Most of
what has been written about St. Patriarch Tikhon since his repose on the Feast
of Annunciation in 1925, has centered on the short years of his patriarchate. Although
this coincided with the most complex and difficult time in all of Russian
Church history, all who take up the pen in his regard agree that he was the
"right" man, chosen by God, for that critical hour.
The
Saint's English language biographer Jane Swan, has written: "It is
difficult to assess the greatness of Tikhon....His spiritual growth was far
beyond that of the ordinary mortal." This finds agreement with the opinion
of the Saint's contemporary, Prof. Pavel Zaichenko: "in speaking about Bishop
Tikhon, I am seized with reverent trepidation This was a giant among Russian
Orthodox hierarchs; he was truly worthy of the honor and respect of the entire
Christian world.'
The key
to St. Tikhon's greatness lies in his personality, his character. Prof.
Zaichenko recalls: "By nature Bishop Tikhon was kind, responsive and
unusually sensitive. In his character he was quiet, merciful, good-natured and
always tried to preserve in himself serenity, a serenity which he transmitted
to the souls of all those around him." Elsewhere it has been said that
"he had a strong sense of duty and responsibility...moreover, he was
possessed of an iron like self-possession and circumspection''
These
were the qualities on which he built his fruitful activity as a missionary
hierarch in North America. It was during these seven years, in the crucible of
a pluralistic spiritual wilderness, that he refined and honed his insights into
human nature and arch-pastorship. This period of Patriarch Tikhon's life and
personal development has received little attention. Yet, his "years in
America were not only extremely productive, as far as successful administration
of his diocese was concerned, but for Tikhon personally, they were years of
useful experience which served him well later on. Later in life, he mentioned
the fact that his American sojourn not only widened his ecclesiastical horizon
but also his political outlook...[since he] was thrust into a completely new
environment including freedom of religion, no censorship, [and] the hurrying
business-like American bustle...''
Indeed,
his experience on this continent contributed no small measure towards the
rational and balanced way he had of thinking, and of dealing with events that
would have overwhelmed a lesser man. At the same time, it was precisely during
his American sojourn--an elementary stage in American Orthodoxy - that a whole
"tone" was set, and a direction given, to the Faith on this
continent.
It was on
September 14, 1898 that St. Tikhon was appointed Bishop of the Aleutian Islands
and Alaska, with his cathedral in San Francisco. In 1901 the future Patriarch
blessed the cornerstone for the new cathedral of St. Nicholas in New York. On
the occasion of its consecration a year later, the future Patriarch expressed a
feeling that became very familiar to the Orthodox in the following decades:
"The
present day," he said, "is as joyous for us as was the day for Israel
when, in the reign of Solomon, the temple of the Lord was erected in place of
the tabernacle. Truly enough, until now in New York we had but a tabernacle.
Like the tabernacle carted from one town to another, our Church also moved from
one place to another. And like David, being sorry that he dwelt in a house of
cedar while the ark of God dwelt within curtains, we also many a time were
sorry that our church was small, poor, and uncomfortable. Today we put an end
to regrets of this kind: the Lord took notice of our heartfelt longings that in
this great city there should be erected a church answering to the greatness of
the Orthodox Faith.''
As a true
Christian missionary, however, it was not the building of temples that
concerned Saint Tikhon primarily, but the building up of the Faith in temples
not made with hands--human souls. To this end he made frequent tours of his
vast diocese--Alaska, the U.S. and Canada, undaunted by the physical hardships
which traveling often presented. Details have been preserved by those who
shared in these trips.
“On May
6, 1900, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, His Eminence Tikhon set sail for Alaska
on the ship of the Northern Commercial Company, "Homer". This time
His Eminence wished to visit the Kuskokvimsk Mission, established by Bishop
Nicholas. Inasmuch as the sole means of communication with this mission is by
dogsled, Vladika is now faced with the difficulty of traversing on foot the
marshy tundra; in especially difficult places he must trust himself to the
porters' skill. The lack of any means of contact with this mission in summer
hindered previous hierarchs from visiting this corner of the diocese”
Priest
Ioann Orlov wrote this in his diary:
"...In
1905 God deigned that I should accompany Bishop Tikhon, and Priest James
Korchinsky on a trip from the Russian Mission on the Yukon, through portages
along the tundra, through lakes and rivers, along the Kuskokva, to my St Paul
Mission... The weather was clear, still, sunny. The entire trip we were
tormented by myriads of mosquitoes. When we 'broke camp for the night, we all,
together with Vladika, gathered dry branches for a fire. Along the way we
managed to shoot some wild ducks or geese. Vladika helped me to pluck the
feathers. I was both hunter and cook for our company. When it came time to go
through the forest. Vladika sent me on ahead with a gun, in case we should be
met by a bear or other wild animal.
