Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky is a domestic religious figure who is considered one of the main leaders and ideologists of the renovationist schism. He was a member of the Renovationist Holy Synod until his immediate dissolution in 1935. At the same time, he held important posts in the church hierarchy, for example, he headed the metropolitan theological academy, founded in 1923, as a rector. Soon after the outbreak of war against the Nazis, he received the church title of "First Hierarch of the Orthodox Churches in the USSR." A well-known Christian apologist and preacher, who earned a reputation as a speaker in the first years of the existence of Soviet power, thanks to vivid speeches on public disputes with opponents of religion. In this article we will tell his biography.
Childhood and youth
Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky was born in Vitebsk on the territory of modern Belarus. He was born in 1889. His father, whose name was Ivan Andreevich, taught Latin at the gymnasium. Later he became the director of this educational institution, a full-time state adviser, and even received the title of nobleman.
The mother of the hero of our article Zinaida Sokolova was from St. Petersburg. It is known that she died in 1939.
According to some reports, his grandfather was a baptized Jew, having received a surname in the temple of Introduction, in which he served as a psalm-reader.
Education
Alexander Ivanovich Vvedensky received a diverse education. After high school, he studied at the Faculty of History and Philology at St. Petersburg University.
Then he decided to continue his further studies at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. He has already come here as a trained student, impressing with the knowledge of classmates and teachers.
For a month and a half in 1914, Vvedensky passed all exams externally, having received a diploma from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
At the beginning of a spiritual career
In the same year, the hero of our article was ordained, becoming a presbyter. The ceremony was held by the Grodno Bishop Michael (Ermakov). At the beginning of World War I, he was appointed a regimental priest.
They say that already at his very first service he began to pronounce the text of the Cherubic song. All those present were literally dumbfounded, then that he did it with characteristic howls and painful exaltation. As if it were a decadent poem ...
In 1917, Alexander Ivanovich Vvedensky was among the organizers of the "Union of Democratic Orthodox Clergy and Laity." It was an association of religious leaders who advocated the need for radical reforms in the domestic church. It arose in Petrograd, existed until the early 1920s. Most of its members became figures of renovationism. Vvedensky in the Union served as secretary.
He also was a member of the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic, known as the Pre-Parliament, representing the so-called democratic clergy.
In 1919, he was appointed rector of the Church of Elizabeth and Zechariah, located in Petrograd. Eyewitnesses recall that at that time the priest was very popular, people literally followed him in droves. His every visit to the service became an event. He impressed with his brilliant education, and was also a terrific speaker.
The meetings he organized in private institutions gathered whole crowds who were eager to listen to him. When authorities banned these gatherings, he continued to hold them on church grounds. His speeches never touched politics. These peculiar sermons amazed the parishioners with their sincerity, deep faith of the priest, and voluminous erudition. He felt his spiritual connection with the flock, which fell into ecstasy.
In 1921, Vvedensky became archpriest.
Split
In May 1922, Vvedensky, along with several other church representatives, arrived at Samotek, where at that moment Patriarch Tikhon was under house arrest. He accused the head of the Russian Orthodox Church of pursuing an irresponsible policy that provoked a confrontation between the church and the state. Vvedensky insisted that the patriarch resign from his office for the duration of his house arrest. Tikhon did just that, transferring control to Metropolitan Agarfangel of Yaroslavl.
A few days later Tikhon instructed to transfer the office supplies of the patriarchy to a group of clergy, which included priests Sergius Kalinovsky, Evgeny Belkov and Archpriest Alexander Vvedensky.
Further, the resolution of Tikhon was issued for his abdication. Ignoring the transfer of affairs to Agafangel, who continued to be in Yaroslavl, the priests turned to Bishop Leonid (Skobeev), asking her to head the activities of her group. She was called the Supreme Church Administration. A day later, Leonid Antonin (Granovsky) replaced this post.
Soon, a symmetrical response followed from the supporters of the patriarch. The Petrograd Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazan) declared Vvedensky, together with Belkov and Krasnitsky, who fell away from communion with the church for their arbitrariness. In fact, it was an excommunication, which Benjamin removed, only being threatened with execution.
In July, Vvedensky signed a petition for clemency of the leaders of the Petrograd clergy. The authors of this document bowed before the Bolshevik court, recognizing the current government. The Executive Committee they asked to mitigate the punishment of churchmen who were sentenced to capital punishment.
