Dimitry Smirnov: “Let no one hope that he will disappear after death”

Dimitry Nikolaevich Smirnov
(1951 - 2020), mitred archpriest, rector of the churches of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh on Khutorskaya, St. Nicholas of Mirlikiy in Zayaitsky, Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park Born on March 7, 1951 in Moscow. Great-grandson of Hieromartyr Vasily Smirnov.

In 1968 he graduated from physics and mathematics school No. 42. Graduated from the art and graphic department of the pedagogical institute. He defended his diploma in sculpture.

In August 1978, he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary, which he graduated as an external student in two years, and a year later he entered the academy, which he also graduated as an external student in a year and a half.

On August 2, 1979, he was ordained a priest [1].

In 1980, he was appointed a priest to the staff of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the village of Altufiev, Moscow.

On January 1, 1991, he was appointed rector of the Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh on Khutorskaya.
At the same time, as the number of new parishioners grew, he became the rector of eight churches, two of which were in the Moscow region. He served as rector of the Church of St. Elijah of Murom in Vlasikha; on April 8, 2004, he was relieved of his duties as rector of the temple with an announcement of gratitude for his labors.

On July 17, 2001, he was appointed acting chairman of the Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, and on May 7, 2003, he was approved as chairman.

Since July 27, 2009 - member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
By the beginning of the 2010s, he was also the vice-rector of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University, the dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Culture of the Academy of Strategic Missile Forces named after Peter the Great, and co-chairman of the Church-Public Council on Biomedical Ethics of the Moscow Patriarchate.

On March 22, 2011, he became a member of the newly formed Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church [2] ex officio.

On March 12, 2013, he was relieved of his post as Chairman of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Institutions, and appointed First Deputy Chairman and Chief of Staff of the Patriarchal Commission for Family Issues and Motherhood Protection [3]. On May 29, 2013, he was blessed to continue working as part of Supreme Church Council [4].

On October 2, 2013, by decision of the Synod, he headed the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood [5]. On August 25, 2022, in response to a report about the difficulty for him to continue to hold this position due to health reasons, he was appointed its honorary chairman [6].

He died on October 21, 2022, at the age of 70.

Prot. Dimitry maintained his own multimedia blog:

He was married and had a daughter.

Childhood and youth

The biography of Dimitry Nikolaevich Smirnov began in Moscow. The future ascetic of Christianity was born on March 7, 1951. The priest’s great-grandfather also devoted his life to the church, and his grandfather in his youth was an officer of the White Guard, which was famous for its strong faith in God.

Smirnov graduated from school with in-depth study of mathematics and physics, then entered the correspondence department of the Moscow Pedagogical Institute, the art and graphic department. However, soon the young man decided to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather and went to study at the theological seminary in Sergiev Posad.

The interest in gaining knowledge about religion was such that Dimitry Smirnov completed the seminar course as an external student, spending 2 years on it. Without doubting the correctness of his chosen lifestyle, Smirnov graduated from the theological academy, after which he received the rank of priest in one of the capital’s churches.

Biography of clergyman Dimitry Smirnov

TASS DOSSIER. On October 21, 2022, it became known that Dimitry Smirnov, archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), former chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family, Childhood and Motherhood, died at the age of 70.

Dimitry Nikolaevich Smirnov was born on March 7, 1951 in Moscow into the family of a priest. His father, Archpriest Nikolai Nikolaevich Smirnov (1928-2015) has been rector of the Church of the Martyr John the Warrior on Bolshaya Yakimanka since 1982. Great-grandfather - Archpriest Vasily Smirnov (1870-1938), was shot at the Butovo training ground, and in 2000 he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a martyr.

As a child, Dimitry Smirnov was fond of painting. In 1968 he graduated from physics and mathematics school No. 42 and in 1977 from the art and graphic department of the Moscow State Correspondence Pedagogical Institute (now the Moscow State Humanitarian University named after M. A. Sholokhov).