As an
arch-pastor, Saint Tikhon encouraged the development of a missionary attitude
not only among his clergy but also among the laity, in a sermon on the Sunday
of Orthodoxy, 1903, he exhorted his
flock from the ambo of the Cathedral Church of San Francisco:
"Holding:
to the Orthodox Faith as to something holy, longing it with all their hearts
and prizing it above all, Orthodox people ought...to endeavor to spread it
among people of other creeds. Christ the Saviour has said that neither do men
light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house (Matt. 5:15) The light of Orthodoxy was not lit
to shine only on a small number of men. The Orthodox Church is universal; it
remembers the words of its Founder: Go ye unto all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15) ..We ought to share our spiritual wealth,
our truth, light, and joy with others who are deprived of these blessings, but
often are seeking them and thirsting for them...
"But
who is to work for the spread of the Orthodox Faith for the increase of the
children of the Orthodox Church? Pastors and missionaries, you answer. You are
right; but are they to be alone? St. Paul wisely compares the Church of Christ
to a body, and the life of a body is shared by all the members. So it ought to
be in the life of the Church also...The spread of Christ's faith ought to be
near and precious to the heart of every. Christian In this work every member of
the Church ought to take a lively and heartfelt interest...''
The
respect and affection of the faithful was made clear when, in that same year,
Bishop Tikhon returned to Russia for what was intended to be a brief visit:
"In
him said a writer at the time, "we had a Guardian Angel, protecting and
encouraging us in the darkest moments when the ignorance of the people whom we
were called upon to save, and the continuous intrigues of the enemies of
Orthodoxy contrived to dash our brightest hopes and to frustrate our
efforts--,' was such a comfort to know that in difficult moments our leader was
with us''.
While in
Russia, St. Tikhon was appointed to the Holy Synod, necessitating a longer
stay. His American flock sent congratulations, but added: “We pray that this
great joy be not followed for us by sorrow; that our greetings on this occasion
do not turn into farewell from the American Diocese to our beloved Shepherd,
but that we shall see you soon, rested and invigorated for the continuation of
the preaching of he Gospel of Christ here".
Eventually
Bishop Tikhon was able to return to San Francisco , "having gathered
physical strength through contact with Russian earth," as he wrote, 'and
not only in a physical sense, but above all in a spiritual one. In the spring
of 1905 he was elevated, at the young age of 40, to the rank of Archbishop. At
the same time the Saint had petitioned the Holy Synod to transfer his cathedral
city to New York. Upon receipt of the imperial consent, the transfer of
administrative offices from San Francisco was made. It was while traveling east
that the new Archbishop stopped in Denver, Colorado, to receive into the
Orthodox fold a former Uniate parish-which was but part of a widespread
movement of many Uniate groups back to Orthodoxy under the vigorous leadership
of St. Tikhon, working with the energetic Priest, Alexey Toth.
In his
first sermon back in New York Archbishop Tikhon said:
"To
the gifts already received by your church from the Heavenly King and from the
earthly Tsar, in recent days there was added the gift of the transferred
Diocesan Cathedral into your city and into your church. This is given to you
according to your ability. Your city is the second in the world and the first
in this country. All the nations are represented here. And how many churches of
different traditions are found here! Why not also have the representation of
the true Orthodox Church?.,.But.,you should take care that this gift is not
wasted, or buried, but that it bring profit to your church life and to
yourselves". This was
a theme the Saint sounded repeatedly in America.
Within
two months Archbishop Tikhon left the metropolis, braving blizzards and snow
drifts so that he could consecrate a new church in what remained of America's
"wild west'--Montana. The number of his parishes had grown from 15 to 70--all
of them self-supporting--and there were also two seminaries, one in Minnesota
and the other in Pennsylvania. (St. Tikhon's, in South Canaan, still functions
as both a monastery and seminary.) The Archbishop particularly wanted to train
American clergy so that his parishes would no longer be dependent upon Russia
for priests. Through his efforts a seminary was also founded in Alaska. There,
too, he was active in opening a school for women, with an affiliated orphanage.
Too soon
came sad news for the American flock. In February of 1907 a decree signed by
the Emperor arrived, appointing the Saint to the Sees of Yaroslavl and Rostov
in Russia, In his farewell communication to his American flock, Archbishop
Tikhon expressed a concern for the Church in America that is still valid today:
"How
can we help fearing for our small flock? How easily the candle can be
extinguished by the wind coming through the open window. How easily can an
oarsman in a frail boat be overturned by the sea-waves. Here we cannot boast of
great numbers, neither of renown, nor of wealth, nor of learning--all that is
valued in this world. We are strong here only in one thing- in possessing the
True Orthodox Faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God (Eph.
2:8'), and we should ask the Lord for the increase of this gift. Let them stand
fast in Thy Holy Church in the Orthodox Faith…”
Soon
Archbishop Tikhon was back in his homeland, where events of cataclysmic
proportions were about to erupt, and where his Golgotha-and his glory-awaited
him. But in America his voice continued to echo with a missionary fervor the
Church most still heed today.
“…Do not lose the chance of helping the cause
of the conversion of your neighbors to Christ, because by so doing, in the
words of St. James, you shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a
multitude of sins (James 5:20).
“Orthodox people!.., you must devote
yourselves to the Orthodox Faith not in word or tongue only, but in deed and in
truth”.
O Holy Patriarch Tikhon, pray to God for us!
An
article by Fr. Alexey Young
Source: http://www.roca.org/OA/90/90g.htm
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