Chapter 14

The Life of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow

January 9.

SAINT PHILIP came from an ancient noble family known by the name of Kolitchev. His own name while in the world was Theodore. He was born in Moscow, in the year 1507, and, after receiving a good education, he was appointed to a position in the imperial service. High honors awaited the fortunately established young nobleman; moreover, he was a favorite with John, the Grand Duke, who was still in his minority. But Theodore was not taken by earthly grandeur; for early in life he aspired to live for God alone. Once, when attending the public worship of the Church, his whole being, we might say, was penetrated with the power of the Holy Ghost on hearing these words of the Holy Gospel: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other or else he will hold to one, and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).

He resolved that he would not serve the world and riches, but leave all and enter the Solovetsky monastery, on the islands of the White Sea, in the north of Russia, which especially attracted him by its distance and severity of rule.

Theodore was about thirty years of age when he carried out his intention. He went on his journey empty-handed. Because of insufficient means, and being wearisome of the road, he was compelled to stop on the way for a while, and hire himself out as a workman. Having earned some money, he continued his journey, and finally reached the Solovetsky convent.

The aged abbot, whose name was Alexis, received him kindly, and made him a beginner. Without complaining, Theodore eagerly did all that was required of him; he carried water, cut wood, worked in the kitchen, in the garden, and in the mill. He meekly served all; he sometimes suffered sharp words, and was even beaten; yet he bore all patiently. It might appear that such a life was a difficult one for the son of a rich nobleman who was brought up in all comfort; but the desire to please God by labor and obedience conquered all. Theodore did not lose courage in the tiresome undertaking. A year and a half thus had passed, when the superior tonsured him, giving the new monk the name of Philip.

After a few years it became evident that Philip was capable in all the branches of work in a large monastery, and he was esteemed as a worthy and pious monk. The abbot Alexis was old, and he desired to be retired in favor of St. Philip. But Philip would not hear of it. It was after the whole brotherhood unanimously elected and entreated him to become their superior, that Philip consented to be elevated to the abbotship; he would not still take into his hands alone the rule, while Father Alexis lived.

When Philip came to Novgorod to be ordained by the bishop of that city, some circumstances disclosed the fact that he belonged to the well-known family of Moscow.

As a superior, the abbot Philip ruled with a firm hand, yet with discretion and love. He enforced discipline, but he was the first to set the good example. The monastery was a poor one, while the brotherhood increased in numbers by new-comers, and it became difficult to maintain them, notwithstanding the few simple wants of the monks. By this time St. Philip came into possession of his ancestral inheritance. He spent it in renovating and enlarging the monastery; he built churches which were more secure and warmer for the brethren on those sea islands in the extreme north. Besides this, he exerted himself and obtained from the emperor himself grants of valuable land situated on the mainland. Now Philip invented and introduced new industries for the support of his monks, and likewise for the prosperity of the surrounding settlements with their inhabitants.