From the age of 19 he worked as an artist and cinematographer, making educational films. He worked part-time as a graphic designer and as a watchman in a kindergarten. Subsequently, he began to serve as a reader in one of the Moscow churches.

From his youth, he communicated with many prominent figures of the Orthodox Church, and was blessed to the priesthood by the confessor of the Transfiguration Hermitage of the Holy Trinity Convent (Valgunde, Latvia), Archimandrite Tavrion (Batozsky).

In 1978 he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary in Zagorsk near Moscow (now Sergiev Posad), and graduated as an external student in 1980. In 1983, he also graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy as an external student.

Dimitry Smirnov was ordained to the priesthood on August 2, 1979.

In 1980-1991 he served in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufyevo (Moscow).

In 1991, he was appointed rector of the Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh (Savelovsky district of Moscow), which was returned to believers shortly before. He served there until his death. Subsequently, he also became rector of a number of other churches in Moscow and the Moscow region: the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park, Martyr Boniface, the baptismal church of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth, Hieromartyr Vladimir Ambartsumov in the Conception Monastery, the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Myshkino, the Life-Giving Trinity in Goretovo. Also in 2000-2010 he was rector of the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra in Zayaitsky (Moscow), and in 2001-2004 - of the Church of the Great Martyr Varvara and St. Elijah of Muromets in the village of Vlasikha (Moscow region).

Since the 1990s, he has been actively involved in social activities, in 1991 he created the Orthodox gymnasium “Svet”, in 1993 - an Orthodox medical and educational school to combat abortion. He was the initiator of the creation and then the dean of the Orthodox faculty of the Academy of Strategic Missile Forces (now located in Balashikha, near Moscow).

He created Orthodox orphanages in Moscow and Myshkino near Moscow. In 2010, he became an Orthodox counselor.

He was the presenter of programs on the Radonezh radio station and the Spas TV channel.

On July 17, 2001, Dimitry Smirnov was appointed acting. O. Chairman, and on May 7, 2003 - Chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies. He held office until March 12, 2013.

Since July 27, 2009, he has been a member of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church (preparing materials for consideration at Local Councils). In 2011-2020, he was a member of the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (it includes the heads of synodal institutions).

From March to October 2013, he was the first deputy chairman, and from October 2, 2013 to August 25, 2022, he was the chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood. Since August 2022, he has remained the honorary chairman of the commission.

He repeatedly made statements to the media about the need to combat abortion, was an opponent of juvenile justice, surrogacy, non-traditional sexual relationships, criticized government policy in the field of family and childhood support as insufficient, in 2022 he criticized raising the retirement age, in 2019-2020 - Law “On the Prevention of Domestic Violence”. He was also known for a number of other loud statements, in particular that Islam, due to the larger number of young adherents, has a better future than Christianity, and that women do not have to get an education. In 2015, his statement “a consistent atheist should commit suicide” received great resonance, because “there is no point in “living, learning and fighting” if after death only a mug will grow.”

Author of the books “Pharisee Hypocrisy” (1997) and “On Pharisaism” (2009).

He was awarded the church orders: Holy Prince Dmitry Donskoy, II degree (2011) and St. Sergius of Radonezh, III degree (2019).

Was married. Daughter Maria is a candidate of philological sciences, a teacher at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Younger brothers: Nikolai (born 1954) - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Gas and Wave Dynamics of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, Ivan (1955-2018) - composer, jazz musician.

Service

Since 1991, Dimitry Smirnov was transferred to the Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh. There the priest was appointed father superior. The parishioners immediately liked the new priest, sincere and with a soul. Soon, Father Dimitri was appointed rector of six more capital churches. However, the priest’s interests were not limited to the church: he began to combine services and work in the Synodal Department, becoming responsible for the interaction of the church with the armed forces and law enforcement.

