Archbishops Pafnuty and Dositheus and Bishop Lavrenty of Dmitrovsky.

On the activities of the Kaluga period of the life of Rev. Filaret can be clearly judged from a brief archival record, in which it was noted that the bishop appointed to the Kaluga diocese. Filaret “for his piety, for his paternal goodness, meekness and humility of wisdom, prudence and far-sightedness, for compassion and sincere concern for the poor and for all archpastoral service in general, was a saint unforgettable for the Kaluga diocese.”

In an effort to cultivate in his flock the spirit of piety, he was zealous in performing all church services and preaching the word of God in churches. His conversations were distinguished by clarity and simplicity of presentation, and therefore all those who visited the temple listened to them with great attention and pleasure. Subsequently, these conversations-interpretations of the Gospel of Matthew were published as a separate book.

The Kaluga archpastor also paid attention to the construction, renovation and improvement of churches, and demanded that wooden churches be replaced by stone ones. During the period of his episcopacy, 25 stone churches were built in the Kaluga diocese. He did not forget about the clergy of his diocese, trying to take all possible and depending on him measures to improve the material condition of the clergy. He often provided assistance to needy clergy from his own funds.

With special attention, Rev. Philaret was used by widows and orphans of the clergy. He defended the clergy from the harassment of the landowners and civil authorities, and in cases of guilt of persons of the clergy, he was paternally strict and demanding towards them. When traveling around the diocese, as well as in other convenient cases, Bishop. Filaret tried to examine and at the same time instruct the clergy. And all this was done with such simplicity that no one felt humiliated.

From childhood, striving for monastic life, Bishop. Filaret drew attention to the state of the monastic life of the diocese. Under him, a monastery called “Good” was re-established, and in 1820 a skete was established in Optina Hermitage, in which Bishop. Filaret had his own cell and often visited it. Philaret's activities in relation to the existing monasteries were aimed at improving their financial situation by all possible measures.

The subject of constant concern ep. Philaret was the Kaluga Seminary. In addressing consistory issues, he has established himself as a loving and good shepherd.

Rev. Filaret was also involved in the education of schismatics. In 1820, work began in Russia to translate the Holy Scriptures into Russian. His Grace Filaret spoke out against this undertaking. “The Russian dialect,” he wrote, “cannot convey the Holy Scripture with all the power and fidelity, which is the difference between the Slavic translation, in which everything that is necessary for the edification of the faithful to their eternal salvation is accessible to the concept ... The need is not to translate the Bible into Russian language, but in the diligent study of the Slavic language in all our spiritual and secular schools and in the daily diligent reading of the Holy Scripture in it. Filaret put forward 7 theses against the “Russian Bible”.

In the Old Testament, although the language of the Jewish people inevitably changed, the scribes left the sacred text unchanged, confining themselves to interpreting it for the people.

In view of the possible damage to the Hebrew text, the Providence of God preserved it in the form of the Greek. translation (of the Septuagint), which was made "under the undoubted direction of the Spirit of God."

The Eastern Greek Church, having adopted the Septuagint, did not translate it into modern Greek, but interpreted the Bible to the people according to the old translation.

The translation of the Russian Bible Society "was made not only not with the blessing of the Greek hierarchs, but decisively without their knowledge and against their will."

Slav. translation by St. Cyril and Methodius, based on the Septuagint.

The Slavic Churches do not make translations into their vernacular languages.

Thought about Russian. translation was born not among the hierarchy and not among the people, but came from England, "the nest of all heresies, sects and revolutions."

These theses were refuted by Metr. Filaret of Moscow, whose opinion on the need for a Russian translation of the Bible was accepted by St. Synod that authorized a new translation of the Scriptures. Vladyka Philaret (Amphiteatrov) remained with his opinion until the end of his days.

12 January 1825 by decree of the Holy Synod, ep. Filaret was transferred to the Ryazan diocese. Subsequently, he twice visited the Kaluga diocese. Especially memorable for the people of Kaluga was his visit in 1842, when, through his prayers during the liturgy and prayer service, abundant, beneficial rain fell on the ground and irrigated the fields blackened from a long-term drought.

