St. Tikhon Chapel

Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America, was born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin on January 19th, 1865 in Toropetz, Russia. He studied at the Theological Seminary in Pskov, and in 1891 took his monastic vows and was given the name Tikhon after St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. He was ordained a deacon the next day, and later that month, he was elevated to the priesthood and soon after transferred to Kohlm.

On October 19th, 1897, he was ordained Bishop of Lublin, and, within a year, on September 14th, 1898, the Russian Synod assigned him to the Diocese of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, the only Russian dioceses in North America at that time. He arrived in New York on November 30th, 1898 and spent time with the faithful across the country before arriving in San Francisco on December 23rd. He was immediately loved by all he encountered.

St. Tikhon criss-crossed America tending to his flock that consisted of Russians, Arabs, Slavs, Greeks, Serbians, and Native Americans. His vision for American Orthodoxy was one of unity. He reorganized and grew the Diocese in North America: established the first Orthodox monastery, the first Orthodox seminary, and ordained the first Bishop on American soil, St. Raphael of Brooklyn.

St. Tikhon served in America until 1907, when he was made Archbishop of Yaroslavl. During his last Divine Liturgy in America, on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, he said,

“It is not enough, brethren, to celebrate the ‘Triumph of Orthodoxy’. We have to concur in this triumph. And for this we have to guard sacredly the Orthodox Faith, to stand firm in it, disregarding the fact that we live in a non-Orthodox country, not giving heed to opinion one hears, such as: ‘This is not the Old Country, here. This is a free land. Therefore, supposedly, we may not have to observe everything that the Church requires’, as if the Word of God is suitable only for the Old Country and not for the whole world; as if the Church of Christ is not catholic! as if the Orthodox Faith is not the one that ‘sustains the universe!’

But guarding the Orthodox Faith sacredly and loving it is not enough, Christ the Savior said that lighting the candle, one does not put it ‘under a bushel, but on a candlestick,’ and the light of Orthodoxy is lighted not for a small circle of people. No, the Orthodox Church is catholic, she remembers the will of her Founder: ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, teach all the nations.’ We ought to share our spiritual wealth, truth, and light with others … Thus, each of us should consider this task of propagation the Faith as his own task, dear to his heart.”¹

In 1913, he was elected to be the Archbishop of Vilna, modern-day Vilnius, Lithuania. During WWI, St. Tikhon devoted his time and soul to help deal with the crisis. He cared for refugees, orphans, and anyone of any religion that was suffering. He would often visit the men in the trenches where he would offer his spiritual support and celebrate the divine services with them.

In 1917, shortly after the Russian Revolution, St. Tikhon was elected Archbishop of Moscow, and a council was convened to discuss ecclesiastical issues, recent political changes, and the reestablishment of the Patriarcate of Russia. At the council, St. Tikhon was elected the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

The Communists demanded that all valuables from the churches be turned over to the government, thousands of Christians were imprisoned and killed. St. Tikhon led his flock and urged them to devote their time to preaching the Word of God and the Truth of Christ. He was imprisoned and interrogated, but was a living embodiment of Orthodoxy, never giving up the true faith.

He did so much for the Church and for the strengthening of the Faith itself during those difficult years of trial. Perhaps his own words best sum up his life: “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake.”²

St. Tikhon reposed in the Lord, on April 7, 1925. On February 19, 1992, the translation of his relics took place, and they were found to be incorrupt.

Saint Tikhon, Enlightener and Confessor, pray to God for us!