St. Sophronius of Irkutsk

"THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE FOREVER"

THE LIFE OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
SOPHRONIUS OF IRKUTSK
who is commemorated on March 30 and June 30

Second Apostle and Wonderworker of Irkutsk, after St. Innocent, and thus also second Patron Saint of America, St. Sophronius was canonized at the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, after his relics had been burned, a bare three days before the martyrdom of Tsar Nicholas II in another part of Siberia, as the last in the great catologue of saints who were canonized directly or indirectly under the encouragement of that great Orthodox Tsar as a spiritual army of intercessors for the Christians of these last times.1 His Life is bere presented in English on the eve of the canonization in yet another time of troubles – of Father Herman, first Saint of the American land, the final destination of the Orthodox missionary impulse that came by way of Siberia.

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1. St. Theodosius of Chernigov, canonized in 1896; St. Isidor of Yuriev, 1897; St. Seraphim of Sarov, 1903; St. Anna of Kashin, 1909; St Evphrosinia of Polotsk, 1910: St. Ioasaph of Belgorod, 1911; St. Hermogen, Patriarch of Moscow, 1913; St. Pitirim of Tambov, 1914; St. John of Tobolsk, 1916 (sec The Orthodox Ward, vol 2, no. 5). The canonizations of Sts. Joseph of Astrakhan and Paul of Tobolsk were decreed at the All-Russian Council of 1917-18, but apparently were never carried out.



Rejoice, Sophronius, burning with the fire of unquenchable love for God. Akathist refrain.


ST. SOPHRONIUS, BISHOP OF IRKUTSK

TROPARION, TONE 4

FROM THY YOUTH THOU hast loved Christ, O blessed Sophronius,+ and didst govern well monastic establishments,+ and being honored with hierarchical rank,+ hast kept watch over the flock of Irkutsk.+ Thus hast thou received after thy repose the gift of miracles from God,+ and now pray to Christ God+ to deliver the suffering Russian land from the yoke of the godless power+ and us from misfortune,+ and to save our souls.


THE BLESSED Hierarch Sophronius was the third bishop of the city of Irkutsk and the first bishop of the city of Nerchinsk. The first bishop of Irkutsk, St. Innocent, became the Patron Saint of the whole of Siberia, the Far East, and America, whose shores the Orthodox mission reached not long after St. Sophronius' repose.

St. Sophronius, in the world Stephen Kristalevsky, named in honor of the First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen, was born on the day of Christ's Nativity, December 25, 1703, in Berezani of the Pereyaslavl district, province of Poltava. His father belonged to the clergy and both parents were pious, and they transmitted their piety to their son.


Blessed Archimandrite Sinesius Commemorated May 10


Upon completing the Percyaslavl Seminary, at the age of 24 Stephen entered the Monastery of the Protection, and on April 23, 1730, he was tonsured a monk and given the name Sophronius, in honor of St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Soon he was ordained Abbot of the monastery. Being a man both of contemplation and of active life, he applied all his efforts and strength to the internal and external organization and adornment of his monastery and to the spiritual establishment and guidance of its monks.

He remained there for 12 years. Then, when fame of his outstanding activity and ascetic life reached the Empress Elizabeth he was, according to her wishes, transferred to the office of Abbot of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the leading monastery of the capital. Five years later, in 1747, on the Sunday of St. Thomas, April 18, he was elevated by the Most Holy Synod to the rank of bishop.

From his earliest years in the Poltava region, the Saint had had an intimate friendship with the later Fr. Sinesius (Ivanov). Both young men led a strict ascetic life and confided in and inspired each other in the progress of the monastic unseen warfare. When St. Sophronius was appointed Abbot of St. Alexander's Lavra – a position then as important as that of a bishop – he summoned Hieromonk Sinesius and appointed him Abbot of the St. Sergius of Radonezh Hermitage, a dependency of the Lavra in St. Petersburg. This outstanding and holy abbot did much for the recently-opened monastery, which later was to receive the 16-year old Blessed Herman of Alaska, who laid there the beginning of his monasticism with much piety and zeal, and within its walls, when struck with illness, he was miraculously healed by the appearance of the Most Holy Mother of God Herself. When St. Sophronius later became Bishop of Irkutsk, he invited Fr. Sinesius to come with him, which the latter did.


The city of Irkutsk during the 19th century, looking much as it did in St. Sophronius' time, a century earlier


In the fifth week of the Great Lent in 1754, after a long and strenuous journey across Siberia, Bishop Sophronius arrived in the city of Irkutsk. Here the memory of St. Innocent1 was still fresh and was constantly renewed by the occurrence of miracles through his intercession. The holy Sophronius and his blessed friend Fr. Sinesius immediately visited the Ascension Monastery and there venerated the sacred sepulchre of the Saint. On the Feast of the Ascension, May 14, during the Divine Liturgy St. Sophronius raised the humble Fr. Sinesius to the rank of Archimandrite and appointed him Abbot of this monastery.

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1. See The Orthodox Word, 1965, no. 6.


It was under Archimandrite Sinesius' governance of the Monastery that, in 1764, the precious relics of St. Innocent were opened. The Saint's grave had been uncovered in the process of rebuilding the church of the Tikhvin Mother of God, under which the grave was located. The Saint's holy relics, after some 33 years of burial in a very damp place, were found to be entirely whole and incorrupt.

Two years later, after the celebration of the Monastery's feast day of the Ascension, a banquet was held, which was attended by St. Sophronius and the Governor of the Province, Frauendorff. The latter was curious to see St. Innocent's relics. As much as St. Sophronius attempted to dissuade him, he finally gave in to the Governor's desire. To their great surprise, however, they found the burial vault covered from top to bottom with thick, impenetrable snow, although it was the first of June and snow had never penetrated into the cave where the grave was during the winter. After the Governor's departure the snow was gone without trace. Thus was the Divine disfavor of the unbelieving Governor's curiosity revealed.

On April 17, 1767, the wish of St. Innocent to build a large cathedral in the Monastery was fulfilled, and it was consecrated by Saint Sophronius. Blessed Fr. Sinesius served St. Innocent's Monastery for 33 years until his death at the age of 89. His relics, buried next to the cathedral, remained incorrupt and were glorified by miracles, and he was venerated by the faithful as a local saint. In our day the God-hating Soviets blew up the monastery, and today not a trace of it remains.

WITH FATHERLY love yet with strictness St. Sophronius began to rule the flock entrusted to him. In his pastoral zeal he introduced strict rules for the clergy, and church discipline was reestablished. The priests were required to visit their flocks at home and instruct them. But at the same time the bishop looked after the material well-being of the clergy. With the organization of new parishes, he demanded that the clergy be materially provided for, and where he did not find this he did not give his blessing for the opening of a new parish, but ordered the priest of the nearest parish to serve its needs instead.

Notwithstanding the great difficulty involved in travelling in Siberia at that time, St. Sophronius made constant tours of his vast diocese. He took care that the Holy Gifts were worthily kept, that the sacred vessels were in the required condition. He showed great concern over education and transferred the school into the Bishop's residence, which he enlarged, and where he himself taught. There children of all classes of society studied free of charge.

St. Sophronius conducted a broad missionary activity. And he took pains to see that the faithful conduct themselves properly in God's temple, that they should understand the reading and singing and be profoundly immersed in the meaning of the Divine services. He ordered all talking forbidden during the services.

Beginning in 1760 Bishop Sophronius ordered that the church bell be sounded at several points in the services at the ninth song of the Canon during Matins, and during the Liturgy while "It is meet" and "To Thee we sing were being sung--thus bringing attention to the most important moments of the church services. His labors were not in vain. The inward beauty of worship was brought to perfection. Church services everywhere were conducted so distinctly and intelligently that laymen knew which prokimenon would be sung when, what the readings were from the Gospels and Epistles on a certain day, and the like. At home pious laymen, instead of worldly songs, would sing stichera, antiphons, and irmosi.


The Ascension Monastery near Irkutsk


On the third day of Holy Pascha, March 30, 1771, St. Sophronius peacefully reposed in the Lord at the age of 68. Means of communication at that time were slow and difficult, and six months passed while orders for the hierarch's burial, at which a bishop is supposed to serve, were being awaited from Moscow. The burial was finally performed on October 8. During this whole interval the sacred body of the Saint, although it remained the whole time unburied, in its coffin, did not give any sign of decomposition. Because of the incorruption of the holy relics, a sign of sanctity, a priest of the city of Irkutsk at that time painted from them the Saint's portrait on wood, and this portrait remained in the Irkutsk cathedral down to this century. The memory of God's Saint and of his wisdom and solicitous care of his flock was preserved by his grateful spiritual children, and from them it passed to their descendents.

THE SAINT'S RELICS, buried in the Irkutsk Epiphany Cathedral, were opened several times in the course of repairs to the floor of the church. In 1870 the coffin was again uncovered and the relics were examined by the Rector of the Irkutsk Seminary (later Archbishop Modest of Volynia), who made the following report: "After a requiem litia we opened both lids and saw the Hierarch's body completely whole and fragrant. The bishop's mitre was a crimson color; the sakkos, not an expensive one, of blue-green brocade; in his right hand was a carved cross of cypress with the prayer of remission, printed on ordinary paper; the paper was whole, the words of the prayer distinct. On his chest was a small panagia.

"The hand holding the cross and prayer of remission was as white as snow, and when one kissed it one sensed a grace-giving fragrance. For a whole day after this one's soul was in a special state. We did not uncover the face out of reverence. On the first lid the episcopal mantle which had been placed there at his burial remained after 100 years just as strong and fresh as if it had been recently placed. And everything had been preserved whole despite the great dampness of the cave from the nearby Angara River, which is why the floors must be replaced often."

Beginning soon after the Saint's repose, miracles began to occur through his intercession. We will cite here several of those that occurred around the turn of the century.