In Ryazan, Rev. Filaret arrived on March 1, 1825. His service at the Ryazan cathedra was short - only three years, and from this time he spent more than a year in St. Petersburg, being present at the Holy Synod. During this short period of time, there were no special actions in Ryazan. As in Kaluga, he took care of the moral state of the clergy, was still merciful to widows and orphans, and took care of the splendor of churches. But even during this short period, the Ryazan flock fell in love with their archpastor. August 22, 1826 Bishop Filaret was elevated to the rank of archbishop and appointed a member of the Commission of Theological Schools.

25 February 1828 he was appointed archbishop in Kazan. Directly from Petersburg, where he was at that time, archbishop. Filaret was forced to urgently leave for Kazan. Such urgency of the trip was explained by the fact that during this period in the Kazan diocese many foreigners began to fall away from Christianity, who had recently adopted the Christian Orthodox faith. Filaret's task was to find out the causes and outline measures to eliminate such phenomena in the future.

Arriving in Kazan, Rev. Filaret in the very first year reviewed his new extensive diocese. The Kazan flock was very diverse in terms of the number of nationalities living in it. The results of the review and his proposals for eliminating many of the shortcomings that occurred in the diocese, and for the confirmation of the faith of the diverse inhabitants of his flock, Archbishop. Filaret will explain in detail to the Holy Synod. His proposals on this subject were distinguished by wise experience. In the implementation of some of the planned activities, many difficulties were encountered, but he did not deviate from the planned plan. With great energy, the archpastor was engaged in the assigned work and achieved great success. The example of his personal life and various miraculous phenomena that took place through his prayers greatly contributed to the success of the work. The heart of the Kazan archpastor has always been filled with mercy to all those in need, regardless of nationality. In the famine years, the archbishop. Filaret, having given away all his fortune, borrowed, but did not stop helping the starving. By providing help on his own, he disposed to this and the rich people of Kazan. In all difficult periods of his life, he was always among the flock. So during a terrible disaster - cholera archbishop. Filaret performed the Divine Liturgy daily for 40 days and composed a special prayer chant during this period.

In the matter of educating the flock in the spirit of piety, the saint considered the construction of churches and the reading of sermons to be the main event. When reviewing the diocese, the archbishop himself delivered sermons almost everywhere, and he preached without any preparation. Recognizing the importance of preaching in the spiritual education of the flock, Archbishop. Filaret personally, with special attention, considered the sermons of the students of the seminary.

Archbishop in Kazan Filaret converted more than 5,000 pagans to Orthodoxy. Along with the fulfillment of his main task of converting the Gentiles, the Kazan archpastor did not disregard the schismatics who lived in his diocese.

In relation to his entire flock, the saint, despite being extremely busy with work, remained just as attentive and sensitive to all needs, a wise mentor, and was also full of zealous zeal for divine services, as before in Kaluga. He visited monasteries in which, with his conversations, useful tips and with instructions he tried to strengthen the spirit of piety among their inhabitants.

With paternal care and attention, the saint followed the condition of the spiritual educational institutions of the diocese. During his tenure as the archbishop of Kazan, many positive changes took place in educational institutions that made life easier for their pupils. He himself made large donations to educational institutions and encouraged others to do so. In addition to the educational institutions that existed before him, Archbishop. Filaret opened district and parish schools in the cities of Chistopol and Sviyazhsk in 1829 and in 1833 in Syzran and Samara. In educational institutions, he tried to select teaching staff of decent behavior, who knew their job.

In 1836 archbishop. Filaret was summoned to St. Petersburg to attend the Holy Synod, where at that time the question of the reunification of the Uniates was being decided. On the way to St. Petersburg, the archbishop visited Voronezh and assisted Bishop Anthony of Voronezh in building a monastery in honor of St. Mitrofan. Ep. Anthony predicted Filaret about his imminent appointment to Kiev. This prediction soon came true. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, he was first appointed to the Yaroslavl department, but even before leaving for Yaroslavl, Filaret received a new appointment. On April 18, 1837, he was appointed Metropolitan of Kiev.

20 years, the service of the Metropolitan continued. Philaret at the Kiev Department. During this period of time, his remarkable features as a good shepherd and wise mentor, a caring educator of youth, a sympathetic helper to the poor and orphans, and a particularly zealous prayer book for all, were revealed with renewed vigor.

