The name of Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) constantly attracts the attention of the Russian political press. Some consider him almost a “gray eminence” dictating his will to Vladimir Putin, others believe that constant communication with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, a wise-thinking Orthodox confessor, is enough for the President of the Russian Federation.
However, returning to the name of the Orthodox preacher Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), I would certainly like to note that he is a very intelligent and perspicacious modern man who acutely feels responsibility for the fate of his people and the Fatherland, a monk who has taken on very serious obligations to God.
History of the emergence of monasticism
Christian monasticism is a community life that begins from the moment when a person, of his own free will, renounces all worldly goods and begins to live according to certain rules, where the vow of chastity, modesty and complete obedience is always observed.
The first Christian monk was St. Anthony the Great, who lived in Ancient Egypt in 356 BC. e. He was not a poor man, but he sold all his property and gave the money to the poor. And then he settled not far from his home and began to lead a hermit’s life, spending all his time in tireless prayer to God and reading the Holy Scriptures. This served as an example for other hermits, who began to settle in their cells near him. Over time, communities of this kind began to appear throughout Central and Northern Egypt.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). Biography. The path to monasticism
Before accepting monasticism, he was Grigory Alexandrovich Shevkunov. The future archimandrite was born into a family of doctors in Moscow in the summer of 1958. As an adult, he entered VGIK at the Faculty of Screenwriting and Film Studies, from which he successfully graduated in 1982. After graduating from the institute, he becomes a novice of the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery, where in the future his fate was most decisively influenced by ascetic monks and, of course, the kindest and most holy confessor of the monastery, Archimandrite John (Krestyankin).
In 1986, Gregory began his creative path by working in the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, which was headed by Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev). It was during these years that he worked on studying all the historical facts and documents about the emergence of Christian Orthodoxy and the lives of holy people. For the millennium of the Baptism of Rus', Gregory prepared a huge number of religious and educational films, in which he himself acted both as an author and as a consultant. Thus, a new round is gaining momentum in the atheistic life of Soviet citizens, leading to knowledge of the true canons of Christian Orthodoxy. And at the same time, the future archimandrite is busy reprinting the Ancient Patericon and other patristic books.
Childhood and youth
Tikhon (before tonsure - Georgy) Aleksandrovich Shevkunov is an Orthodox cultural worker, screenwriter, writer, bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. Born on July 2, 1958 in a family of Muscovites. The boy never saw his father. The mother worked as a microbiologist and raised her son alone.
In 1977, the young man decided to connect his life with cinema and entered the screenwriting department of VGIK . As a student, Georgy came to faith and began to become a church member. The young man's friends advised him to visit the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery . The trip to the monastery radically changed the young man’s worldview and plans.
In young age
Acceptance of monasticism
In the summer of 1991, Grigory Shevkunov became a monk at the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, where he was christened Tikhon. During his service at the monastery, he took part in the discovery of the relics of St. Tikhon, which were buried in the Donskoy Cathedral in 1925. And soon he becomes the rector of the metochion of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, located in the buildings of the ancient Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. It is definitely worth noting one feature that Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) has: where he serves, his true purpose and firmness of convictions are always felt.
Biography
The future monk was born into a family of Soviet intelligentsia in 1958. His mother was a doctor, a respected Soviet citizen, and the family was not a believer or a church member. Georgy Shevkunov (as the future monk was called in the world) grew up as a completely ordinary Soviet child, not showing any special spiritual talents or aspirations in childhood.
Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov
When the time came to choose a profession, the creative young man entered the famous VGIK, the faculty of scenography. It was student age that became a turning point for the spiritual state of the young man. He began to rebel against the gray Soviet foundations, to look for something more, to think about the meaning and purpose of human life.
Graduation from university was marked by another important event in George’s life - he received Holy Baptism. Immediately after this, the young man left as a novice for the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, where by God’s Providence he was lucky enough to become the spiritual child of the famous elder John Krestyankin.
Of course, Father John’s acquaintance and spiritual guidance played a vital role in the development of Georgy Shevkunov’s faith. A person who grew up among the Soviet intelligentsia, received a prestigious worldly education, and even in the field of culture, had to overcome a lot within himself in order to take the path of following the Lord.
Interesting! Having the necessary skills in literary work, the novice is hired to work on the publishing council of the Moscow Patriarchate. His ability to write texts and work with words came in very handy here.
Immediately the future monk met Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev), who impressed the young man with his selfless work for the good of the Church. And so, having gone through some path of simple novitiate and worked for the Church, in 1991 Georgy Shevkunov was honored to be tonsured a monk.
