Christians can listen to the sermons of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev in person, on TV, and online, often garnering a million views or more. He is an innovator, sincerely wanting to help those in need of spiritual food, not afraid to deeply explore Scripture, the teachings of God, and to express his own opinions regarding controversial issues.

Fr. Andrey Tkachev is not just a clergyman. He is also a writer, journalist, TV presenter, and missionary. He opens up more and more facets of Scripture, helping Christians to better understand its essence, explaining the teachings of God in simple language. Who is he and where is he from? How long was his path to Orthodox Christianity?

Biography of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev

Andrei Yurievich is as open as possible for both his admirers and his enemies. There is free access to information about who he is and where from, about his path in Orthodoxy, and his reasons for moving from Ukraine to Russia.

Tkachev was born on the penultimate day of December 1969, in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The boy’s parents were Orthodox Christians; they baptized Andrei in early childhood, but the family did not pray daily. Andrei Yurievich himself was imbued with faith in his teens, when the world seemed to him meaningless and empty.

His parents predicted a military future for their son and sent him to one of the Suvorov schools in Moscow after he graduated from secondary school. Then he served in the ranks of the SA, the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, the faculty of special propaganda, with focus on the Persian language.

All this time Andrei carried with him a love of Christianity, a deep faith, and an interest in writing. He tried then and is trying now to understand the meaning of God's teachings in depth. All his sermons and conversations with parishioners are directed at this.

Andrei Tkachev's Path to Orthodoxy

Symptoms of transitional age are unique to the individual. Andrei Yuryevich in this period of his life did not feel cravings for everything forbidden, but rather had a sense of longing and hopelessness. Orthodoxy — faith in the Lord — helped him fill these voids.

Later, during his military service in the ranks of the Soviet Army, he became acquainted with a unique book — "A Poem about God" in Sanskrit. While reading it, he sensed a confirmation that he would dedicate his life to Christianity, but not according to the usual understanding, in order to help others understand the essence of the Holy Scriptures.

Before becoming a clergyman, Andrey Tkachev managed to work as a loader, and as a watchman, and he graduated from the Kiev Theological Seminary as an external student. Andrei Yuryevich’s path to Orthodoxy was somewhat extraordinary — he comprehended the essence of the Church's teachings through a Sanskrit book, his friend instilled in him a love of church music and chants, he was expelled from the seminary more than once, and therefore he had to finish his studies externally.

He had to leave Ukraine in 2014. The reason had to do with the political events and disagreements among the Orthodox members of the country. Andrei Tkachev has always been uncompromising and impatient with falsehood and sinfulness. These character traits made him objectionable to the ruling ranks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Sermons of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev

Andrei Yurievich is one of the few clergy who seek to convey God's teachings to listeners in simple and understandable language. He recognizes that Scripture can sometimes be difficult to understand.

Andrei Tkachev’s conversations are held in accordance with certain rules he developed in order to speak clearly, and to be able to hold the audience's interest. He developed these rules on the basis of his studies in oratory and homiletics.

Learning God's teachings from Scripture, from the lips of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, sometimes can seem unusual and even somewhat wild, but if you listen carefully, you can understand that they have a very specific meaning. A striking example is, "it is difficult for a beautiful woman to stay good when there are so many temptations around her." But this statement of his does not mean that he protects or justifies sin. To understand the essence of Tkachev’s sermons and conversations, it is necessary to listen to them from beginning to end, delving into them and not missing a word.

To experience his remarkable preaching for yourself, take a look at this selection of Fr. Andrei Tkachev's homilies translated into English.

Source: Culturell