In the first years after entering the Kiev cathedra, Metropolitan Philaret encountered many difficulties. It was the time of the reunification of the Uniates. Those who did not want reunification tried in every possible way to harm the strengthening of Orthodoxy and, by various false rumors, tried to instill distrust in the clergy among the people. Orthodox churches. In order to avoid such phenomena, Mr. Filaret tried to appoint worthy and experienced clergymen to parishes where the population consisted of Catholics and Orthodox. He spoke in defense of the clergy in the face of civil authority, with full knowledge of the matter outlined the situation that had arisen and indicated the sources of the spread of false denunciations against the clergy. At the same time, Mr. Filaret actively participated in the discussion of the issue of the material support of the rural clergy, defending the provision of 1842, according to which the rural clergy were provided with land, houses and a one-time allowance from parishioners.

A significant place, as before, in the activities of Met. Philaret was occupied with the spiritual educational institutions of the diocese both in terms of educating worthy pastors of the Church in them, and in terms of material support for the pupils.

At the request of the archpastor, the Kiev-Sofia Theological School was opened in Kiev, at the disposal of which Reverend. Filaret handed over the 3-storey metropolitan house and at his own expense supported 40 students of this school out of 110 accepted. He paid the greatest attention to this school of all the educational institutions of the diocese. He was interested in all aspects of the life of pupils: educational, material, everyday and cultural. But he was interested not as a simple observer, but as an active participant and assistant, providing his assistance in all necessary matters. Such worries paid off. Hundreds of worthy servants of the Church came out of the walls of the school, it prepared a large number of pupils for admission to the Kiev Seminary, where they showed themselves to be the best among other pupils.

In relation to the Kiev Theological Seminary, the care of Metropolitan. Philaret's programs were mainly to ensure the religious and moral education of future ministers of the Church and improve the educational process. He handed over his personal library to the seminary and ordered that the library of the Kiev Nicholas Monastery be transferred to it. Under him, the number of students in the seminary increased significantly. When he entered the diocese, out of 1213 priests, only 377 graduated from the seminary, and by the end of his hierarchship - 887.

Under the direct supervision of Mr. Philaret was written by the inspector of the Kiev Seminary Archim. Anthony (nephew of His Eminence Philaret) and was published in 1848. tutorial for a seminary in dogmatic theology. This work received a generally positive assessment.

In order to better monitor the state of all spiritual educational institutions, Met. Filaret demanded that he be given a weekly detailed report on the state of affairs in each educational institution. These reports were to be personally submitted by the heads of educational institutions themselves, all at the same time. At the same time, through the exchange of opinions, the best of the practice of some leaders was chosen and offered to others for guidance.

As for the Kiev Theological Academy, whose protector was Metropolitan. Filaret, it can be said that the twenty-year period of his patronage was a period of special prosperity for her in science and spiritual and moral development. During this period, it attracted representatives of other countries and even other religions to its walls. After graduating from the academy, they left our country with a feeling of deep gratitude to all the educators, and especially to the great archpastor, who surrounded them with his care and attention.

The special attention of Mr. Filaret drew attention to the teaching staff of the academy, to the nature and content of the lectures. He tried to appoint people who knew the peculiarities and habits of the local region well to the rector's and other leadership positions. He sought to prepare a worthy replacement for teachers from among the students of the academy itself.

Eminent Filaret was known throughout the country as an active patron of the development of education. This drew the attention of many Russian educational institutions to him, who considered it a great honor to be under his patronage. Thanks to this, he was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, the Moscow Society of History and Antiquities, four theological academies (Kiev, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kazan), as well as three universities (Kiev, Moscow and Kazan). He was not just formally an honorary member, but also actively interested in and participated, in particular, in the life of Kiev University. And other secular and military educational institutions in Kiev did not remain without his attention.

An equally important subject of concern for Mr. Philaret was the accomplishment and well-being of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which became a favorite place of his stay from the very first days of his arrival in Kiev. Having settled in the Lavra, Met. Filaret took up the organization of the inner life of the Lavra monastery according to the rules of monastic life established by the founders of the Lavra - St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. He forbade diverting the brethren of the monastery to field work, strictly followed the moral state of the brethren, constantly instructing them (the brethren) with his kind and wise teachings. Soon the brethren began to treat their archpastor with reverent reverence and love. Contemporaries said about him: "We knew him as a most valiant ascetic, who, moreover, knew how to educate ascetics."

An example worthy of imitation was the personal ascetic life of Met. Filaret. This was a great man of prayer, who secretly took upon himself the feat of schema-monasticism on August 13, 1841. With the exact and zealous fulfillment of the duties assigned by the rank and duty of public service, His Eminence. Filaret followed with special strictness all the statutes and rules of monastic life. Striving for solitude, he spent most of the summer in the Golosevo desert, which was not far from Kiev. Here he behaved like the simplest monk. At his expense, a stone church was built in this desert. The distinctive personality traits of Mr. Philaret was his deepest humility and non-possessiveness. From early childhood, he was accustomed to being content with little, and so it continued all his life. He did not make savings, but distributed everything he had to the poor, himself remaining without a penny. So it was during his consecration as a bishop, when he received an appointment to the diocese, could not leave because of lack of funds and was forced to borrow money from his student for the journey. And his humility was such that even a cell-attendant could scold him for his extravagance, which consisted in endless almsgiving to the poor and help to all those in need. The beggars were regular visitors to his house, so that even the cell-attendants were embarrassed by this in front of noble personalities who visited the metropolitan, and he only rejoiced.

As before, great attention was paid by Mr. Filaret and the construction, improvement and renovation of churches, while overcoming all obstacles from those dissatisfied with his activities. Great help in this matter was provided by philanthropists who contributed significant sums for the renovation of churches.

Metropolitan Filaret contributed to the construction of a stone wall around the Lavra, and also allowed to occupy the premises available on the territory of the Lavra for a hotel, a hospice and a hospital. Eminent Filaret actively participated in the affairs of the Holy Synod, of which he was a member from 1836 until he was released from this position at his request in 1842. This period was especially eventful in the affairs of the Supreme Church Administration. By order of the Holy Synod, he was the organizer and main participant in the celebration that took place in Vitebsk in 1839 on the occasion of the reunification of the Uniates.

Metropolitan Filaret was famous not only in Russia, but also abroad. He corresponded with the patriarchs of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Alexandria and Damascus.

Until the very last days of his life, the Archpastor of Kiev was indefatigable both in the labors of his hierarchal service and in the exploits of monastic life, and endured these difficulties and exploits with amazing vigor, strengthened by help from above.

Since 1855, after a serious illness, he often began to be exposed to various ailments, which he met as harbingers of an imminent death, but endured them with patience and complacency and rejoiced at the approach of resettlement to eternal life. He often said: "I see the Lord will soon call me to Himself." Such confidence of the archpastor did not deceive him. He met 1857 on his sickbed. The illness sometimes let him go, but not for long. “The temple of my body is being destroyed,” he said. The Metropolitan celebrated the last Liturgy on December 6, 1857. From that time on, he was only in his chambers, every day he listened to the Divine Liturgy in the house church and took communion with St. Mysteries of Christ. Until the very moment of his death, consciousness did not leave the Metropolitan. And he, being in a very serious condition, ordered to let all those who came to him without exception, continued to be interested in affairs and public life, gave advice and instructions.

21 December 1857 at nine o'clock in the evening, the most reverend. Metropolitan Philaret passed away. The burial took place on December 29, according to his will, in the cave church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord.

In conclusion, we can say that St. Philaret was an image "in word, life, love, spirit and purity." A true monastic lover, an ardent zealot of holy asceticism. Creator of the Jesus Prayer. Postnik in the strictest sense. He possessed the gift of spiritual knowledge and healing, the gift of miracles, the gift of remarkable memory and bold prayer. He was rewarded with many blessed revelations and visions.

Forever unforgettable is his feat of founding the St. John the Baptist Skete in Optina Hermitage, which became a hotbed of true zealots of hermitage and eldership.

He never missed a Liturgy, and for the past three years he has received Holy Communion every day. Mystery.

Strict to himself in everything, and especially in a highly ascetic way of life, he was very condescending and merciful towards others and resorted to strict measures only in exceptional cases.

His love of poverty became a proverb and they called him none other than “Filaret the Merciful”.

Strong, deep mind, solidity of judgment and insight, high spirit of faith and piety in strictly Orthodox direction and at the same time, simplicity, meekness and friendliness to all served as the hallmarks of the character of the archpastor and instilled in him general attention and deep respect, even more - reverence.