Consecration of Archimandrite Tikhon as Bishop of Yegoryevsk
This significant event took place in the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, which had just been restored. Georgy Shevkunov was tonsured under the name Tikhon, in honor of the holy Patriarch Tikhon. Soon, the ruling patriarch ordained him to higher monastic ranks - hierodeacon, and then hieromonk. He remained to serve in the same monastery.
He gained fame in Orthodox circles in 1993, when the holy incorruptible relics of Patriarch Tikhon were found in the Donskoy Monastery. 2 years after this event, he was appointed head of the metochion of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in Moscow.
Since churches and monasteries were actively restored in the first years after the collapse of the Union, the issue of personnel hierarchy was acute within the Church. And in 1995, Father Tikhon was appointed abbot of the Sretensky Monastery, where he would soon be elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Patriarch Alexy II.
On the basis of the monastery, the Sretensky Theological School appeared, which already in 2002 received the status of a theological academy. Father Tikhon works here as rector. Being already a famous person, Father Tikhon also meets the head of state, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
Metropolitan Tikhon with Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill
The archimandrite accompanies the president on his trip to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, and later during his visit to the USA. Ill-wishers shrouded this trip in a lot of gossip and rumors; Father Tikhon began to be called an agent of the president. Nevertheless, the archimandrite continued his work for the good of the Church.
In 2004, the future bishop graduated from Sretensky Theological Seminary as an external student, having officially received a document on theological education.
Actively participates in the movement to reunite the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church of the West. It is through his works that today we have unity with many of our brothers in faith living abroad.
Important! In 2012, in the main church of the Sretensky Monastery, at a majestic bishop's service, Patriarch Kirill solemnly proclaimed Father Tikhon as abbot of the monastery and presented him with a special abbot's staff.
Father Tikhon is actively involved in many issues of internal church life. So, he becomes the secretary of the cultural council under the Patriarch, and is also a member of the supreme church council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Life of an Archimandrite
In 1995, the monk was ordained to the rank of abbot, and in 1998 - to the rank of archimandrite. A year later, he becomes the rector of the Sretensky Higher Orthodox Monastic School, which was later transformed into a theological seminary. Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) always speaks about the Sretensky Monastery with great love and gratitude.
Then, together with his brothers, from 1998 to 2001, he repeatedly visited the Chechen Republic, where he brought humanitarian aid. He also actively takes part in the reunification process of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR). From 2003 to 2006, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) was a member of the commission for the preparation of the dialogue and the act of canonical conversion. Then he receives the post of secretary of the Patriarchal Council for Culture and becomes the head of the commission for interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church with the museum community.
In 2011, Archimandrite Tikhon was already a member of the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation, academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and a permanent member of the Izborsk Club.
The archimandrite has a number of church awards, including the Order of Friendship for the preservation of spiritual and cultural values, awarded to him in 2007. His creative works can be admired. And conversations with Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) are always very lively, interesting and understandable for any person.
“Father Vladyka”: Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov is 60 years old
The anniversary of Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) is not only a personal date in the life of this archpastor, but also a serious milestone in modern church history
Archpastor of the Russian Church and... chairman of the collective farm. The author of the main Orthodox bestseller, published in millions of copies in different languages of the world, and... a beloved rector who graduated many clergy from the walls of the seminary he created. Church “Minister of Culture” and... foreman. There is not a shadow of irony in the latter: this is exactly what Bishop Tikhon called himself more than once. With his characteristic smiling squint, which, however, did not mean that what was said was not serious.
Probably every minister of the Church in his youth dreams that his entire path will consist of spiritual warfare and spiritual victories, little thinking about the fact that any rector, vicar, and even bishop is a real foreman. A person who is destined not only to stand in church for divine services before the Throne of God, but also often to revive and build these very churches and monasteries. Often with my own hands. With or without construction gloves.
With workers in the reviving Sretensky Monastery. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
No, of course, not every clergyman, along with the grace of ordination, acquires the gift of a “strong business executive,” but in some this gift arises completely unexpectedly. This is what happened to Georgy Shevkunov, a young Moscow intellectual (of which there were quite a few among lovers of “thick books” at that time), a graduate of VGIK, who was baptized only at the age of 24, and already on his 33rd birthday became a monk, thereby completely dedicating himself to the Church of Christ. Moreover, by making this decision, he determined the future path of not only the 33-year-old young man, but also what Vladyka Tikhon, had he chosen a different path, could have become decades later.
