Monday, April 7, 2025
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
The Fifth Sunday in Lent (Passion Sunday)
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Lent
You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you.
Patriarch of Moscow, Confessor and Ecumenist
Ecumenical Commemoration
Tikhon (1865-1925), birth name Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, was Patriarch of Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church. Serving as Russian Orthodox Bishop of the Aleutians and North America (1898-1907), he fostered ecumenical relations with the Episcopalian Church. Elected Patriarch in 1917 after the restoration of the patriarchate, he resisted Bolshevik persecution and suffered imprisonment, dying in 1925 under Soviet pressure. He was canonized as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1989.
Tikhon was born in 1865 into an Orthodox Russian family. Ordained to the priesthood, he eventually became a bishop and was assigned as the Russian Orthodox Bishop of the Aleutians and North America from 1898 to 1907, during a crucial period of Orthodox missionary work in North America. During his tenure, Tikhon demonstrated remarkable openness to Episcopalian clergy and lay leaders, encouraging dialogue and cooperation between the Orthodox and Anglican communions. In 1917, following the Russian Revolution and the restoration of the patriarchate (which had been dormant since 1700), Tikhon was elected Patriarch of Moscow. In this capacity, he became the primary defender of Orthodox Christianity against Bolshevik ideology and Soviet state pressure. He was imprisoned multiple times, interrogated, and subjected to intense pressure to renounce his faith and his position. Despite these trials, he maintained his commitment to Orthodox Christianity and ecumenical witness. He died on April 7, 1925 (October 9 in the Orthodox calendar), under circumstances suggesting Soviet pressure and possible poisoning. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized him as a saint in 1989, recognizing his steadfast faith and martyrdom under persecution.
Tikhon is venerated in the Orthodox tradition as a confessor who endured persecution under communist atheism while maintaining fidelity to Orthodox Christianity and the patriarchate. His ecumenical outreach during his American episcopate is recognized as a significant moment in Orthodox-Anglican relations. He exemplifies Orthodox resistance to totalitarianism and the cost of faith under persecution. His canonization in 1989 marked the post-Soviet recognition of his holiness and martyrdom.