Metropolitan Filaret was more practical than a theoretician, he was an exponent of the idea of Orthodoxy and monasticism more in life than in literary activity. However, in the scientific and literary sense, he did not remain without a trace in the history of the Russian Church, for which, as well as for the patronage of education, he was elected to the full and honorary members of various societies and institutions. Metropolitan Filaret was a member of the Empire. Russian Academy, Imperat. Moscow Society of Russian History and Antiquities, conferences of theological academies of Kiev, St. Petersburg and Moscow and the Imperat. Universities of Kiev and Kazan. In addition to lectures on dogmatic theology and the interpretive reading of Holy Scripture, which were carefully and independently processed and were of no small importance, especially at the beginning of the scientific activity of the reorganized Moscow Theological Academy, in addition to various kinds of more or less lengthy opinions on church issues, letters, etc., not intended for publication, from Met. Filaret left a lot of printed works. Personal character traits of Mr. Filaret is clearly represented in his works, especially his simplicity, sincerity and the exalted degree of pious disposition, with the strictness of Orthodox views and the depth of understanding of the spirit and letter of Holy Scripture.

After St. Philaret-Theodosius was canonized as a locally venerated saint in several cathedral commemorations, his name was included in the All-Russian Menologion with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II on December 8, 2005.

Troparion to St. Philaret (Amfiteatrov), tone 6

Having loved the ascetic life from childhood, / following the one Christ God, / enduring slander, reproach and persecution, / instilling meekness, humility and mercy in the soul, / ascended from strength into strength, / from God a gift of miracle work and healer / healer / like a hierarch pray to Christ God, / grant peace to the city of Kiev, / and save our souls.

Kontakion to St. Philaret (Amfiteatrov), tone 8

Adorned with quietness of temper, / having lived piously in the priesthood / with a rod from God given to you, / you saved the flock of Christ on the pasture of the Mother of God, / diligently brought prayers for your people, / and the Laurels of the Holy ignited the flames of you, and with the same Christ rich, / with the same thee, glorious Philaret, / let us all cry out to you: / rejoice, our holy hierarch.

Until 1788, the seminary was called Sevskaya. In 1788 it was renamed into Oryol in connection with the establishment of the Oryol diocese, but still remained in the city of Sevsk. Transferred to the city of Orel in 1827.

FILARET Amphitheaters

(Feodor Georgievich Amfiteatrov), Met. (1779–1857), Russian. orthodox church activist and preacher. Genus. in the Oryol province. sat in the family. priest. He graduated from the Oryol Theological School and the Sevskaya Palace of Culture (1797), after which he took tonsure, and then was ordained a hieromonk (1799). He was a Greek teacher. language, philosophy and theology and the rector of the Orel, Ufa, Tobolsk Palace of Culture. In 1814 he was appointed inspector of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and received a doctorate in theology. In 1816, F. became rector of the MTA, which then entered a new period of its existence (transferred from Moscow to Serg. Posad in 1814). In MDA F. taught a course * hermeneutics. In contrast to the mystical tendencies common in Alexander's time, F. sought to strengthen the Orthodoxy at the academy. spirit. “The word of God served as a strong guard for him, by which he supported every thought” (Prot. * Smirnov S.). In 1819, F. was consecrated as Bishop of Kaluga, then occupied the department. Ryazan,

Kazan, Yaroslavl. From 1837 - Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia. Contemporaries note not only the sincere zealous piety of F., but also his extraordinary kindness. There are many testimonies about this, some of which were used by N.S. Leskov in his book “Little Things of Bishop's Life”. According to some data, F. wrote an interpretation of the prophet Isaiah, but only his sermons and conversations on Matthew and John were published. V early period F. participated in the work of *Ross. bibl. society, supported Metropolitan * Philaret (Drozdov), but in recent years began to relate to the idea of Russian. per. The Bible is negative, although he did not approve of the harsh measures of his persecutors. “I can’t,” he wrote shortly before his death, “without deep sorrow to remember that the supreme spiritual authorities found it necessary to set fire to ... several brick factories. thousand copies of the five books of St. Prophet Moses, translated into the Russian dialect at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and printed by the Bible Society” (in this regard, Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow explained that in reality the destruction of the sacred books was done without the direct sanction of the hierarchy). In 1841 F. received an anonymous denunciation pointing to the harmfulness of distributing lithographed editions. translation of the VZ made by Archpriest *Pavsky. The Metropolitan got acquainted with the translation and sent it, as he put it, "an unholy creation" to Chief Prosecutor N.A. Protasov. Thus was the beginning of the "case of Pavsky." However, F. himself did not demand the extermination of the text of the translation. He outlined his general views on the problem of the "Russian Bible" in connection with the resumption of the discussion on the issue of translation (the discussion began immediately after the death of Nicholas I, during the coronation of Alexander II in 1856).