In the evening of January 21, 1901, the 14-year-old boy Alexander, the son of A. Ionin, and his sister Maria, age 10, became ill. During the night the diphtheria took a frightful turn. In the morning two doctors were called and gave inoculations. Towards noon the disease grew worse. Dr. Z. warned the parents that they should prepare themselves in advance for the loss of their daughter, since Maria was a sickly child and her diphtheria had taken a more violent and complicated form. In sorrow the parents sent their 15-year-old daughter and a neighbor boy to the Epiphany Cathedral to have a panikhida served for Bishop Sophronius and to pray for the sick children. At the children's request the Cathedral clergy served a panikhida. The children took oil from the lamp at the coffin of Bishop Sophronius and brought it to the sick ones. The children, who were almost unconscious, were anointed on the neck with this oil and given three drops of oil apiece as medicine. This was at 6 in the evening. Within two hours the children felt better and even asked for food. The doctor, who came at 9 o'clock, was amazed at such a rapid and sharp change for the better. On January 23, the children were already lively, and the disease was rapidly passing. And what was remarkable was that Maria, who was weak by nature, recovered more quickly than her brother, who was older and stronger. After a certain time the boy and girl returned to school completely well.

Pelagia A. Teneva suffered from a bleeding growth in her mouth; she was afraid to undergo an operation, but nothing else helped. Hearing of the grace-giving help of the blessed Sophronius, she began to visit the Epiphany Cathedral and beg healing from him. The growth began of itself gradually to diminish, and it completely vanished. This was in 1900. Having waited for a long enough time to see whether the ailment would return, on March 15, 1901, she testified of the grace-given help she had received from Bishop Sophronius.


The site of St. Sophronius' canonization: Epiphany Cathedral in Irkutsk


Peter Andreev Chicherov testifies: "On the road from Irkutsk to southern Russia, our 5-year-old daughter Vera became so ill with pneumonia that the physicians in Moscow gave up hope for her recovery; but when we began to have a panikhida served for Bishop Sophronius, and after we placed his image, printed on satin, which we had obtained at the old Epiphany Cathedral, on the chest of the sick child, – Vera, who had already begun to breathe faintly and enter the death agony, suddenly herself jumped to her feet, began to breathe freely, and from that moment up to the present, to the amazement of the physicians who were treating her, she has been completely well, as she was before."

ACCOUNTS of miracles through the intercession of St. Sophronius were forwarded to the Holy Synod, and his canonization was decided upon. Owing to the outbreak of the World War, however, the canonization had to be postponed, and it was only after the Revolution, in the midst of civil war, that the Lord willed to glorify His Saint.

It was at the All-Russian Ecclesiastical Council of 1917, which also decreed the restoration of the Patriarchate and elected Patriarch Tikhon, that the official canonization of St. Sophronius was finally decreed. It was not a simple thing, however, to fulfill this decree. Anarchy, civil war, and disbelief had captured the Russian land. The canonization was entrusted to the ruling bishop of Irkutsk, Archbishop John, but in view of the disordered times it was postponed.

Then, however, the Saint himself appeared in a dream to Archbishop John, giving him a brotherly kiss and telling him: "Have courage." From this vision the Archbishop was filled with an unearthly joy. Later St. Sophronius again appeared to him in a dream. This time he carried his own coffin and said, pointing to it: "My brother, this coffin is old and confining to me; order my remains to be taken out, and may all people glorify the Lord, wondrous in miracles." Archbishop John understood this apparition only later, when on June 13, 1918, there was a fire in the old cathedral which enveloped only the coffin wherein St. Sophronius reposed, and the sacred relics burned, only a small part of the bones remaining. Thus were his incorrupt relics lost for our sins, yet even thus did the Saint show himself to be a co-sufferer with the Russian people in their crucifixion, "becoming adorned with the crown of a priest-martyr," as the akathist to him proclaims, through the martyrdom of his relics. But just when the unbelievers and atheists thought to triumph, shouting to the faithful: "Ah, where is your faith? where is his sanctity? where are the relics?" miracles through the Saint's prayers began to multiply and the blasphemers were put to shame. Many were healed by the Saint's holy bones.

Finally the day much-postponed and long-awaited arrived. June 30, 1918, dawned clear, sunny, warm, and – despite the civil war quiet; not a shot was to be heard in all the city People by the thousands gathered and with all the city clergy, with great glory and honor, celebrated the service of canonization of the newly-manifested Saint of God and praised the Lord Who is marvellous in His saints.

As the canonization could not then be marked by all the Russian faithful, on its 50th anniversary in 1968 the Russian Church Outside of Russia published the service and akathist to the Saint and printed his icon, and throughout the world, wherever there are Orthodox Russian churches, his commemoration was solemnly celebrated.

Thus was performed the last canonization in the Russian land. Because of their sins and iniquities, because of disbelief and the weakening of brotherly love, the Lord has chastized the Russian people, permitting the impious to rule the land and do the will of satan up to the present day, and until the times be fulfilled.