In the mean time John, the Grand Duke, had come to the throne. On two occasions, important in the history of both the Russian Church and Empire, the Emperor John sent for Philip to be present in Moscow, and lend his counsel. After each return, Philip brought good tidings from Moscow which were full of encouragement for the future of the state and John’s reign. However, the following course of events, brought about a fearful change. In the midst of his building schemes and quiet work among the praying brethren of the distant north, St. Philip received a sudden order from John the Terrible, as the king was by this time known, to come at once to Moscow and occupy the Archiepiscopal-Metropolitan chair. To leave the holy abode where he had lived for eighteen years was not an easy thing for Philip to do; moreover, he felt that he was going to a very thorny labor. Everything had changed since he was in the capital. The fact that the spiritual confessor of the Terrible John, a priest by the name of Sylvester, was banished and confined in this same Solovetsky monastery was itself a loud witness as to the nature of daily occurrences. It now seemed as though it was an impossibility to speak the truth in the face of the ruler. In order to explain his relations with Philip, we must briefly review the history of John. He was but three years old, when, after the death of his father, he came to the throne of Russia. It was not long either before John had lost his mother also. His relations, together with the foremost nobility, did not fulfill their duty toward the royal child i.e., they were careless, and did not educate him in the strict rules of virtue; but they indulged his whims, letting him have all, as his own inclination swayed to, thinking thereby to be favored by him when he would be the independent ruler. Having reached the seventeenth year of his age, John proclaimed himself of age, and the independent sovereign; he discharged his guardians, putting some of them to death, and abandoned himself to wild passions. This was a grievous time for Russia. It was a pastime for John to witness the most fearful sufferings; his own pleasure was the paramount consideration. The sufferings of the population were greatly added to by a fire which almost entirely destroyed Moscow. Many people were lost, and a larger number were bereft of all their belongings. John, in his anger, sought for the offenders, when suddenly a priest came before him, whose name was Sylvester. Pointing to the city enveloped in flames, he fearlessly announced that the emperor himself was the cause of all the misfortune; that God punished them with calamities, for the severe and unrighteous government. The words of truth, which reached John so seldom, made a strong impression upon him. He acknowledged his guilt, shed tears of repentance, prayed God for forgiveness and help, and firmly resolved to correct himself. After some days, having first received the Holy Communion, John called the people to assemble in the square. Bowing on all sides, he asked to be forgiven for the past, and promised that in the future he would care for the happiness of his subjects, and that he would govern them with love and justice. Thus for thirteen years the Russians enjoyed prosperity and John greatly widened the confines of his empire by successful conquests. But a change took place. John, tired of the good advice of Father Sylvester, and his counselor, by the name of Adashev. At this time the good empress died, the virtuous Anastasia, who strongly influenced John for good. The sovereign became dejected; again his evil mood led him to be wicked. He banished Sylvester and Adashev, declaring that they infringed upon his freedom. John soon found excuses for breaking the rules of morality. He surrounded himself by flatterers. Each day he became more ferocious; and he fully deserved the epithet of Terrible, as he is known in history. As John became more dark and suspicious, he continually accused his subjects of treason against him and so he formed a bodyguard, in whom he put all his confidence. These men, John called his Opritchina (select), while every other class of people not belonging to it, was termed the Zemshtchina (belonging to the land or country). The Opritchniki were at liberty to do as they pleased. The Zemshtchina were at the mercy of men who had no respect for the law, and no conception of morality. The Opritchniki murdered people without the fear of prosecution. This is the condition in which Russia was at the time that Philip, the abbot of the Solovetsky Monastery, was summoned by John to be appointed Metropolitan. The brothers of Solovetsky, with sorrow, bid farewell to St. Philip. On his way the citizens of Novgorod tendered him a reception and begged him to be their advocate with the emperor, whose vengeance they feared, as they had fallen under the ban of John the Terrible. In Moscow, all trembled before the Opritchina. Philip resolved to tell the sovereign the whole truth, though he would be obliged to sacrifice his life for it. Having arrived in Moscow, his first care was to obtain the co-operation of the bishops but even they feared the penalty for opposing the evil will of the sovereign. “Your silence allows the emperor to fall into sin,” said he to them; “and by not speaking, you lose your own soul, for you prefer the vanishing glory of the world and your safety, and not the fulfillment of your duties.” While persuading Philip to accept the archbishop’s chair in the imperial capital, John often quoted words of the Holy Scriptures, for he was one of those kind of men who think they can only by the use of words and outward signs of religion, even fastings and nightly prostrations, obtain the grace of God, which is a power communicated to the heart regenerated. But John did not repent sincerely he was not truly humble before God, and his prayer was unfruitful. St. Philip was horrified when he saw the sovereign, for he remembered him, a man beautiful to behold. Now, his face was marked with lines of dissipation; his hair turned gray before the time; cruelty and sin were expressed in his features; he was hideous. Philip began to persuade the ruler that he might disband the Opritchina; he explained to him all the evil which it brought upon Russia. He even refused to become Metropolitan, if John would not destroy the Opritchina. “O sire!” said he, in conclusion, “I once knew thee as a pious defender of the truth, and a successful ruler of your country. Believe me, even now, no one thinks aught against thee; put away the cause of offense, and hold to your former piety. The Lord himself had told us. If a kingdom be divided in itself, it will come to naught. Christ, our common Master, bids us love one another; the whole law is included in the love to God and our neighbor.” John listened with apparent attention to the words of Philip, but they had not the desired effect. He would not give up his Opritchina, and demanded that Philip without any conditions accept the office of Metropolitan.

Hope that he might be of use to his fatherland moved Philip to submit, and he was compelled to sign a promise that he would not meddle with the affairs of the court and the Opritchina. Accordingly, Philip was consecrated bishop, and installed Metropolitan of Moscow on the 25th of July, 1566.

Quiet reigned for a very short time. Naturally, the wicked Opritchniks feared Philip’s influence over the emperor and they endeavored by all means to injure him. John was not successful in his Livonian campaign, and he returned angry and downcast. One of Philip’s relations took part in a diplomatical consultation with the king of Poland, which failed; of course, this incident was treasured as evidence against the Metropolitan by his enemies. At the same time the Opritchniks accused many of the higher nobility, whose estates consequently were confiscated. Suspicion easily entered the dark soul of John; again persecution and torture hunted down many an innocent one; blood flowed in streams; the population was panic-stricken. Philip resolved to approach the sovereign with a bitter exhortation.

John became impatient. When he had seen that Philip was in earnest, and feared not his anger, John departed in a rage. The time was now gone when the words of truth could awaken repentance in the soul of John. He hardened his heart against all that was good, and truthful reprimands only aroused his anger. But St. Philip in fulfilling his holy duty, and in order to save John, was prepared to die for it, if needs be.

