Translation of
the relics of Hieromartyr Philip
the Metropolitan of Moscow
Troparion in Tone 8
O foremost pillar of Orthodoxy
And defender of the truth
The new confessor Philip laid down his life for his flock
Therefore having boldness before Christ our God
Pray for this city and people who honor your holy memory
The Transfer of the Relics of Saint Philip,
Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia: After the
martyric death of Saint Philip (January 9), his body was buried at the Otrocha monastery, in Tver. The monks of the Solovki monastery, where he
was formerly igumen, in 1591 requested permission for the transfer of
his relics to their monastery. The much-suffering and incorrupt body was
placed in a grave, prepared by Saint Philip for himself while still alive,
beneath the portico of a temple of Sts Zosima and Sabbatius of Solovki,
nearby the grave of the Elder Jonah (Shamin), his beloved guide in
monastic deeds.
On April 29, 1649 a grammota by Patriarch
Joseph was sent to Elias, the igumen of the Solovki monastery,
concerning the solemn uncovering of the relics of Saint Philip. On May 31
the relics were transferred into a new reliquary and placed in the
Transfiguration cathedral.
In 1652 Nikon, then Metropolitan of Novgorod,
proposed that the relics of the three martyred hierarchs: Metropolitan
Philip, and Patriarchs Job and Hermogenes be transferred to Moscow. With
the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, Metropolitan Nikon set off in 1652 to
Solovki for the relics of Saint Philip and solemnly conveyed them to
Moscow. Into the hand of the saint was put a document of repentance by
Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, in which he asked the forgiveness of sins of
his great-grandfather Ivan the Terrible, "transgressing" his own power
afront the power of the Church. On July 3 the holy relics were met in
Moscow: "a pastor, innocent and cast out, was returned to his own
throne." In the Dormition cathedral, "he stood in his own place for 10
days." All day, from morning until night, the bells rang as if it were
Pascha. Afterwards the holy relics were placed in the Dormition
Cathedral at the south door of the altar.
At the place where the relics of Saint Philip were
met in Moscow by clergy and people, a cross was set up, which gave its
name to the Cross Tollgate in Moscow (at the Rizhsk rail-station).
Saint Philip (born Theodore) was a descendant
of the noble Kolichev boyars. Theodore was the first-born son of the
boyar Stepan Ivanovitch and his God-fearing wife Barbara. His
hagiographer wrote that from an early age, Theodore with heartfelt love
was attached to divinely-inspired books. He was noted for being staid
and meek, and he avoided amusements. Because of his noble extraction,
Theodore was often in the royal palace. His meekness and piety left a
strong impression on the mind of Tsar Ivan, who was the same age as he.
Following his father’s example Theodore entered military service,
and would have enjoyed a bright future; however his heart was not
inclined toward the riches of the world. In contrast to the common
practice, he did not marry until the age of 30. While in church one
Sunday, he was greatly affected by following words of the Savior: “No
man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other” (Matthew
6: 24). Hearing in those words his monastic calling, he put on peasant
attire, secretly left Moscow, and went to the Solovetsky Monastery.
There, over the course of 9 years, he humbly lived the difficult life of
a novice, working as a simple peasant, at various times in the garden,
in the blacksmith’s shop, and in the bakery. Finally, by consensus of
the brethren, he was ordained a priest and appointed abbot.
In this rank, he zealously cared for the
monastery’s welfare in both the material, and (more importantly) the
moral sense. He had canals dug to connect the ponds, and drained the
swampy areas so that they might be planted with hay, put roads through
previously impassable places, began to raise cattle, renovated the
pickling plant, built two great cathedrals (the Dormition and the
Transfiguration Cathedrals), as well as other churches. He also built a
hospital, and founded scetes and hermitages for those wanting [to live
in] silence; at times he himself would escape to a deserted place known
in pre-revolutionary times as “Philip’s Hermitage.” For the
brotherhood, he composed a new ustav, which described a hard-working
life, forbidding idleness.
Abbot Philip was summoned for spiritual counsel
to Moscow, where during his first meeting with the Tsar, he learned that
he was appointed Metropolitan [of Moscow]. He tearfully begged Ivan:
“Do not separate me from my Hermitage; do not entrust to a little boat
the burdens of a large one.” Unmoved, Ivan instructed the bishops and
boyars to convince Philip to accept the rank of Metropolitan. Philip
agreed, but demanded the disbanding of the Oprichnina. The bishops and
boyars convinced Philip that, out of respect for the Tsar’s autocratic
authority, he should not urgently press that demand, but instead should
humbly accept the rank. Philip deferred to the will of the Tsar, seeing
in it God’s Will.