At the beginning of the field. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
From VGIK student to novice of the Church of Christ
If someday the popular “Young Guard” series ZhZL is tasked with publishing a volume about Bishop Tikhon, the author will have to work hard. And not even because the ruler himself is a secretive person. On the contrary, both in personal conversations and in the aforementioned bestseller “Unholy Saints” he often turns to memories. It’s more difficult not to get confused in them, as, for example, liberal journalists did when they made the “revelatory” film “The Confessor,” in which they voluntarily and unwittingly distorted almost everything they could. Right down to seemingly the most basic Wikipedia information.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) at the presentation of the book “Unholy Saints” as part of the XXIV Moscow International Book Fair at the All-Russian Exhibition Center, 2011. Photo: Maxim Shemetov/TASS
We will not repeat what has been said many times, but the main milestones of this path are worth going through. If only to clearly illustrate how a young man from a non-church family, in the years when people were no longer shot for their faith, but it was quite possible to fly out of the Komsomol, and with due zeal to end up in places of varying degrees of distance from their parents’ home, became... First, a novice in Pskov -Pechersk monastery. Then - an employee of the Publishing Council of the Moscow Patriarchate. Then - a monk of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery, re-creator and long-term abbot of the Sretensky Monastery (and rector of the Sretensky Seminary). And finally, once again finding himself in his native Pechory, and also as a novice, only this church obedience became different. The day before yesterday, Georgy Shevkunov entered these walls as their holy archimandrite - Metropolitan of the entire Pskov land.
The First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Laurus (Shkurla), performs proskomedia. To the left of Bishop Laurus is Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), 2007. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
However, let us return to the 1980s, the years of the spiritual birth of the future Bishop Tikhon.
This is how the author of “Unholy Saints” describes the very moment of this birth:
I was baptized immediately after graduating from college, in 1982. By that time I was twenty-four years old. Nobody knew whether I was baptized as a child. In those years, this happened often: grandmothers and aunties often baptized a child in secret from unbelieving parents. In such cases, while performing the sacrament, the priest says: “If he is not baptized, he is baptized,” that is, “if he is not baptized, such and such a servant of God is baptized.” I, like many of my friends, came to faith in college. There were many excellent teachers at VGIK. They gave us a serious humanitarian education and made us think about the main questions of life.”
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) at the opening of the exhibition “Andrei Rublev”, 2010. Photo: Alexandra Mudrats/TASS
The formative years of a new Christian lie ahead. In the meantime, on the day of Holy Baptism, as the future archpastor said, his godmother, a simple Russian woman, a cleaner of the Moscow Church of St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy, having asked for the prayers of the newly baptized, advised the servant of God George:
Please pray for me. Until you lose it, you will have a very effective prayer... If you can, be sure to go to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. There is an elder named John Krestyankin there. It would be nice for you to meet him. He will explain everything and answer your questions.”
Father John (Krestyankin). The name of this man is known to almost every believer. Father John, who performed genuine miracles during his lifetime, was and is often called “the elder.” Although he himself humbly answered his enthusiastic admirers: “What kind of elders?! We are experienced old guys at best.” At the first meeting, he seemed like such an old man to the young Georgy Shevkunov, who accepted his godmother’s advice and, soon after the christening, went to Pechory.
Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) (center), Archimandrite Tikhon (left) and Archimandrite Anastasy (right). Photo: pravoslavie.ru
I first saw Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) in 1982, when I arrived at the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Then, it seems, he did not make much of an impression on me: such a very kind old man, very strong (at that time he was only seventy-two years old), always in a hurry somewhere, even fussy, invariably surrounded by a crowd of pilgrims. Other inhabitants of the monastery looked much stricter, more ascetic and even more respectable. Until, over time, it began to dawn on us that Father John is in fact one of the very few people on earth for whom the boundaries of space and time are expanded, and the Lord allows them to see the past and future as the present..."
It is difficult to say whether Elder John saw the future of the young novice, but the fact that he largely predetermined it is undoubtedly. After several years of obedience in Pskov Pechory, the future bishop returns to his native Moscow, where he finds himself in obedience to the head of the Publishing Council of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryev Pitirim (Nechaev), one of the most influential archpastors of the Russian Church, who took spiritual (and not only) care about many Orthodox young people. Many well-known clerics emerged from among the rank-and-file employees of the Publishing Council in the last Soviet decades. And one of them was Bishop Tikhon, who in October 2015, on the day of his episcopal ordination, will especially remember Metropolitan Pitirim.
May 28, 1988. Head of the Publishing Council of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryev Pitirim (Nechaev) (right) with Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod (future Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus') at the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the Slavic alphabet. Photo: Alexander Ovchinnikov/TASS
I would like to remember and thank Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev), under whose leadership the Lord destined me to continue my church obedience. He opened up for me a completely new Moscow church life, where in churches and in the government offices of synodal institutions I was lucky enough to meet amazing, selfless and modest workers of the Church, who, in the most difficult atheistic decades of our history, sacrificially served the cause of preserving the word of God among the people.”