“The Russian dialect,” F. wrote, “cannot convey the Holy Scripture with all the power and fidelity, which is the difference between the Slavic translation, in which everything that is necessary for the edification of the faithful to their eternal salvation is accessible to the concept ... The need is not translation of the Bible into Russian, but in the diligent study of the Slavic language in all our spiritual and secular schools and in the daily diligent reading of the Holy Scripture in it.

F. put forward 7 theses against the "Russian Bible". 1) In the OT, although the language of Heb. people inevitably changed, * the scribes left the priest. the text is unchanged, limited to its interpretation for the people. 2) Due to possible damage to the Heb. text Providence of God preserved it in the form of Greek. translation (*Septuagint), which was made "under the undoubted guidance of the Spirit of God"). 3) The Eastern Greek Church, having adopted the Septuagint, did not translate it into Modern Greek. language, but interpreted the Bible to the people according to the old translation. 4) Translation * Ross. bibl. society "was made not only not with the blessing of the Greek hierarchs, but decisively without their knowledge and against their will." 5) Slav. the translation made by St. * Cyril and Methodius is based on the Septuagint. 6) Slavic Churches do not make translations into their vernacular languages. 7) Thought about Russian. translation was born not among the hierarchy and not among the people, but came from England, "the nest of all heresies, sects and revolutions." These theses of F. were convincingly refuted by Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow, whose opinion on the need for Russian. per. The Bible was accepted by St. Synod that authorized a new translation of the Scriptures.

Discourses on Chapters V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XI of St. ev. Matthew, K., 1847; Discourses on Ev. from John, K., 1847; Words, conversations and speeches, vol. 1-3, K., 18832.

? * K o r s u n s k i y I.N., F. (Amfiteatrov), metropolitan, RBS, vol. 21, 1901; Orl about in V., F. Amfiteatrov, Met. Kiev, as a preacher, M., 1808; archim.Sergey (Vasilevsky), Eminent. F., Mr. Kiev and Galitsky, and his time, Kaz., 1888; With to and t to and n Yu.N., Met. Kievsky F. (Amfiteatrov) as a preacher, ZhMP, 1975, No. 12; Smirn about in D., F. Amfiteatrov - the first inspector and the second rector of the MTA, in the book: At the Trinity in the Academy (1814–1914), M., 1914; With peace and rn about in S.K., History of MDA before its transformation, M., 1879; *History of translations of the Bible into Russian. language, St. Petersburg, 18992; other bibliography see in uk. works and in ESBE, v.35.

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On October 23, the Holy Church celebrates the day of finding the incorruptible relics of St. Philaret (Amfiteatrov), Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia.

“To go always in a direct way, this was my constant rule, and it was good. It often happened to me, from the very first days of my service, to be in great cramped circumstances, and they were pressured from above and crowded from the side, but I kept to one direct path and reasoned like this: how people do not cunning, nor strengthen, but God will outwit and overpower everyone. . St. Filaret (Amphitheaters).

The life of the saint

Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia, Hieroarchimandrite of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Filaret (in the world Fedor Georgievich Amfiteatrov) was born on April 17, 1779 in the village of Vysokoye, Oryol province, into the family of a priest. In 1795–1797 Studied at the Sevsk Seminary. From March 1798 he was a teacher at the Orel Seminary, in November of the same year he became a monk. He served as rector in the Sevsk, Ufa and Tobolsk seminaries.

Since 1813 - rector of the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery. He was an inspector of the St. Petersburg, and then the Moscow Theological Academies. Doctor of Theology. From 1816 - Rector of the Moscow Academy.