The year 2009 was marked for Dimitry Smirnov by receiving the honorary right to wear a miter. A few years later, in 2013, Smirnov left his job at the Synodal Department and was appointed to a new position. He became the first deputy head of the patriarchal commission, replacing Patriarch Kirill in this post. The work of the unit was aimed at helping in the field of maternity and family.

Family and social service

Despite the fact that Father Dmitry Smirnov is a very famous and even media person (because he regularly appears on Orthodox television and radio programs and is published by Orthodox media), very little is known about his family.

The future shepherd married at the age of 28, and his daughter Maria was born in the marriage. Almost nothing is known about my mother’s personality; she is not a public person at all. The adult daughter Maria received a philological education and teaches at several universities. Following in the footsteps of her father, Maria takes an active life and social position, takes part in many Orthodox events, forums, and gives lectures.

Also not advertised is the fact that Father Dmitry Smirnov is the trustee of three small orphanages at once. About fifty children, both spiritually and physically, are cared for by the priest, and find from him the help and support that is so necessary for orphans.

Father Dmitry’s ministry in the Orthodox Church is also very diverse and extensive. In addition to serving in churches and in its parishes, the Church also has a large number of social and intra-church connections. The Church is not some kind of closed organism whose task is limited to holding Liturgies, baptisms and funeral services.

Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov constantly participates in radio conversations

The church is also a huge social institution that requires multifaceted work. And Father Dimitri works a lot for the good of his native Church. So, in 2001, he became the head of the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for interaction with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies.

The famous priest was not spared the awards either. Thus, he was awarded:

• since 2009, wearing a miter;
• in 2011, the Order of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy, II class;
• in 2012, the President of the Russian Federation personally appointed him to the Council for Cossack Affairs.

In 2013, the most important part of Father Dmitry’s social work began, which he continues to this day. He is appointed to the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues and Protection of Motherhood. At the same time, he finishes his work in the “military” department, which he had repeatedly asked the patriarch to do.

The topic of family and children has always been very close to Father Dmitry, since he himself grew up in a large family with cramped conditions. Father constantly proposes various measures to support large families, to improve their lifestyle, and to improve the social status of large families in society.

Such extensive activities for the benefit of the Church and society are not exhaustive. Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov has several other positions and is:

• Vice-Rector of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Institute;
• dean of the Orthodox Faculty at the Academy of Missile Forces;
• member of the Church Council on Biomedical Ethics;
• member of the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Blog

Despite the presence of awards and an impressive period of time dedicated to the church and faith, Dimitry Smirnov managed to become famous for scandalous statements and judgments. Many controversial quotes from the priest immediately became the subject of discussion on Twitter and other social networks, as well as on Smirnov’s blog. He also expressed his views in the program “Russian Hour”. Lectures, sermons and dialogues published on Dimitry Smirnov’s microblog concerned mainly attitudes towards the institution of family, relationships, and raising children.

The media nicknamed him “the main Orthodox troll”: in the media space he took the place of the deceased Vsevolod Chaplin, who also liked to shock the public with accusatory speeches. He did not avoid comparisons with the “non-traditional theologian” Vladimir Golovin.

Thus, Smirnov advocated the inviolability of the family hearth and zealously insisted on the prohibition of abortion. Also, Father Dimitri has repeatedly spoken out in favor of prohibiting homosexual relations. Dimitry Nikolaevich’s statement about non-believers left no one indifferent either. According to the archpriest, the life of those who do not adhere to the Orthodox faith is meaningless, so they should commit suicide. An excerpt from the priest’s sermon “You’re already in hell, son!” was popular on video hosting sites, in which he reproached modern youth for unbelief and argued that they were deeply unhappy precisely for this reason.

Watch the special episode of the “Direct Line” program right now.
The Priest's Answer." For 2 hours live... Published by SPAS TV Channel Wednesday, May 9, 2022

Dimitry Smirnov and Andrei Tkachev
In general, the priest repeatedly allowed himself to make harsher and more emotional statements. Just look at the “feeling of deep satisfaction” expressed by Smirnov in response to the news of the death of the scientist, sociologist and psychologist Igor Semenovich Kon. The statement calling on believers to smash store windows with sex paraphernalia also turned out to be ambiguous.