“In difficult times, chosen by God”
The words in the subtitle are dedicated to another person who played a special role in the life of Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov). This is the first line of the troparion (prayerful praise) to Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, who became Primate during the bloody days of the Bolshevik revolution and did everything to preserve the Russian Church in these terrible conditions, but at the same time avoid compromises with the atheists. In honor of this particular saint, within the walls of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery, on July 2, 1991, yesterday’s servant of God George received the monastic name.
Discovery of the relics of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, Donskoy Monastery, 1992. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
Less than a year will pass before, in February 1992, the young hieromonk Tikhon (Shevkunov) will take part in the discovery of the relics of the Saint. The future bishop more than once told with sincere enthusiasm (including to the author of these lines) what feelings he experienced when he unexpectedly took the hand of the saint whose name he received during monastic tonsure. I don’t know if this comparison is correct, but we can assume that it was then that the 33-year-old priest received the blessing of his Heavenly patron for his priestly service.
The next station is Lubyanka
“Back in the nineties, he would receive the nickname “Lubyansky priest” - for the spiritual nourishment of the security officers.”
Perhaps, it is in these words of liberal journalists that the quintessence of the attitude of haters of the Russian Church towards Bishop Tikhon, who in 1993 received a new obedience - appointment as rector of the Moscow metochion of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, founded within the walls of the former Sretenskaya monastery, on Bolshaya Lubyanka (later the metochion will become a full-fledged monastery, revived practically from oblivion). However, he himself did not at all shy away from this nickname. Yes, father. Yes, from Lubyanka. And yet, yes, he spiritually nourished the security officers. I don’t know how many officers of the Federal Security Service became churches thanks to the “Lubyansky priest,” but even isolated facts cannot but rejoice and reassure.
By the way, it was then that the future bishop first had to face serious intra-church confrontation. By that time, the community of the well-known priest Georgy Kochetkov, an untalented preacher distinguished by radical modernism, had already settled within the holy walls of the ancient Sretensky Monastery. “Orthodox liberals,” despite the instructions of the hierarchy (and the direct blessing of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) for Father Tikhon to revive monastic life within the monastery walls), did not want to leave the Sretenskaya monastery for a long time.
Moscow. November 29, 2006. Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II and Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) (from left to right) during the solemn ceremony of handing over to the patriarch a staff, liturgical vestments and part of the personal archive of the former head of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky). Photo: Grigory Sysoev/TASS
This conflict dragged on and could have ended with a serious information blow to the Church, but His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II wisely cut the “Gordian knot” by banning the restless Father George from serving. Since then, liberals have perceived the future Bishop Tikhon as a personal enemy and, until today, in the information field they are doing everything to annoy him and any of his undertakings. However, as they say in Eastern wisdom, which our today’s Primate, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, loves very much: stones are thrown only at the tree that bears fruit.
And the fruits of Bishop Tikhon’s activities are obvious, even for people who are little familiar with recent church history. And the revived Sretensky monastery with its Ryazan monastery - the millionaire collective farm "Resurrection", as well as the founded Sretensky Theological Seminary, one of the best educational institutions of the Russian Church, are only the most noticeable links in the chain of these affairs, one of the most important among which was direct participation future bishop in the process of reunification of the Moscow Patriarchate with the Russian Church Abroad. A case that in 2007 put an end to the long-term division of Russian Orthodox people into “whites” and “reds”.
Pskov-Pechersk Lavra. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Pskov. Ultimate?
Today, many (mostly non-church) “couch analysts” are trying to reason: what is behind the return of Bishop Tikhon to the Pskov land? What is this: “exile” or, on the contrary, a “springboard” for a further church career? Most accurately, the Bishop himself answered such questions: this is the fulfillment of his many years of prayers. After all, despite the fact that the walls of the Sretensky Monastery became more than just family for him, Metropolitan Tikhon’s spiritual homeland is right here, in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. And, of course, this is yet another church obedience, of which the Bishop had (and, I’m sure, will still have) a lot during the three and a half decades of his life in the Church.
Moscow. Sretensky Monastery. Farewell to Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov to Pskov. May 20, 2022. Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofiev/TASS
The author of these lines was fortunate enough to communicate with the bishop on several occasions, but a couple of years after his episcopal ordination, somehow out of habit he addressed himself as if he were a priest: “Father Tikhon.” And he immediately became embarrassed. To which the bishop smiled and said: “Yes, I’m more used to it myself.” And indeed, many people still address the bishop in this way. Some jokingly add: “Father Vladyka.” This is probably what Metropolitan Tikhon is all about.