Since 1819 - Bishop of Kaluga. Then he successively occupied the departments: Ryazan, Kazan, Yaroslavl, and on April 18, 1837 he was appointed Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia. Vladyka Philaret was the first of the sacred archimandrites who permanently resided in the Lavra. He enjoyed general respect for his truly Orthodox life, devoted much energy to the revival of eldership. In 1841 he secretly accepted the schema with the name Theodosius.

St. Philaret was a model of a Christian - "in word, life, love, spirit and purity." A true monastic lover, an ardent zealot of holy asceticism, a doer of the Jesus Prayer, a faster in the strictest sense, he possessed the gift of spiritual knowledge and healing, the gift of wonderworking and bold prayer. During his lifetime he received many blessed revelations and visions.

Vladyka never missed participating in the Liturgy, and for the last three years he has communed the Holy Mysteries daily.

Strict to himself in everything and especially in the form of a highly ascetic life, he was very condescending and merciful towards others and resorted to strict measures only in exceptional cases. His love of poverty became a proverb, and the people of Kiev called him none other than “Filaret the Merciful”.

Metropolitan of Kiev

For 20 years, the ministry of Met. Philaret at the Kiev Department. During this period of time, his remarkable features as a good shepherd and wise mentor, a caring educator of youth, a sympathetic helper to the poor and orphans, and a particularly zealous prayer book for all, were revealed with renewed vigor.

In the first years after entering the Kiev cathedra, Metropolitan Philaret encountered many difficulties. It was the time of the reunification of the Uniates. Those who did not want reunification tried in every possible way to harm the strengthening of Orthodoxy and, by various false rumors, tried to instill distrust among the people in the clergy of the Orthodox churches. In order to avoid such phenomena, Mr. Filaret tried to appoint worthy and experienced clergymen to parishes where the population consisted of Catholics and Orthodox. He spoke in defense of the clergy in the face of civil authority, with full knowledge of the matter outlined the situation that had arisen and indicated the sources of the spread of false denunciations against the clergy. At the same time, Mr. Filaret actively participated in the discussion of the issue of the material support of the rural clergy, defending the provision of 1842, according to which the rural clergy were provided with land, houses and a one-time allowance from parishioners.

In relation to the Kiev Theological Seminary, the care of Metropolitan. Philaret's programs were mainly to ensure the religious and moral education of future ministers of the Church and improve the educational process. He handed over his personal library to the seminary and ordered that the library of the Kiev Nicholas Monastery be transferred to it. Under him, the number of students in the seminary increased significantly. When he entered the diocese, out of 1213 priests, there were only 377 who graduated from the seminary, and by the end of his hierarchship - 887.

Under the direct supervision of Mr. Philaret was written by the inspector of the Kiev Seminary Archim. Anthony (nephew of His Eminence Philaret) and in 1848 a textbook for the seminary on dogmatic theology was published.

This work received a generally positive assessment.

schema

Metropolitan Filaret was famous not only in Russia, but also abroad. He corresponded with the patriarchs of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Alexandria and Damascus.

Disease

Blissful demise

The burial took place on December 29 according to his will in the cave church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

spiritual form

In conclusion, we can say that St. Philaret was an image of "word, life, love, spirit and purity." A true monastic lover, an ardent zealot of holy asceticism. Creator of the Jesus Prayer. Postnik in the strictest sense. He possessed the gift of spiritual knowledge and healing, the gift of miracles, the gift of remarkable memory and bold prayer. He was rewarded with many blessed revelations and visions.

Forever unforgettable is his feat of founding the St. John the Baptist Skete in Optina Hermitage, which became a hotbed of true zealots of hermitage and eldership.

He never missed a Liturgy, and for the past three years he has received Holy Communion every day. Mystery.

Strict to himself in everything, and especially in a highly ascetic way of life, he was very condescending and merciful towards others and resorted to strict measures only in exceptional cases.

His love of poverty became a proverb and they called him none other than "Filaret the Merciful."

A strong, deep mind, thoroughness of judgment and insight, a high spirit of faith and piety in a strictly Orthodox direction, and at the same time simplicity, meekness and friendliness to all, served as the hallmarks of the character of the archpastor and inspired general attention and deep respect for him, even more than that - reverence. .

WORSHIP

HIS NATURE IS KINDNESS

He stayed in this pulpit for 20 years, from 1837 to 1857.
Here are some facts from the life of St. Philaret. At 23, he was the rector of the Sevskaya Seminary, and at 33, he became the head of the Moscow Theological Academy. He received the degree of Doctor of Theology not for numerous scientific works, but for an impeccable spiritual life.