Smirnov’s opinion on juvenile justice generated a lot of comments. The priest believed that representatives of juvenile services should be confronted with weapons in their hands. Dimitry Nikolaevich admitted that this was illegal, but believed that such an action was justified to protect his own family.

Another statement discussed on the blog and on other platforms was Dimitry Smirnov’s statement that it is necessary to deny access to network resources to all people under 21 years of age. This is justified by the fact that the Internet, as the priest believed, is capable of corrupting the fragile minds of boys and girls and pushing young people to unrighteous acts.

In 2015, Dimitry Smirnov voiced his opinion on Soviet power. According to the priest, “Hitler is resting” compared to the crimes the communists committed against the inhabitants of the country. While visiting Vladimir Pozner, he also criticized the modern political system, calling the elections “pure fraud.” Smirnov also said that Russia should be officially called the Russian state, and Vladimir Putin should initiate a corresponding amendment to the constitution.

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Dimitry Smirnov and Tatyana Nikonova
Five years earlier, in 2010, Smirnov expressed support for unknown criminals who tried to blow up the monument to Vladimir Lenin in the city of Pushkin. Such an act by the priest even became a reason for contacting the prosecutor’s office, but there was no reaction from the official authorities.

In the same 2015, Smirnov proved that he can not only reason and condemn, but also defend the interests of the church by force. On July 4, the priest gathered a group of believers who literally burst into a concert on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Radio Silver Rain and turned off the equipment, thereby disrupting the solemn event. Such decisive actions by Christians, as it turned out later, were a response to music that allegedly interfered with prayers.

Such an action caused a flurry of condemnation both from church representatives and from secular journalists. In particular, this hooligan action was compared with the actions of the scandalous group Pussy Riot. In addition, the management of the radio station expressed doubts that music from a closed room could be heard in a temple located a kilometer away, and even through a forest.

Smirnov is known for his discussions about Muslims. In his opinion, it is they who will receive power in the future, because they are firm in the faith and are ready to die for it, and modern Christians are weak and helpless. Father Dimitri called the terrorists desperate people who do not want to shake their foundations, are not ready to “let in the obscene stage,” weak power, tolerance and other attributes of European society. Such words gave rise to accusing the priest of justifying radicalism.

In addition to working on television and writing a blog, Dimitry Smirnov published books. The priest's name and photo adorn several printed publications containing selected sermons and talks.

He expressed his views in programs on the Spas channel and on the Radonezh radio. Dimitry Smirnov was a regular guest of the programs “Dialogue under the clock” and “Conversations with the priest” on the Soyuz TV channel. The clergyman also ran his own website, dimitrysmirnov.ru, on which he posted his articles about Orthodoxy and answered questions from users about life and death, Christian values, the rules of fasting and other troubling issues.

Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov answers questions from journalist Vladimir Pozner Vladimir Pozner: Hello, we have...
Published by Ksenia Radost Wednesday, August 30, 2022

Dimitry Smirnov and Vladimir Pozner
In 2019, Smirnov became a speaker at the Hippocratic Medical Forum, where he spoke about issues of reproductive ethics. He believed that abortion was comparable to fascism, and that Vladimir Lenin, who at one time promoted abortion not only as an acceptable, but also a desirable phenomenon, was to blame for the current attitude towards this medical procedure.

At the beginning of 2020, another statement by Smirnov about common-law wives caused a stir in the press. In his opinion, women who agree to unregistered relationships can be equated to “free prostitutes”; men do not take civil marriages seriously, considering them “temporary pleasure.” A recording of a scandalous conversation with a priest appeared on the Rossiya 24 YouTube channel.