Inspection of the exhibition “The Romanovs” by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Russian President Vladimir Putin (on the right, Vladyka Tikhon). Photo: pravoslavie.ru
I would like to conclude with the words of ancient Russian congratulations, which for centuries were addressed to archpastors on the days of their personal celebrations:
“Many years to come, holy lord!”
Film "Monastery" Pskov-Pechersk monastery"
It is impossible to ignore the amazing and unique work of its kind, which is called “Monastery. Pskov-Pechersk monastery. Grigory Shevkunov shot this film in 1986 with an amateur camera, when he was not yet Archimandrite Tikhon, but was just a graduate of VGIK. After graduating from high school, he went to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, where he spent 9 years of novitiate with Elder Jonah (Krestyankin) and later took monastic vows.
The main theme of the film is dedicated to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, which is known to the Russian Church for preserving the eldership. This is the only monastery that has never been closed, even during Soviet times. Until the 30s, it was located on the territory of Estonia, so the Bolsheviks did not have time to ruin it, and then the war came. By the way, many elders and ministers of this monastery were at the front.
The then future Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) collected a lot of photo and video materials in his archive of the monastic life of the brethren. In the film, he shows the places that are most dear and significant to the monk’s heart, one of which is a special miracle created by God - the caves in which 14 thousand people were buried during the entire existence of the monastery. When you enter these caves, you are surprised that there is absolutely no smell of decay there. As soon as a person dies, after three days this smell appears, but after the body is brought into the caves, it disappears. This phenomenon still cannot be explained by anyone, not even scientists. This shows the spiritual peculiarity of the monastery walls.
Formation of the bishopric
Continuing his service for the benefit of the Russian Orthodox Church, Father Tikhon in 2015 at the Optina Pustyn monastery was named Bishop of Yegoryevsk. Patriarch Kirill elevated him to the rank. Father Tikhon combines this position with the title of patriarchal vicar.
A year later, Bishop Tikhon was appointed rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Moscow, near the Saltykov Bridge.
Bishop Tikhon’s rapid career in the church hierarchy gave rise to rumors that he is the mentor and successor of the current Patriarch Kirill. This topic has been repeatedly discussed in the media, and, in particular, on the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
Father Tikhon at a service in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Pskov
Father Tikhon himself did not confirm such rumors in any way, citing the fact that only a bishop who has independently governed an entire diocese for many years (at least 5) can be elected patriarch. Father Tikhon is a patriarchal vicar, so he was not fully involved in the management of the diocese entrusted to him.
Since 2022, Bishop Tikhon has been the ruling bishop in the Pskov diocese. In the same year, he was removed from the post of rector and abbot of the Sretensky Monastery, where he was replaced by clergy from the monastery itself. In parting, Father Tikhon served the last solemn Liturgy, where he said goodbye to his Moscow flock, after which he left for Pskov.
Since the summer of 2022, he has held the position of abbot of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
Love for the Pskov-Pechersk brethren
The life story of Elder Melchisidek, one of the most amazing associates of the monastery, which Grigory Shevkunov tells about, is striking. Looking into his eyes, you understand that this is a real ascetic, confessor and prayer book, who was in the war, then came to the monastery and worked as a turner. He made lecterns, arks and crosses with his own hands. But one day he had a stroke, and the doctor pronounced him dead. But Ioan (Krestyankin), who was the spiritual father of all the brethren and about whom Archimandrite Tikhon also wrote a lot in his stories, began to pray for Father Melchisidek, and a miracle happened. After some time, the old man came to life and began to cry. After this, he accepted the rite of tonsure into the schema and began to pray to God even more intensely.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) later recalled that he once asked Elder Melchisidek about what he saw when he was dead. He said that he found himself in a meadow near a moat, in which there was everything that he made with his own hands - these were kivots, lecterns and crosses. And then he felt that the Mother of God was standing behind him, who told him: “We expected prayer and repentance from you, and this is what you brought us.” After this, the Lord brought him back to life again.
In his painting, the future Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) also shows the wonderful elder Feofan, who was also in the war and lost an arm there. He said that he always followed the orders of his commander, but, thank God, he did not have to kill people. He has many awards and orders. Now he is all meekness, charm and love.
There are countless stories of this kind in the monastery. When you look at the modest life and constant work of the monks, everything seems very gloomy and gloomy, but their kind attitude and care for every person, sick or healthy, young or old, is striking. After the film you are left with a very warm and bright feeling of peace and tranquility.
Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov - RBC: “Is there a command to repress the church? No"
“After fifteen years, I’ve become pretty tired of these kinds of journalistic questions and guesses.”
