Peter of Krutitsy
Encyclopedia
St. Hieromartyr Peter of Krutitsy (Священномученик Петр Крутицкий), born Petr Fyodorovich Polyansky (Петр Федорович Полянский) (June 28, 1862 – September 27 O. S./October 10, 1937), was a Russian Orthodox bishop
and martyr
. From April 12 till December 9, 1925 he was the head of the Russian Orthodox Church
, serving as the Patriarchal locum tenens. Despite his imprisonment, he remained technically locum tenens until his death in 1937.
region, to the family of a parish priest. In 1885 he completed the course of the Voronezh
Theological Seminary and in 1892 graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy. He remained in the Academy in the position of Assistant Dean of Students ("Inspector") and in 1897 he defended his Master’s thesis. Upon graduation, Polyansky did not seek an ordained ministry, but rather for the most of his life, he served as a layman in various official ecclesiastical establishments. From 1906 to 1918, Polyansky worked at the Education Committee of the Most Holy Synod
of the Russian Orthodox Church
, by 1915 becoming Secretary, with the rank of "Actual Civil Counsellor" (deistvitelniy statskiy sovietnik, Class IV on the Russian Table of Ranks, equivalent to a Major General
in the Russian Imperial Army), serving as Inspector of all theological schools in the Russian Empire
. His duties required him to travel extensively, and during this time, he developed a close acquiaintance with the future Patriarchs Tikhon (Bellavin) and Sergius (Stragorodsky).
was rising rapidly, he was asked by Patriarch Tikhon to do another important service to the Church – to accept monastic tonsure
and the episcopacy, in order to assist Tikhon in the administration of the Church. After the request was made, he was reported as saying: "If I refuse, I will be a traitor of the Church; but I am aware that by accepting this offer, I am signing my own death sentence."
Peter was tonsured a monk
by Metropolitan Sergius
(Stragorodsky) and quickly advanced through the clerical ranks to be consecrated as Bishop of Podolsk
by Patriarch Tikhon on October 8, 1920. Almost immediately, he was arrested and spent 1920-1923 in exile in Veliky Ustiug
. Upon his return from exile in 1923, Bishop Peter became one of the prominent members of church government and a close ally of Patriarch Tikhon. In 1923 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop
and in 1924 became a Metropolitan
of Krutitsy
– a titular see in the vicinity of Moscow
.
On December 25, 1924, Patriarch Tikhon made a “will” where he designated three possible successors to the Patriarchal Throne upon his death. This step was clearly unforeseen either by the church canons
or the Statutes of the Russian Church, but was dictated by the circumstances under which a proper Patriarchal election by an independent church council was impossible. In his will, Tikhon named three candidates: Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov) of Kazan
, Metropolitan Agathangel (Preobrazhensky) of Yaroslavl
and Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) of Krutitsy. Since Peter was the only candidate who was not in prison or exile at the time, on April 12, 1925 (the day of Tikhon’s funeral), he was confirmed as the Patriarchal locum tenens.
calling itself the "Living Church
" and to express unconditional loyalty to the Soviet state. While Peter agreed with the need for Orthodox Soviet citizens to be politically loyal, he regarded any reconciliation with the Living Church to be possible only on the condition of the schismatics' repentance. On July 28, 1925, Peter issued a “Letter” to his flock where he confirmed the Church’s position with respect to Renovationists. In response, Renovationists
accused Peter of conspiring with the Russian emigres in the West and thus contributed to Peter’s arrest.
Foreseeing his imminent imprisonment, Peter followed Tikhon’s example in selecting three candidates, one of whom would assume the responsibilities of Patriarchal locum tenens in the event of Peter’s arrest. The latter followed on December 10, 1925, and his duties passed onto Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) who became Deputy locum tenens, with Peter as a nominal head of the Church. Peter would spend the rest of his life in exile and prisons, weakened by the harsh conditions and harassed by Soviet authorities.
region, which in May 1928 was extended to two more years. His exile by no means implied his lack of involvement in the church affairs – thus, in December 1929, he sent a letter to Metropolitan Sergius, reprimanding him for exceeding his powers as a "deputy", and reminding him that he, Peter, is still technically the head of the Church.