The quote from the interview deeply outraged the public, especially the female part. The leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church responded to this that one should not take what Smirnov said literally, because the thought was formulated in “his characteristic figurative manner.” Archpriest Andrei Tkachev and actor Ivan Okhlobystin said they agreed with Smirnov. Vladimir Solovyov also stood up for Dimitry Nikolaevich, noting that he does not share the priest’s position, but believes that he has the right to express his opinion within the framework of the existing freedom of speech.

Most famous people, however, took Smirnov’s words with hostility. Oksana Pushkina called the statement a provocation and “throwing incense at the fan,” and Sergei Shnurov dedicated a poem full of obscene words to the topic.

Smirnov himself later stated through Komsomolskaya Pravda that journalists distorted his words, and criticism was directed primarily against men, their “shameless” attitude towards the opposite sex and reluctance to marry. Trying to rectify the situation, Smirnov said even more harsh things, saying that modern men are “mama’s boys”, unable to become the head of the family and a support for a woman, and their immaturity has already resulted in a national catastrophe.

Sermons and community activities

Extensive pastoral experience allows Father Dimitri to conduct intense social activities. Thus, in many of the priest’s parishes, Sunday schools for children were opened and are successfully operating, where they not only teach the Law of God, but also engage in creativity, handicrafts, and the all-round development of children.

Dmitry Smirnov gives lectures on various spiritual topics

Having his first pedagogical education and caring for his children in every possible way, Father Dmitry Smirnov founded the Orthodox gymnasium “Svet” in 1991, and a little later the Orthodox children’s camp “Bogoslovo”. He does not ignore hospitals either - he personally takes charge of one of the departments in the city hospital, and later creates an entire sisterhood in honor of St. Elizabeth.

Being a staunch opponent of abortion, the priest creates a whole complex at the temple called “Life”, whose activities are aimed at preventing abortions and giving conceived babies the right to birth.

Interesting! Father Dmitry's sermons can be heard not only at his services. Father maintains his own multimedia blog, where you can listen to his recorded sermons and reflections on a variety of topics.

Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov is also a frequent guest on various Orthodox television and radio channels. Thus, radio “Radonezh” broadcasts programs with his participation, where many topical topics of modern life are discussed from the point of view of Orthodoxy.

On the Soyuz TV channel, Father Dmitry Smirnov constantly participates in the “Conversations with Father” program. The format of the program mainly involves the priest answering questions from viewers. Also, a program with a priest called “Dialogue under the Clock” is aired on another well-known Orthodox TV channel, “Spas.”

You can do this in advance by writing on the channel’s website or on the official page on social networks, or by calling live on the phone.

Death

In the summer of 2022, it became known that Dimitry Smirnov had heart problems: the middle-aged clergyman was hospitalized in the cardiac intensive care unit. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church hastened to reassure admirers, assuring them that there was no longer any danger and the priest’s current state of health was assessed as satisfactory.

In May 2020, Smirnov fell ill with coronavirus, from which he could not recover for a long time. In August of the same year, Dmitry was relieved of his post due to deteriorating health. A month later, the clergyman was hospitalized.

On October 21, 2022, it became known that Dimitry Smirnov had died. He died at the age of 70. According to preliminary information, the cause of death was complications caused by a previous coronavirus infection.

What is Church minister Dimitry Smirnov famous for?

Mitred Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov is a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as a well-known public figure. The main place of his service is the temple in the Savelovsky district of Moscow, consecrated in honor of the wonderworker Mitrofan of Voronezh.

Father carries out educational work and carries the voluntary cross of a missionary. The basis of his interests is the protection of the family and its values ​​in the Orthodox sense, support of parents and children. This entails actively demonstrating a strong position on a number of issues:

• fight against abortion;
• countering the formation and spread of the juvenile justice system;
• rejection of liberal ideas.