Bishop Tikhon (in the world Georgy Aleksandrovich Shevkunov; July 2, 1958, Moscow) is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop of Yegoryevsk, vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, managing the Western Vicariate of the city of Moscow.
Abbot of the Moscow Sretensky stauropegial monastery. Executive Secretary of the Patriarchal Council for Culture. Co-chairman of the Church and Public Council for Protection from the Alcohol Threat. Member of the board of trustees of the St. Basil the Great Foundation (the founder of the fund is businessman Konstantin Malofeev). After graduating from high school, he entered the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery as a novice. In September 2003, he accompanied the head of state to the United States, where Putin conveyed the invitation of Patriarch Alexy II to the First Hierarch of the ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), Metropolitan Laurus, to visit Russia. In the media, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) was called the confessor of Konstantin Malofeev (but Malofeev himself claims that his confessor is a monk from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra) and Vladimir Putin.
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- Let's move on to another difficult topic - as a rector, do you understand the structure of the economy of the Russian Orthodox Church?
— As abbot, I understand how the economy of our monastery works. As for the patriarchate’s budget, as far as I know, it consists of contributions from dioceses and donations from Christians.
— How much does your monastery contribute to the patriarchate?
- Sretensky Monastery transfers an annual contribution to the Patriarchate - it changes from year to year, but the order is from 3 to 5 million rubles. in year. If the situation is difficult, and all funds are spent on maintaining the life of the monastery, then the patriarch exempts from contributions for general church needs. This happens everywhere with churches being revived and under construction; The first especially difficult years and we did not transfer funds to the patriarchate.
— Do you transfer the annual contribution to the patriarchate’s account?
- Yes.
- Which bank?
— If I’m not mistaken, to Sberbank.
“We can and do earn money ourselves”
— How is Sretensky Monastery financed?
— The main source is our monastery publishing house. We publish up to four hundred titles of books: spiritual, historical, scientific and fiction. Second: we have an agricultural production - the cooperative "Resurrection" in the Ryazan region, we took it over in 2001 in a completely ruined state.
— It seems you still have the Unholy Saints cafe.
— This position is rather costly. A small cafe where people go after Sunday service to socialize, that’s what we created it for. Yes, we still receive money from the church - but no one walks around with a plate during our services; the parishioners themselves leave as much as they see fit for the maintenance of the church.
— There are also candles.
— You can take candles from us for free or deposit a small amount. Expensive pure wax and large candles have a certain cost.
— How much does it cost you to maintain the monastery?
- These are large funds, I don’t see the need to disclose them. We support the highest religious institution created in the monastery - the seminary. Last year, 250 people studied there. Seminarians - six years on full board.
— Former accountant of the Patriarchate Natalya Deryuzhkina estimated the annual maintenance of two seminaries - Moscow and St. Petersburg - at 60 million rubles. How much of this amount do you spend on running the seminary? Half?
- Approximately. The brethren of the monastery themselves earn money for the seminary, for the maintenance and ongoing repairs of the entire monastery, for helping an orphanage in which 100 children are raised, for the website, for many of our educational projects, and for charity. We can and do earn money for all this ourselves.
- There are donors...
- Yes, sure. The help of philanthropists is very important, and we are sincerely grateful to them all. Once upon a time, during several of the most difficult years of the revival of the destroyed monastery, Sergei Pugachev (former senator and ex-owner of Mezhprombank, sentenced in February 2016 by the High Court of London to two years in prison; currently in France.) helped us a lot. RBC). To make it clear the ratio of what the monks themselves earned and what they received from donations to the monastery, even in the best years, charitable funds amounted to no more than 15% of the budget for the maintenance of the monastery. But in the case of new construction, help is needed. This happened when we realized that the size of our church for the parish was already hopelessly small, and we took the blessings of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to build a new church.
— I know Rosneft is helping you.
- Yes, without her and without the help of other benefactors we would not have built a new temple. But the brethren of the monastery do not stand aside: 370 million rubles, all the funds received from the sale of almost two million copies of my book “Unholy Saints”, we allocated for construction.
— Does businessman Konstantin Malofeev really help you a lot?
— The St. Basil the Great Foundation (the founder of the foundation is Malofeev. - RBC) twice participated in partial financing of our historical exhibitions in the Manege, and once transferred 50% of the required budget for the maintenance of the seminary. In general, charitable assistance is not something permanent. Over the seventeen years of the seminary’s existence, we received such help from philanthropists only three times; in the remaining years we managed on our own.
Businessmen about help from the Russian Orthodox Church: “You can’t get this joy by earning another million” Photo gallery
— Do questions about money irritate you?