At the head of the Union
In October, the hero of our article began to lead the Union of Communities of the Old Apostolic Church. This was one of the structures of renovationism. Its tasks included raising the issue of church reform, combating bourgeois churchness, and also restoring the true principles of Christianity, which supposedly by that time had been forgotten by most Christians.
In the spring of 1923, Vvedensky became an active participant in the Local Holy Council, which became the first Renovationist. It signed a decree on the deprivation of monasticism and the dignity of Patriarch Tikhon.
In May he was elevated to the rank of bishop. It is noteworthy that at that time Vvedensky was married, but among the Renovationists this was not considered an obstacle to receiving this church dignity. After he got married again.
In 1924, the Renovationist episcopate instructed Vvedensky to conduct foreign affairs, elevating him to the rank of Metropolitan of London. In this way, the Renovationists attempted to get parishes outside the USSR. However, the plan failed. Vvedensky himself became a member of the renovation Holy Synod, was on the podium until his dissolution in 1935.
In October 1925 he was elected "fellow chairman" at the Third All-Russian Local Council. At the meeting I read a report on the current situation of the Orthodox Church, accusing the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate of having relations with the headquarters of the monarchists abroad and receiving directives from them.
Then he read out a note of the renovationist "bishop" Nikolai Soloviy, who was an adventurer. The message itself is now considered deliberately false. In it, Patriarch Tikhon was accused of sending a document to the foreign monarchist headquarters in which he blessed Kirill Vladimirovich to the Russian throne. This was a political step that the authorities used as an excuse to arrest Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky), who was the Patriarchal locum tenens.
Characterizing Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky, people who personally knew him during this period claimed that he was subject to passions and impulses. He loved money, but at the same time it could not be called self-serving, since he constantly distributed them. His main weakness and passion were women. He was fond of them literally until he lost his mind.
At the same time he was passionate about music, every day he spent 4-5 hours at the piano. He often repented, publicly calling himself a sinner. Over time, vulgar traits in character began to appear more and more clearly in him. It was some kind of childish vanity, a love of gossip, and also cowardice. This last quality, combined with vanity, turned him into an opportunist who swore allegiance to Soviet power. Vvedensky continued to hate the Bolsheviks in his soul, but he served them faithfully.
Renovationism
Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky begins to play a key role in renovationism. This direction in Russian Orthodoxy at the beginning of the 20th century, which was formed after the February Revolution. His goal was to “renew” the Church. It was supposed to democratize all its institutions, governance, and also the services themselves.
An updating schism took place, in which supporters of Vvedensky opposed Patriarch Tikhon. At the same time, they declared unconditional support for the Bolshevik regime, as well as all the transformations that they carried out.
As a result of the split in the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1920s, renovationism began to play a big role, receiving support from the authorities. It is customary to consider this movement in line with the attempts of the Communists to modernize Russian Orthodoxy, which they later abandoned.
From 1922 to 1926, it was the only Orthodox church organization in the RSFSR officially recognized by the authorities. Some parishes recognized other local Churches. The Renovation Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky reached its greatest influence in 1922-1923, when about half of the Russian parishes and the episcopate submitted to the Renovationist structures.
It is noteworthy that at the very beginning, renovationism was not clearly structured. Some representatives of the movement even remained in confrontation among themselves.
From 1923 to 1935 in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Russian Church acted under the leadership of the Chairman. The first was Evdokim Meshchersky, and then he was successively replaced by Veniamin Muratovsky and Vitaly Vvedensky. After the dissolution of the Synod in 1935, it was solely led by Vitaly Vvedensky, and since 1941 the prominent church figure Alexander Vvedensky.
The renovationism was dealt a serious blow during the Stalinist repressions of 1937-1938. In the autumn of 1943, the state decided to liquidate the Renovationists. Representatives of this movement began to be massively persuaded to return to the fold of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vvedensky’s death is considered the official end of Renovationism. Although formally there still remained unrepentant updateist hierarchs. The last of them was Filaret Yatsenko, who died in 1951.
Diary of the Metropolitan
Since 1929, Vvedensky has been keeping a diary entitled "Thoughts on Politics." It is believed that these records were necessary for him in case of arrest. He hoped that they would be found in his papers, which would help him alleviate his fate.
