On April 11, 2024, in the Patriarchal Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia chaired a meeting of the Organizing Committee for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the death of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
The presidium also included Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation D.N. Chernyshenko and Metropolitan Pavel Krutitsky and Kolomna, Patriarchal Vicar of the Moscow Metropolis, Chairman of the Church and Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for perpetuating the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed the participants of the meeting with an introductory speech:
"If we talk about Patriarch Tikhon, it is clear to everyone that this is a person of historical significance, this is a case when the management of the Church was associated with confession and, most likely, with martyrdom. Therefore, everything that His Holiness did in those difficult years, the way he conducted a dialogue with government officials who set themselves the task of eliminating the Russian Church — all this, of course, deserves deep study.
The saint endured tremendous psychological pressure, restriction of freedom, and perhaps even forced retirement from life — but, in spite of everything, he retained his love for the Church, for the Fatherland and ardently advocated the unity of the country and the people. In March 1918, his words about the betrayal associated with the conclusion of the Brest Peace sounded like a terrible prophecy. When my generation was in schools, the Brest peace was presented in history books as a wise, pragmatic act of the Soviet government, but after all, none of the citizens of Russia who love their Fatherland perceived this step in such a way. And how did His Holiness Tikhon perceive it? I quote: "The concluded peace, according to which entire regions inhabited by the Orthodox people are torn away from us and given over to the will of an enemy alien to faith, will not give the people the desired rest and tranquility, but will bring great damage and grief to the Orthodox Church, and incalculable losses to the Fatherland. The seeds of malice and misanthropy are sown in this world, the germs of new wars and evils for all mankind are in it..." Everything happened like that: this Brest peace did not solve anything, and compromises did not lead to the stability of the Soviet state. And today, decades later, we can quite clearly see how right Patriarch Tikhon was and what tragic consequences the conclusion of the Brest Peace led to for the Church and the Russian people.
For his courage, for his willingness to tell the truth, to defend the Church and the flock, the saint suffered severe persecution, harassment and vilification. But he endured all the suffering with amazing gentleness. He did not make loud statements, he did not call for the organization of protests in his support — he called on the people to keep the Orthodox faith and live according to the Gospel. And Patriarch Tikhon's spiritual authority was enormous, and even the enemies of Orthodoxy, those who imprisoned His Holiness, had to reckon with this.
The example of St. Tikhon's feat is relevant in our difficult times, when we have to fight for the unity of our Church, for the unity of our Fatherland and our people, to defend the spiritual and cultural identity of Russia, to resist the attempts of unfriendly countries to impose alien ideals and values on us. I am convinced that holding commemorative events in honor of the saint will allow our compatriots to get to know his life more closely and through this acquaintance be inspired by his courage and firmness of faith. Through the prayers of the Holy Hierarch of the Russian land Tikhon, may the Lord strengthen us all in this good deed."
The audience was greeted by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D.N. Chernyshenko.
In his report, Metropolitan Pavel of Krutitsky and Kolomna reported on the results of the work of the Organizing Committee in 2022-2024.
Metropolitan Nikander of Naro-Fominsk, Chairman of the Financial and Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, spoke about the progress of work on the preservation and restoration of memorials and objects related to the life of St. Tikhon.
Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation A.V. Malyshev made a report on the holding of commemorative events in subordinate institutions of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
At the end, the meeting's resolutions were discussed, which were approved after a number of amendments were made.
In his closing remarks, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in particular, said: "I would like to cordially thank all the participants and note the importance of preparing for this historic event, which we discussed in detail today. God grant that such celebrations actualize in the minds of people the events of our history, including those related to St. Tikhon. And, most importantly, based on the experience of people like St. Tikhon, remembering their life path, their courage, their faith, we must try on the events from the life of His Holiness the Patriarch and ask ourselves: what would I do in his place? What would I do? How would I respond? All this is very important, because the Church on earth, the militant Church, is called to fight evil. And all our work is aimed at making our contemporaries, especially young people, aware of these glorious pages in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and, inspired by the exploits of St. Tikhon, strengthened in faith."
In the hall where the meeting took place, samples of memorial plaques for installation on temples associated with the memory of St. Tikhon, as well as samples of commemorative icons, which are supposed to be created for the anniversary date, were presented. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill familiarized himself with the samples and discussed the submitted projects with the Acting General Director of the Sofrino Art Production Enterprise, A.V. Potemkin, and a number of members of the Organizing Committee.
The Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia