Hermogenus of Moscow

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Patriarch Hermogenus refuses to bless the Poles . Picture by Pavel Chistjakov (1860)

St. Hermogenus or Germogen ( Russian Гермоген ; * before 1530; † February 17, 1612 in Moscow ) was Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia between 1606 and 1612. He inspired popular uprisings against the Polish occupiers during the time of turmoil and is valid in Russia as a national hero. In 1913 he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church .

biography

Hermogenus was appointed Metropolitan of the recently conquered city of Kazan at the Holy Synod , at which the establishment of the Patriarchate was decided . Over the next two decades, he was known for converting many Tatars to Christianity. In 1606, Hermogenes was called by Pseudodimitri I to participate in the newly created Senate in Moscow. There Hermogenus learned of the Tsar's intention to marry the Roman Catholic adventurer Marina Mniszech and spoke out against such a marriage covenant. For this he was banished from the capital, but soon after the fall of the false tsar he returned with great honors and replaced his ally Patriarch Ignatius .

The new Tsar Vasily IV helped Hermogenus become patriarch, while Hermogenus supported the Tsar's attempts to pacify the country. Among other things, he covered the insurgent Ivan Bolotnikov and his army with anathema . When Vasily IV was overthrown and the Poles took the Moscow Kremlin , Hermogenus doggedly opposed their plans to bring Wladyslaw IV to the Russian throne without converting him to Orthodoxy . Despite death threats from some Propolian boyars , he refused to sign petitions to the Polish king and prevented a coronation ceremony for Wladyslaw.

In December 1610, Hermogenus had letters distributed in numerous Russian cities calling on the population to revolt against the Poles. When a people's army under Prokopi Lyapunov besieged Moscow, he resisted Polish insistence that the army be anathema. On the contrary, he condemned the Poles and expressed his support for Lyapunov. Shortly afterwards he was arrested and imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery . There he heard of a new people's army, which was put together by Kuzma Minin and commanded by Prince Dmitri Poscharsky . He pronounced his blessings on both of them. For this he was beaten and starved to death.

The presumed remains of Patriarch Hermogenus were accidentally found in 1913 in a crypt in the Chudov Monastery during repair work. In connection with the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, which was celebrated in the same year, he was canonized as a martyr and buried in the Kremlin 's Cathedral of the Assumption .

On March 25, 2013, a bronze statue of Hermogenus was erected in the Alexander Gardens at the instigation of the then Patriarch Kyrill.

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Commons : Hermogenus of Moscow  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Ignatius Patriarch of Moscow
1606 - 1612 		Philaret
personal data
SURNAME Hermogenus of Moscow
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Saint Hermogenus; Germogen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Patriarch of Moscow and Russia (1606–1612)
DATE OF BIRTH before 1530
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 1612
Place of death Moscow