In this diary, he writes about Stalin as a "brilliant man", supports the rout of the opposition within the party. At the same time, he criticizes the intelligentsia, accusing it of double-dealing. It is in this that he sees the reason for the distrust of the Soviet regime.
At the same time, it is lamenting that there are not enough genuine supporters of communism around. Even among the renovationists, he said, there are not enough of them.
Prohibition of sermons
An important place in the biography of Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky is occupied by the leadership of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior until its closure in 1931. After that, he becomes rector of the Peter and Paul Church, located on New Basmannaya Street. There was also the Theological Academy of the Renovationists.
In 1935, remaining metropolitan, he married for the second time. Soon after, it became known about the closure of the St. Nicholas Church. Then he goes to the Church of the Savior on Bolshaya Spasskaya Street. Since December 1936 he has been serving in the church of Pimen the Great in New Collars.
At the same time, he was announced that the rights of religion in the USSR were substantially limited. According to the new Stalinist constitution, worshipers are forbidden to conduct sermons, while religious worship is permitted.
According to contemporaries, immediately after this, the preaching gift seemed to have left Vvedensky. All his sermons after 1936 left a painful impression. The brilliant insights disappeared, and the fiery temperament irretrievably faded. The metropolitan has become an ordinary priest who has long and boringly set forth well-known and familiar truths for a long time. Vvedensky was greatly degraded at that time.
It is believed that in 1937 he was nearly arrested several times, but nevertheless remained at large. Perhaps thanks to the patronage of some high-ranking officials. At that time, his life and freedom were threatened for several months.
First Hierarch
The hero of our article received the title of First Hierarch in April 1940. Shortly after the outbreak of war, he arbitrarily declared himself patriarch. Solemn intronization was even staged.
Not only priests of the Russian Orthodox Church reacted negatively to this, but also the clergy of the Renovationist Church. Therefore, a month later he refused the title.
From October 1941 to the end of 1943 he remained in evacuation in Ulyanovsk. During this time, he was able to effectively recreate many renovated church structures on the ground. For example, he performed bishop consecrations, led the departments left without rectors. During this period, many churches opened as renovation ones, especially in the Tambov region and Central Asia.
Elimination of Renovationism
At the end of 1943, the Soviet government decided to get rid of the Renovationists who did not live up to their hopes. All representatives of this movement are massively returning to the Moscow Patriarchate. Vvedensky is trying to keep the bishops, whom the government practically forces to transfer to the beginning of the Moscow Patriarchate. All of these attempts fail.
In March 1944, he wrote a letter to Stalin, in which he declared his readiness to take part in the nationwide feat. He sacrifices his bishop's cross, strewn with emeralds. In the response of the Generalissimo, which was published in the Izvestia newspaper, Stalin thanked him on behalf of the Red Army. But at the same time he calls him not the First Hierarch, which, of course, Vvedensky was counting on, but Alexander Ivanovich.
A month after the surrender of fascist Germany, it was requested to be admitted to the Moscow Patriarchate. In September, they answer him that they are ready to see him exclusively as a layman. He was offered the rank of an ordinary employee in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. Because of this, Vvedensky decided not to return to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In the summer of 1946, the hero of our article dies at the age of 56 in Moscow from paralysis. The funeral service is led by the renovationist Metropolitan Filaret Yatsenko. Eyewitnesses recall that it took place in the church of St. Pimen, which was crowded. Moreover, many elderly parishioners spoke extremely negatively about the deceased due to the fact that all the wives of Vvedensky gathered at the tomb. Almost no one in the crowd was baptized.
The service did not begin for a long time. Even more surprising was the fact that the organizers of the ceremony of the Russian revolutionist, the first woman minister in the history of Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai, who had just returned from Sweden, were waiting. There, from 1930, she was first the plenipotentiary representative of the USSR in the kingdom, and then the plenipotentiary and extraordinary ambassador. She stood next to Vvedensky’s wives.
Alexander Ivanovich was buried at the Kalitnikovsky cemetery with his mother.
After his death, renovationism finally sunk into oblivion. In 1950, Vvedensky’s archive was burned by order of the head of the Council for the ROC, Major General George Karpov.