Once, on a Sunday, when St. Philip offered the liturgy in the cathedral of the Blessed Repose of Our Lady, John came into the temple with a crowd of Opritchniki at the end of the service. John had on a black habit, such as monks wear, while his drunken followers were dressed also in different unbecoming apparel. The emperor stood close to the Metropolitan and waited for his blessing but the archbishop kept his gaze upon a sacred picture, as though he did not see or recognize John. At this, one of John’s favorites said: “Holy father, the sovereign asks for your blessing.”

Philip then looked upon John, and said: “I do not recognize the Tsar in this strange dress, nor do I recognize him in the acts of government. Sire! We offer here the unbloodly sacrifice, but over against the altar flows the innocent blood of Christians. Even the heathen have laws, justice, and mercy, but there is none in Russia. The property and life of citizens have no protection; robbery and murder are committed in the name of the ruler. Thou art elevated upon a throne, but there is one who is the Most High, our common Judge! How wilt thou appear at the trial before Him, stained as thou art with the blood of thy subjects? Sire! As a pastor of souls, I say to thee, fear God!”

John became wild with anger; he heavily struck the floor with his staff and cried out: “Thou black-hood [i.e. monk], is it in our power that thou wouldst contradict? We shall see thy strength!”

Life with its circumstances went on from bad to worse. The country was filled with iniquity and fear. Now the Opritchnina were set on putting Philip out of their way. During a holy day, in the midst of the service, they made their way into the cathedral, and, dragging the old Metropolitan from the altar, they tore away from his shoulders the sacred vestments, and putting a ragged cassock upon him, they drove him out of the holy temple. The enemies of St. Philip, after much endeavoring, found a monk, a certain Paisius, who partly bought, and partly out of a sinful fear — agreed to be a witness against the archbishop. The Tsar called a council of bishops, and he himself sat in their midst, as the presiding judge of the pseudo-ecclesiastical court. The bishops feared to defend Philip. Only one, German, the Bishop of Kazan, raised his voice, declaring the innocence of Philip. Even John dared not to sentence Philip to death at once; but he gave orders that the Opritchniki take him to prison, knowing well that his evil companions would carry out his secret desire, and sooner or later murder Philip. And truly the tortures that they put him to are too numerous and horrible to be repeated. The saint, who had accustomed himself to a strict and severe life from his youth, with patience bore all suffering, and by God’s grace remained alive. After his imprisonment he was transferred from monastery to monastery, by order of John, who was afraid of the multitudes that gathered from all parts to receive the blessing of the aged bishop.

Philip continued to bear his unbearable life. John tortured and put to death his relations in the mean time. A year had thus gone by. Now Philip was kept under a rough guard in a monastery of Tver. At this time John the Terrible was passing by Tver on his way to Novgorod, in order to wreak his vengeance on a number of citizens there. He did not forget Philip. He sent one Maliuta Skooratov to the monastery in which the Metropolitan was confined. St. Philip had foreseen that his end was near, for in the morning of this same day he partook of the Holy Communion. He was praying when the bandit entered his cell. “Holy father, give the Tsar a blessing for his journey to Novgorod,” said the Opritchnik. “Only the good obtain blessings for good purposes,” answered Philip; “but go about your work, wherefor you have been sent; do not deceive me by asking for God’s gift.” Then Philip exclaimed: “Almighty Lord, receive my spirit!” Skooratov threw himself upon the prelate, and choked him. When he had committed the crime, he coolly walked out and informed the superior and monks that Philip had died from a stroke of paralysis, and that he should be buried at once. This happened on the 23d of December, 1570.

Twenty years after the death of St. Philip, during the reign of Theodore, the good son of John the Terrible, the brethren of the Solovetsky monastery petitioned the Tsar to be allowed to carry the body of their beloved abbot to their home in the far north. This was granted, and when they opened the grave in order to remove the remains, they found the whole body of St. Philip in a perfect state of preservation. It was a fete day in the Solovetsky monastery, when the holy relics arrived there. Many wonderful cures were effected at the casket of the prelate. In 1640, in the time of Alexis Michaelovich, Philip was proclaimed by the church as a saint of God, in whose memory a certain day was set aside in the calendar. In 1652 the relics of St. Philip were brought to Moscow. Nikon, the Metropolitan of Novgorod, himself sailed to the Solovetsky convent, and informed the superior with the brethren, that it was the will of the Tsar “to bring the relics of St. Philip to the imperial city, that he again may be installed in his diocese, and that by his coming he may absolve the sin of his ancestor, the Tsar John.” The transfer of the holy relics of the Metropolitan is commemorated on the 3d of July.

Up to this day there can be seen in the Moscow Cathedral of the Blessed Repose of Our Lady the remains of the holy martyr, who zealously fulfilled the different duties required of him; who set an example of obedience and humbleness by his monastic life; an example of untiring energy during his abbotship, undaunted courage in his relations with John, and a Christian patience in suffering.