Filaret Vosnesensky

Metropolitan Filaret ( Russian Митрополит Филарет , secular name Georgy Nikolaevich Voznesensky , Russian Георгий Николаевич Вознесенский * 22. March 1903 in Kursk , Russia , † 21st November 1985 in New York City , United States ) was the first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad from 1964 until his death.

Life

Georgi Vosnesensky was born on March 22, 1903 in Kursk. His father was the priest Nikolai Fyodorovich Voznesensky. His mother's name was Lydia. In 1909 his family moved to Blagoveshchensk on the Amur in Siberia .

In 1920 Georgij graduated from the local high school. Later that year, the entire family moved to Harbin , Manchuria, in the wake of the unrest of the Russian Civil War .

In 1921 the mother died and the father became a monk , he received the tonsure and the monk name Dmitri. He later became Archbishop of Hailar . He died shortly after his return to the Soviet Union in 1947 .

In Harbin, Georgi attended the Russian-Chinese Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated as an electromechanical engineer in 1927. Then he began studying pastoral theology in the school that later became the theological faculty of the University of St. Vladimir (Harbin).

He was ordained a deacon in 1930 and graduated from St. Vladimir University in 1931. In 1931 he received the tonsure himself and took the monk name Filaret, whereupon he was ordained a monk priest (Hieromonach) in 1932.

This was followed by the appointment to Igumen and Archimandrite (1937). During this time he worked as a professor of New Testament , pastoral theology and homiletics at St. Vladimir.

In 1945, at the end of World War II , Chinese communists and Soviet military took power in Manchuria. Filaret initially stayed with the faithful in Manchuria and steadfastly refused to get a Soviet passport. In addition, he fearlessly railed against the atheist communists. This put his life in danger. The communist hatred led to an attack attempting to burn him alive in his monastery cell . However, he escaped, albeit with severe burns.

In 1962 the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad was able to obtain a visa for him, with which he could reach Hong Kong . From there he soon traveled on to Brisbane , Australia , where a large part of his former community had emigrated.

Upon arriving in Brisbane, his parishioners petitioned the Synod of the Abroad to make Philaret their bishop . With the support of the sick Archbishop Sava of Sydney, Filaret became Bishop of Brisbane and Vicar of the Diocese of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand . He was accompanied by Archbishop Sava and Bishop Anthony of Melbourne on May 26, 1963 consecrated .

In 1964 he represented Archbishop Sava at a meeting of the Bishops' Conference of the Church Abroad, in which the First Hierarch, Metropolitan Anastasius Gribanowski , announced his resignation. Filaret was elected successor as the youngest bishop of those present at the council. He was enthroned as Metropolitan Filaret on May 14, 1964 .

As a metropolitan, he served for twenty-one years. He died on November 21, 1985 and was buried in the Church of Dormition cemetery.

In November 1998, the Synod decided to move its remains ( relics ) to a new crypt under the altar of the Trinity Cathedral in Jordanville , New York . When his grave was opened, the body was found intact .

Canonization

Filaret was canonized by several particular Churches associated with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad . He was successively supported by the Holy Orthodox Church in North America (“Boston Synod”, May 19-20, 2001), the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (April 30, 2003), the Russian Orthodox Church abroad under Metropolitan Agathangelus (20. November 2008), and canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad under Archbishop Vladimir (October 23, 2009). These canonizations have not yet been confirmed by other Orthodox churches. It was not until 2012 that the Diocese of Eastern America and New York under Metropolitan Hilarion Kapral appointed a committee to initiate the formal canonization.

swell

• Biography of Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)
• Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of New York, the New Confessor

Web links

• Metropolitan St. Philaret of New York († 1985)
• The Early Years of Our First Hierarch Metropolitan Philaret by Archbishop Nafanail (Lvov) (english)
• The Main Goal of Man is to Save his Soul for Eternity Treatise by Metropolitan Philaret
• The Free Part of the Russian Church , interview Filaret Westdeutsche Catholic magazine Publik gave (English)
• The Vestments and Staff of His Eminence Metropolitan Philaret Are Given to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy

predecessor	Office	successor
Anastasius Gribanowski	Metropolitan of East America and New York 1964–1985	Vitaly Ustinov