Interview with Dmitry Smirnov about raising children in the spirit of Christianity:

Interesting Facts

• Like other famous clergy, Smirnov did not escape reproaches for his luxurious lifestyle. In response, Dimitry Nikolaevich states that accepting gifts made from the heart is not a sin. According to him, he has never bought a car in his life: his parishioners provide him with cars, and his expensive watch is a gift from the Swiss ambassador.
• In 2017, Smirnov criticized Russians for their excessive passion for football. The clergyman believes that such entertainment is equivalent to alcoholism and corrupts the spirit, distracting men from family and prayer.
• Dimitry Smirnov openly proclaims gender inequality, believing that women's intelligence is lower than men's and that representatives of the fair sex should not work. In his opinion, a woman has other tasks - to stay at home and raise children. At the same time, the priest himself admits that such a model is unrealistic in the modern world, since now men are too infantile to bear the burden of providing for the family.

“After this question from Father Dimitry Smirnov, I was stuck for a long time” - a story from the life of a priest

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes.

The more time passes since the death of Dimitri’s father, the more often I remember the conversation that took place about a year before. For the last six years, we have seen each other rarely, about once or twice a year, when I was able to come to a service in my native Annunciation Church. We communicated mainly by phone - we called each other periodically, discussed issues related to pastoral practice, he always advised something.

Priest Evgeny MURZIN

One day in the altar before the liturgy we had a conversation about what is called “for life.” And Father Dimitri suddenly said: “You know, all my life I believed that a person comes to earth to suffer. And only recently I realized that in fact he lives to become happy.” And then he asked: “Tell me, are you happy?” This question was so unexpected and global that I got stuck.

It was already time to start the service, someone distracted the priest, he went to the throne, and I continued to “hang”: how to understand whether I’m happy or not? If you didn’t answer “yes” right away, then you’re probably unhappy. But everything seems to be in order... What is happiness anyway? I should have asked Father Dimitri himself about this then, but for some reason I didn’t. He didn’t even ask if he himself was happy. Now you won’t even ask.

I think he spoke about happiness from personal experience. As long as I remember Father, he always radiated unshakable confidence and strength; he always fought against injustice, bureaucratic bureaucracy, human indifference, and on the gospel principles of love for God and his neighbors, he strove to transform the world around him. He always seemed to me like such a fabulous hero, for whom nothing is impossible. But in recent years, a certain quiet tranquility, calmness and acceptance have been added to this, which have introduced new features into this epic image - softness, touching, radiantness. It was as if he had learned some secret, looked at everything, including himself, from the outside, from a different perspective, observed and marveled at how wisely God acts in the world.

His health was deteriorating, this caused him bewilderment, but not grumbling. “Old age has crept up unnoticed, now we have to spend more and more time at doctors,” he said with annoyance that he had to spend time on his health, but without grief, on the phone literally a week before he fell ill with the coronavirus. Then, as the illness worsened, everyone who was near him could not help but notice that physical suffering had virtually no effect on the state of his spirit, which at some moments manifested itself even brighter and more directly.

In his old age, the priest acquired that childish sense of the world that the Savior spoke about, setting children as an example to the apostles. While retaining wisdom, firmness, determination, insight and other qualities that were previously characteristic of him. Perhaps this was the secret of his happiness - he learned to accept the world with joyful surprise and thank God for everything, even if something embarrassed him. Give thanks not under duress, not because it is necessary, but sincerely, freely, consciously. The Kingdom of Heaven was revealed in his soul, in the eternity of which, we believe, he now resides.

Biography

Dimitry Smirnov was born into the family of a clergyman on March 7, 1951. The young man received secular and spiritual education:

• studied at MGZPI (now MGGU named after M. A. Sholokhov);
• Graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary, and then from the Moscow Theological Academy in the form of an external internship.

Figure 1. Moscow Theological Academy

His ordination to the rank of clergy took place in 1979, and the next year Smirnov began serving in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the Altufyevo estate. He became rector of the Church of Mitrofan of Voronezh at the very beginning of 1991, and over time and as the number of parishioners increased, 6 more Orthodox churches came under his leadership.

On a note! The right to wear a miter was granted to Father Dimitri in the spring of 2009.