- Rather, they surprise. To be honest, it always seemed to me that such questions were, to put it mildly, unethical. Just in case, I’ll warn you: if somewhere in Germany, or England, or France you have a conversation on such topics, the conversation will immediately be stopped. But, I repeat, if this is so interesting to you and your readers, I am ready to answer. Speaking of help, once, for example, we held an event to distribute free Gospels. They were published at the expense of Oleg Deripaska. This does not apply to the Sretensky Monastery itself, but our joint project of the “Historical Park” at VDNKh was prepared by the joint efforts of the Moscow government, the Patriarchal Council and.
“I have to interact with a wide range of people”
— If I’m not mistaken, you have a large number of influential acquaintances.
— I am the chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, and I really have to interact with a wide range of people, including well-known people in society.
Bishop of Yegoryevsk Tikhon Shevkunov, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Alexey Nikolsky/TASS)
- I'm talking about something else, rather. Is it easy for you to communicate with government representatives? Forgive me, please, but I constantly catch myself thinking that FSB officers - it’s right next door to you - are, figuratively speaking, apples from the apple tree that shot priests in Soviet times.
— I understand that you, as a journalist, are exacerbating the issue. But equating the atrocities of the security officers, who repressed and destroyed their own people, with the current military serving in the law enforcement sphere is possible only in the incurable consciousness of an ultra-liberal. With this approach, I must refuse to talk with you, saying: “Since your predecessors, journalists from previous news agencies and publications, blatantly lied to the whole world and their own people for many years, I do not intend to communicate with you!”
- When did you lie? Then? Now?
— As for what is happening now, you know better. But in this case I’m talking about Soviet times, when journalists sometimes lied so much that everyone around them blushed. There are numerous currently operating departments that worked not only in the USSR, but also in previous, very distant times. We must understand whether the vector of attitude towards the people, towards the individual, towards the church has changed today, even in punitive agencies, or not? Is there now a command from the state to repress the church? No.
— Is there any contradiction in this position? Now there is no persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church, but will the church stand up for those who are being repressed?
“If there are unjust persecutions, he will definitely stand up.”
- Agree, nevertheless, paradoxical things are happening - in schools they are proposing to introduce a single history textbook, in which Joseph Stalin looks almost like an effective manager. And there are clergy who adhere to the same position (in particular, priest Evstafy Zhakov, rector of the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga in Strelna, openly expressed his respect for Stalin and even hung an icon depicting the Generalissimo in the temple. - RBC).
— In the version of the future textbook that I saw, the assessment of the Stalinist period is presented in a very balanced manner. If you have a version of the textbook with a different interpretation, please send it to me. Among today's clergy there are very different views on the personality of Stalin, but at the same time I have never seen a priest who would say: “Stalin is my ideal!” and even more so would justify the repressions or at least remove Stalin’s personal responsibility for them.
— Don’t you think that the church goes through pendulum periods in its relations with the state? Love is hate. Now, for example, love. This means that hatred must return.
- For more than nine hundred years - since the Baptism of Rus' - love. Then several decades - hatred. So, what do you think? Rather, everything is more complicated here. As for the essence of your question - about the interaction of church and state - today we have a dominant position on the undoubted reasonableness and mutual benefit of the separation of church and state. There can be no talk of any unification of the two institutions - the state and the church. This will only bring harm.
— Why do you get the feeling that the Russian Orthodox Church and the authorities go hand in hand?
- Well, let them go hand in hand where it cannot but be welcomed. Together, the church and state institutions are engaged in charity, helping those in need, and preserving ancient cultural monuments related to the church and its history. And also projects in the field of culture, historical science, and some general diplomatic programs. But of course you are talking about politics?
- Yes.
— I can reassure you: the Russian Church has long passed a law that priests and bishops should not participate in the political life of the country.
“Nevertheless, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church speak quite actively on political topics.
— Representatives of many public organizations express their opinions on a wide range of social, cultural and political phenomena, but this does not mean their real participation in state policy.
— Father Vsevolod Chaplin actively spoke out in support of the residents of Donbass.
— Father Vsevolod Chaplin is a separate conversation.
- Yes, but Chaplin is not alone. For example, the rector of a church near St. Petersburg openly blesses bulletproof vests for DPR militias.
- Well, what's the crime? A bulletproof vest can save lives.
— If we talk about Father Chaplin, he has recently demanded to disclose the items of income and expenses of the Russian Orthodox Church.
- So here’s the thing: your interview about church finances is some kind of greeting to us from Father Vsevolod?! Well, there are special financial monitoring bodies, let them check everything competently and responsibly.
“I hear and know that there are also abuses by church authorities in some dioceses”
— How do you feel about the law on the return of religious property? By the way, do you not own the monastery?