In 1930, Peter was arrested again. After rejecting the offers to resign his position and to become a GPU agent, he was sentenced to five years of hard labor. Some time before the sentencing, Peter suffered a partial paralysis
caused by the harsh prison conditions. He spent the years 1931 to 1937 in solitary confinement in the Verkhneuralsk
prison. In July 1936, his confinement was extended to three more years, while Metropolitan Sergius was given a false report of Peter’s death and therefore assumed the full leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church
.
On October 2, 1937, the NKVD troika
for Chelyabinsk
Oblast
sentenced Metropolitan Peter to death. He was executed by shooting at 4 p.m. on October 10, 1937, and buried in the city of Magnitogorsk
, Chelyabinsk
region.
Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsy was canonized as Hieromartyr
and Confessor
by the decision of Hierarchical Council of the Russian Orthodox Church
on February 23, 1997. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, October 10 (N.S.).
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. From April 12 till December 9, 1925 he was the head of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, serving as the Patriarchal locum tenens. Despite his imprisonment, he remained technically locum tenens until his death in 1937.
Early life
Peter was born in the village of Storozhevoye of the Korotoyaksk district of VoronezhVoronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
region, to the family of a parish priest. In 1885 he completed the course of the Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
Theological Seminary and in 1892 graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy. He remained in the Academy in the position of Assistant Dean of Students ("Inspector") and in 1897 he defended his Master’s thesis. Upon graduation, Polyansky did not seek an ordained ministry, but rather for the most of his life, he served as a layman in various official ecclesiastical establishments. From 1906 to 1918, Polyansky worked at the Education Committee of the Most Holy Synod
Most Holy Synod
The Most Holy Governing Synod was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1918, when the Patriarchate was restored. The jurisdiction of the Most Holy Synod extended over every kind of ecclesiastical question and over some that are partly secular.The Synod was...
of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, by 1915 becoming Secretary, with the rank of "Actual Civil Counsellor" (deistvitelniy statskiy sovietnik, Class IV on the Russian Table of Ranks, equivalent to a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in the Russian Imperial Army), serving as Inspector of all theological schools in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. His duties required him to travel extensively, and during this time, he developed a close acquiaintance with the future Patriarchs Tikhon (Bellavin) and Sergius (Stragorodsky).
After the Bolshevik Revolution
When the Education Committee was closed down in 1918, in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Russian Revolution, Polyansky worked in the apparatus of the All-Russian Council of 1917-1918 in Moscow. In 1920, when the tide of anti-religious policies of Soviet governmentReligion in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion and its replacement with atheism. To that end, the communist regime confiscated religious property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in schools...
was rising rapidly, he was asked by Patriarch Tikhon to do another important service to the Church – to accept monastic tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
and the episcopacy, in order to assist Tikhon in the administration of the Church. After the request was made, he was reported as saying: "If I refuse, I will be a traitor of the Church; but I am aware that by accepting this offer, I am signing my own death sentence."
Peter was tonsured a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
by Metropolitan Sergius
Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow
Patriarch Sergius I , – May 15, 1944) was the 12th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, from September 8, 1943 until his death. He was also the de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church as Patriarchal locum tenens in 1925-1943.-Early life:...
(Stragorodsky) and quickly advanced through the clerical ranks to be consecrated as Bishop of Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
by Patriarch Tikhon on October 8, 1920. Almost immediately, he was arrested and spent 1920-1923 in exile in Veliky Ustiug
Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely...
. Upon his return from exile in 1923, Bishop Peter became one of the prominent members of church government and a close ally of Patriarch Tikhon. In 1923 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
and in 1924 became a Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Krutitsy
Krutitsy
Krutitsy Metochion , full name: Krutitsy Patriarchal Metochion is an operating ecclesiastical estate of Russian Orthodox Church, located in Tagansky District of Moscow, Russia, 3 kilometers south-east from the Kremlin. The name Krutitsy , i.e. steep river banks, originally meant the hills...
