During the week of Sunday, December 3, 2017, St. Vladimir’s Seminary joins in a momentous celebration: the 100th anniversary of the enthronement of Metropolitan Tikhon as Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, which occurred exactly on December 3, 1917. Metropolitan Tikhon’s remarkable legacy included not only his extremely difficult labor as head of the Church of Russia from 1917—at the start of the Bolshevik Revolution—until his repose in 1925, but also his earlier ministry as head of the Russian Orthodox Diocese in North America in the early 20th century.
The Church of Russia glorified him as a saint in 1989, and Orthodox Christians of the many jurisdictions in North America equally venerate him. During his tenure in North America, he envisioned a future Orthodox Church in the New World, that would include all the national Orthodox communities—Russian, Arabic, Greek, Serbian, Romanian, et cetera—united in one Archdiocese.
St. Tikhon’s legacy is especially meaningful to us here at St. Vladimir’s.
From its beginning in 1938, our school has been guided by the same vision for Orthodox unity and evangelical fervor that St. Tikhon embraced. In our classrooms, in our refectory, and in our chapel, seminarians from all Orthodox jurisdictions interact, converse, sup, and pray together. Our communal life mirrors a unified Orthodox Church with one common goal: to shed abroad the light of Christ. We have the privilege of living daily, experiencing hourly, the hopes and dreams of this humble, gentle saint.
Here are seminary-related resources that celebrate the legacy of St. Tikhon—his life and prophetic wisdom:
- On October 1, Archpriest Chad Hatfield, seminary President, spoke about Patriarch Tikhon’s bold vision to the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in Connecticut (FORCC), a pan-Orthodox group committed to working toward unity and sharing the gospel. On the occasion of their 24th Anniversary Banquet, Fr. Chad reminded them of St. Tikhon’s commitment to an ethnically diverse yet united Orthodox Church and of his passionate desire for a strong evangelical witness to and in America. (Listen to his entire presentation about St. Tikhon and Orthodox unity here.)
- On December 2, the spiritual head of our school and Board Chair, Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, addressed the Bishops Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Moscow, honoring St. Tikhon’s foresight and loving leadership. (Read his insightful remarks here.) (View a video of his remarks here.)
- On December 3, our alumnus, Archbishop Benjamin (M.Div. ’82), who now presides at Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco—which was once presided over by St. Tikhon—visited our campus. His Eminence served the Divine Liturgy and delivered a homily, reading the Salutatory Address offered by St. Tikhon on December 23, 1898, upon his accession to the Episcopal See of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. (Read the entire text of St. Tikhon’s address, titled, “On Cooperation in the Church,” here.)
- On December 3, the Seminary Chorale performed a concert titled “Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs,” in Three Hierarchs Chapel in honor of St. Tikhon’s enthronement and the restoration of the patriarchal system of church governance that had been abolished by Tsar Peter the Great two centuries earlier.
(View a video of the Chorale working hard to prepare for the concert, under the direction of Mat Robin Freeman, Director of Music at the Seminary.)
Holy Father St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America, pray to God for us!
[Image: reprinted from OrthoChristian.com]