- No. Indefinite and free use. Everything in the monastery is the property of the state.
- Why? Is it more convenient for you?
- It happened that way.
— Did they give you money under the federal program “Culture of Russia”?
- Once ten years ago - to restore the frescoes in the temple. But they didn’t give it to us, but to a restoration organization that wonderfully restored these frescoes. What else should I report on? The city authorities allocated funds for paving stones for the ancient part of the monastery courtyard.
— As far as I know, you head the public council under Rosalkogolregulirovanie. Why do you need this?
- Very necessary. Seven years ago, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, the Church-Public Council for Protection against the Alcohol Threat was created. The co-chairs were the writer Valentin Rasputin and me. A few years later, I was invited to head the public council under Rosalkogolregulirovanie. For me, the main task of my work is to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the country, primarily among teenagers and young people. We have done something: according to the latest data, alcohol consumption in Russia has fallen by 18% over six years.
- By your prayers?
— Through the prayers and common efforts of many people.
— As far as I understand, life is easier for priests in Moscow than in the provinces - in the periphery the percentage of diocesan contributions is higher, there are many times fewer parishioners, and the people are poorer. The priests are complaining.
— As for the fact that the percentage of deductions is higher, I don’t know about that. I basically know the parish life only of the Pskov diocese, which I myself described in the book “Unholy Saints.” My friends are very poor priests who also helped their grandmothers from their salaries. The late Father Nikita and Father Victor did not pay anything to the Pskov diocese at all, because they had nothing - their parishes were completely poor. But this is my knowledge of the diocese about ten years ago. Of course, I hear and know that there are also abuses by church authorities in some dioceses. Well, if so, then this is a disaster.
“I’m not the first to tell you about such problems.”
- No no.
“Nevertheless, there was no talk about this at the last Council of Bishops.
— Financial topics were not the subject of discussion at the Council of Bishops.
Book "Unholy Saints"
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) dedicated “Unholy Saints” to the great ascetics with whom he had to live and communicate in monasteries. With what love and care he writes about everyone, openly, without lies and without embellishment, with humor and kindness... Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) describes his mentor Jonah especially touchingly. “Unholy Saints” contains a story about how a huge number of parishioners turned to their confessor for healing of soul and body, and he always found words of reassurance for everyone, instilled hope in everyone, begged many to take care, and warned some of the dangers. During the Soviet years, he spent many years in prison and exile, but nothing could break his faith in God and the joy of life on Earth.
Preface
DEAR READER!
Before your eyes lies a book that is very small in volume and remarkable in content. At one time, she supported many people and helped them find the meaning of life and lost faith.
The book was written at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. To the reader’s surprise, almost nothing has changed spiritually and morally in today’s Russia. The same eternal longing for happiness, widespread drunkenness and general paralyzed will are long-familiar pictures of Russian reality.
Despite the similarity of spiritual and moral problems of both eras, the reader discovers for himself, together with the heroes of the book, a long-forgotten path.
Many who read this work often try to find the historical prototype of the main character of the book - an Orthodox bishop, but this image remains a mysterious mystery.
Extraordinary solutions, the hidden life of the characters, talentedly depicted by the author of the book, solve the complex problem of overcoming social evil, thereby encouraging the reader to think about the modern situation of Orthodoxy in Russia.
The rector of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Hermitage is Hegumen Nikolai (Paramonov).
Film “The Death of an Empire. Byzantine lesson"
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) dedicated the documentary film “The Death of the Empire” to the 555th anniversary of the fall of Byzantium and Constantinople.
This is not just the history of the medieval Byzantine Empire, there is an absolutely clear parallel between the problems of Byzantium and modern Russia. Empires may be different, but the problems are often the same. What could have destroyed such a powerful and culturally developed Byzantium? As it turned out, the main global problem was the frequent change of political directions and the lack of continuity and stability of state power. Frequently changing emperors began to pursue their new policies, which often exhausted the people and weakened the country's economy. In the film, the author describes this simply brilliantly, and we must give him credit for such talent. On this occasion, there are also quite interesting sermons by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), which he reads to young seminarians and parishioners.
About Putin
Be that as it may, today, according to Archimandrite Tikhon, Russia is experiencing its new rebirth, it may even perish, it is quite possible to create a powerful, prosperous empire, first of all, an empire of spirit and patriotism.
On the one hand, it is constantly threatened by Islamic terrorism, on the other hand, someone is trying with all their might to impose total American hegemony with their own laws on it and the whole world.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) says this about Putin: “Those who truly love Russia can only pray for Vladimir Vladimirovich, who by God’s providence has been placed at the head of Russia...”