– a titular see in the vicinity of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
On December 25, 1924, Patriarch Tikhon made a “will” where he designated three possible successors to the Patriarchal Throne upon his death. This step was clearly unforeseen either by the church canons
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
or the Statutes of the Russian Church, but was dictated by the circumstances under which a proper Patriarchal election by an independent church council was impossible. In his will, Tikhon named three candidates: Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov) of Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, Metropolitan Agathangel (Preobrazhensky) of Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
and Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) of Krutitsy. Since Peter was the only candidate who was not in prison or exile at the time, on April 12, 1925 (the day of Tikhon’s funeral), he was confirmed as the Patriarchal locum tenens.
Locum tenens
Upon assuming the duties of locum tenens, Metropolitan Peter came under intense pressure from the Soviet government and secret services, trying to persuade him to reconcile with the pro-Soviet Renovationist schismSchism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
calling itself the "Living Church
Living Church
The Living Church , also called Renovationist Church or Renovationism was a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922–1946...
" and to express unconditional loyalty to the Soviet state. While Peter agreed with the need for Orthodox Soviet citizens to be politically loyal, he regarded any reconciliation with the Living Church to be possible only on the condition of the schismatics' repentance. On July 28, 1925, Peter issued a “Letter” to his flock where he confirmed the Church’s position with respect to Renovationists. In response, Renovationists
Living Church
The Living Church , also called Renovationist Church or Renovationism was a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922–1946...
accused Peter of conspiring with the Russian emigres in the West and thus contributed to Peter’s arrest.
Foreseeing his imminent imprisonment, Peter followed Tikhon’s example in selecting three candidates, one of whom would assume the responsibilities of Patriarchal locum tenens in the event of Peter’s arrest. The latter followed on December 10, 1925, and his duties passed onto Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) who became Deputy locum tenens, with Peter as a nominal head of the Church. Peter would spend the rest of his life in exile and prisons, weakened by the harsh conditions and harassed by Soviet authorities.
Imprisonment and death
In November 1926, Peter was sentenced to three year exile to the UralUral (region)
Ural is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It extends approximately from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the bend of Ural River near Orsk city. The boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern side of...
region, which in May 1928 was extended to two more years. His exile by no means implied his lack of involvement in the church affairs – thus, in December 1929, he sent a letter to Metropolitan Sergius, reprimanding him for exceeding his powers as a "deputy", and reminding him that he, Peter, is still technically the head of the Church.
In 1930, Peter was arrested again. After rejecting the offers to resign his position and to become a GPU agent, he was sentenced to five years of hard labor. Some time before the sentencing, Peter suffered a partial paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
caused by the harsh prison conditions. He spent the years 1931 to 1937 in solitary confinement in the Verkhneuralsk
Verkhneuralsk
Verkhneuralsk is a town and the administrative center of Verkhneuralsky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the upper streams of the Ural River, southwest of Chelyabinsk. Population:...
prison. In July 1936, his confinement was extended to three more years, while Metropolitan Sergius was given a false report of Peter’s death and therefore assumed the full leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
On October 2, 1937, the NKVD troika
NKVD troika
NKVD troika or Troika, in Soviet Union history, were commissions of three persons who convicted people without trial. These commissions were employed as an instrument of extrajudicial punishment introduced to circumvent the legal system with a means for quick execution or imprisonment...
for Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
Oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
sentenced Metropolitan Peter to death. He was executed by shooting at 4 p.m. on October 10, 1937, and buried in the city of Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
, Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
region.
Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsy was canonized as Hieromartyr
Hieromartyr
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr who was also one of the clergy . In like manner a priest-monk is often called a hieromonk....
and Confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
by the decision of Hierarchical Council of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
on February 23, 1997. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, October 10 (N.S.).
Sources
- Vladislav Tsypin. History of the Russian Orthodox Church 1917-1997 (in Russian)
- The Life of St. Hieromartyr Peter of Krutitsy (in Russian)
External links
- Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter (Polyansky) IconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
and Synaxarion (in English)