It was he who revived the famous Optina Hermitage, and during his stay at the Kazan cathedra, with his sermon he converted more than 5,000 pagans to Christ.
In Kiev, St. Philaret was especially involved in theological schools: among the 110 students of the Sophia School, 40 were on his personal material support.

In 1837, Saint Philaret, a true ascetic and prayer book, secretly received the schema. Prayer had a healing grace-filled power from God. And among the common people, for his extraordinary mercy to those in need, the saint received the name "Filaret the Merciful."

The saint's humility was such that even a cell-attendant could scold him for his endless almsgiving to all who asked for help.
Skinned beggars were regular visitors to the house of the Kiev Metropolitan. And at a time when this frankly annoyed the cell-attendant, Vladyka Filaret himself always openly rejoiced at such guests, often giving them everything to the last penny.

They recall the case when the saint, having received another appointment, could not set off, because before that he had distributed all the money. Therefore, I had to borrow for travel to my student!

The writer Nikolai Leskov, who captured the image of St. Philaret in one of his works, wrote: “... He was born with his kindness, like a violet with its smell, and this kindness was his nature ...”

HISTORY FIRST. THE HOLY AND THE YRODIVYYY.

Among the Metropolitan's friends were various people, sometimes of very distinguished rank. It is known that he corresponded with the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Constantinople and Alexandria.

But there was another person who was spiritually close to him, who, although he did not have a high origin or status, was nevertheless imprinted in our calendars.
We are talking about the friendship of St. Philaret Amfiteatrov and Christ for the sake of the holy fool Theophilus of Kitaevsky.

Many considered Theophilus crazy for his unusual behavior. The Metropolitan of Kiev himself doubted him.

One day Vladyka Filaret unexpectedly visited Theophilus in his cell, and he set down the samovar to treat the honored guest with tea.
When the tea was ready, the blessed one accepted the archpastor's staff and asked: "What is the value of this cane?" “It’s worth nothing,” the surprised Metropolitan replied. “No, it costs 25 rubles!” - Theophilus said, after which he unscrewed the tap at the samovar, and hot water poured onto the floor.

Frustrated, Metropolitan Filaret quickly left the cell of the elder.
A few days later, the saint decided to take a walk through the Goloseevsky Forest. Suddenly, an armed robber jumped out of the bushes. “And what is this cane worth?” the Metropolitan heard familiar words, but now from the attacker. “That one is worthless…” he replied. "Get your wallet. Now I’ll see how much is there ... ” Imagine the surprise of the bishop when exactly 25 rubles turned out to be in his wallet! Then he realized the spilled hot water, symbolizing his possible bloodshed as a result of the attack ...

From that time on, Metropolitan Philaret accepted the Monk Theophilus under his personal guardianship, which lasted until the end of his life.

HISTORY SECOND. HOLY APPLES.

An outstanding teacher, Metropolitan Filaret was remembered by the students of theological schools not only for his lectures, although they were very popular due to their conciseness, clarity and accessibility.

The greatest imprint on the souls of the students was left by the upbringing they received from the saint. After all, he never punished the guilty. On the other hand, he acted with love and, by his own example, treated the pupils as if they were his own children.
One of Bishop Philaret's students recalled: “We got into the habit of stealing apples from the rector's orchard… And somehow we got so carried away that we didn't notice how the rector himself appeared!

Having recognized him, we seemed to be petrified ... “Why are you frozen? Hurry up, take the apples before the gardener comes,” Filaret said, at the same time helping the students to hide the apples in their bosoms. “And now, hurry up, otherwise you and I will get it,” he added, seeing the gardener from afar. And went to meet him to divert his attention.

For several days, our company was very upset ... From shame and fear of retribution, we did not know where to hide ...

And on the fourth day, our company was gathered in a separate room, and instead of punishment ... they suddenly brought a whole dish of various ripe and tasty fruits with a large mug of honey. "From the rector," noted feasible.
"On what occasion?" we whispered, gladly accepting the generous gift. But there was no case, except for the one that only we knew about, and which, of course, they kept quiet ...

We ate these rector's pears and apples with gratitude and tears of repentance ... "