After concelebrating the Divine Liturgy with His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill, in the Dormition Patriarchal Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, His Grace, Bishop Alexander and members of the OCA delegation visited the city’s Donskoy Monastery. In the monastery’s “New” Cathedral of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the celebration of a Service of Thanksgiving in honor of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, whose relics are enshrined therein. After venerating Saint Tikhon’s relics, Metropolitan Tikhon presented the monastic brotherhood with relics of Saint Herman of Alaska and an icon of Saint Juvenaly the Martyr.
By way of background, the Donskoy Monastery was established in 1591 AD. Its “Old” Cathedral was constructed shortly thereafter, while construction on its larger “New” Cathedral began in 1684. Saint Tikhon fell asleep in the Lord at the monastery on the Great Feast of the Annunciation in 1925 and laid to rest in the “Old” Cathedral. Two years later, the monastery was closed by the communist regime. Earlier, the relics of Saint Tikhon had been hidden.
After the monastery was reopened in May 1991, the search for Saint Tikhon’s relics began in earnest, with the blessing of His Holiness, Patriarch Aleksy II. Shortly after the monastery was opened, the “Old” Cathedral was the target of an arsonist fire, resulting in significant damage to all but the church’s altar. Excavations in early 1992 yielded the discovery of a burial vault beneath the cathedral which, while including a slab bearing Patriarch Tikhon’s name, was found to be empty. Further excavations yielded the discovery of the Saint’s relics, which had been hidden carefully within the cathedral’s heating ducts. His oak coffin was found with a marble slab that read, “Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Tikhon,” and included the dates of his enthronement and repose. In April 1992, the relics were enshrined in the “New” Cathedral, where they are venerated to this day.
Saint Tikhon holds special significance for Orthodox Christians in North America, as well as in Russia, inasmuch as he served as the Bishop, and later Archbishop, of North America from 1897 until 1907. In addition to his personal holiness and his example of Christ-like suffering and repose, he is well remembered for convening the First All-American Sobor held in Mayfield, PA in 1907, shortly before his departure from America. The theme of the Sobor—“How to Expand the Mission”—was selected by Saint Tikhon. It also is the theme of the 18th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, slated to convene in Atlanta, GA in July 2015.