During the initial years of Philip’s
hierarchical service (1567-68) the terrors of the Oprichnina subsided,
but not for long. Soon, looting and murder of peaceful citizens
resumed. In several private conversations, Philip tried to enlighten
the Tsar, but seeing that his arguments were not helping, decided to
take action openly.
Before the beginning of the Liturgy for the
Sunday of the Cross, March 21st, 1568, the Metropolitan was standing on
the cathedra in the middle of the church. Suddenly Tsar Ivan,
accompanied by a group of oprichniki, entered the church. They all wore
tall black hats and black riassas, from within which shone knives and
daggers. Ivan approached the Metropolitan from the side and three times
bowed his head to receive his blessing. The Metropolitan stood still,
his gaze directed at the icon of the Savior... Finally the boyars said:
“Holy Master, the Tsar demands your blessing!” The Hierarch turned to
Ivan, as if not recognizing him, and said: “In this strange apparel I do
not recognize an Orthodox tsar; nor do I recognize him in matters of the
realm. O pious one! Whose example do you follow, to so deform your
magnificence in this way? At no time since the sun has shone upon the
earth has it been heard that pious Tsars should incite their own kingdom
to rebel… The Tartars and pagans have law and truth - but we have it
not! We, my lord, offer the bloodless sacrifice up to God, while beyond
the altar the innocent blood of Christians is being spilled. I do not
sorrow for those, who by the spilling of their innocent blood are made
worthy to join the Holy Martyrs; I grieve for your poor soul. Although
graced with the Image of God, you are nonetheless an ordinary mortal,
and the Lord will exact all from your hands.”
Ivan was seething with rage. He whispered
threats, and banged his staff upon the stone of the cathedra. Finally
he exclaimed: “Philip! Do you dare to oppose our authority? We will see
if your strength be great!” “O Good Tsar,” the hierarch answered, “in
vain do you try to frighten me. I am but a stranger on this earth,
struggling for the truth, and no manner of suffering will silence me.”
Terribly irritated, Ivan left the church, but hid his anger only for a
time.
On July 28th, the Feastday of the Smolensk Icon
of the Mother of God, known as Odigitria [indicator of the path], St.
Philip was serving in the Novodevichy Convent, and conducting the
procession around the Convent. The Tsar, surrounded by oprichniki was
also present. During the reading of the Gospel, the hierarch noticed
that an oprichnik standing behind the Tsar was wearing a Tatar
headdress, and pointed him out to Ivan. But the oprichnik managed to
take off the hat and hide it. The oprichniki accused the Metropolitan
of lying in order to humiliate the Tsar before the people. Ivan then
ordered that Philip be judged. Several slanderers were found to make
false accusations against the Metropolitan. The Metropolitan was not
given the right to expose them as liars, and was condemned to lose his
cathedra.
On November 8, the Feast of the Archangel
Michael, the Holy Hierarch was serving for the last time in the
Cathedral of the Dormition. He was standing on the cathedra, just as he
had been when he denounced Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Suddenly the doors
of the church opened and the boyar Basmanov entered with a host of
oprichniki and ordered the reading of a document in which it was
announced to the surprised faithful that the Metropolitan was being
defrocked. The oprichniki immediately ripped the hierarch’s vestments
from him. Clothing him in a torn monastic riassa, they led him out of
the church. They sat him in a cart and, shouting expletives at him drove
him to one of the Moscow monasteries. It was rumored that the Tsar
wanted to burn the Confessor for Christ, and that only after
intercession by the clergy was Philip condemned to incarceration for
life. At the same time, the tsar executed many of Philip’s relatives.
The Terrible one sent the Holy Hierarch the head of Ivan Borisovitch
Kolichev, Philip’s most beloved nephew. Holy hierarch Philip received
it reverently; after making a prostration before it, he kissed it and
said: “Blessed is he whom Thou hast chosen and accepted, O Lord,” and
returned it to the sender. From morning to night the faithful gathered
around the monastery, wanting to at least catch a glimpse of the
glorious hierarch’s shadow, and told many stories of his miracles. Then
Ivan ordered that he be transferred to the Monastery of the Child in
Tver.
A year later, the Tsar and his warriors went
into battle against Novgorod and Pskov. The Tsar sent the oprichnik
Maliuta Skuratov ahead of him to the Monastery of the Child. Three days
earlier, Saint Philip had prophesied his own coming repose and had
prepared for it by Communing of the Holy Gifts. With a false air of
humility, Maliuta approached the Hierarch and asked a blessing for the
Tsar. Saint Philip said: “Do not blaspheme, and do the deed for which
you came.” Maliuta threw himself at the hierarch and strangled him to
death. A grave was immediately dug and Maliuta witnessed the
Hieromartyr being lowered into it on December 23, 1569. The relics of
Saint Philip lay in the Moscow Cathedral of the Dormition, which had
witnessed his enormous spiritual struggle.
