Pitirim (Nechayev)

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Metropolitan Pitrim with Raissa Gorbatschowa (1989)

Pitirim von Wolokolamsk and Jurjew (born January 8, 1926 in Koslow , † November 4, 2003 in Moscow ) was a Soviet , Russian Orthodox priest , bishop , archbishop and metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church .

Life

Konstantin Vladimirovich Nechayev was the youngest of eleven children. His father was a priest in the early years of Bolshevik rule . Constantine was the only one among the children who embarked on an educational path to become a cleric. The other siblings took up professions such as engineer or architect . After the end of the Second World War he began his theological training. This opened up the well-founded prospect of receiving one of the many open priestly positions in the church after the Stalinist purges . Under Patriarch Alexei , he became a subdeacon in 1945 . In 1947 he studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary . In 1951 he was the first to graduate from the Moscow Spiritual Academy , where he submitted his doctoral thesis on the New Testament Simeon . In 1952 he was ordained a deacon and in 1956 he was ordained a priest . Then he entered one of the few reopened monasteries , received the tonsure and received the religious name Pitirim in memory of St. Pitirim of Tambov . In 1959 he was appointed inspector of Moscow theological schools. For three decades he taught the history of occidental symbols at the Moscow seminary and academy . Since 1957 he has taught the New Testament .

In May 1963 Pitirim was ordained bishop of Volokolamsk and vicar of the Moscow diocese . In 1971 he became archbishop . In 1986 he was appointed Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Juryev.

In 1962 he was entrusted with the publication of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarch , and in 1963 Pitirim became head of the Publications Office of the Patriarchate . For several years he was also the editor of Bogoslovskiye Trudy ("The Theological Works"). As the head of the publishing house of the Russian Church, he was heavily criticized for the fact that under his aegis only a few thousand Bibles and a few theological books have appeared in more than three decades . During the millennium celebrations in 1988 to commemorate the Christianization of Rus , the Church was able to express its views more openly, and Metropolitan Pitirim was openly criticized for his lack of publishing activity. After that, his influence on the publications decreased more and more, even if he tried to keep his position until December 1994. Pitirim was considered a man who supported Soviet political goals. He has repeatedly criticized the church's position on individual human rights . His criticism also included the position of the martyr patriarchs Tikhon and Andrei Sakharov for their opposition to socialism and the stirring up of conflicts with the Soviet state. The KGB had registered him under the code name Abbat (Russian for "abbot").

During the perestroika era under Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s, Pitirim became an important figure in public life. He was appointed one of the three leading bishops to represent the Church 's position in the Congress of People's Deputies . During the Vilnius Blood Sunday and the simultaneous struggle for independence in Riga , he supported the Soviet army . The coup attempt of anti-reform people's deputies Congress against Yeltsin was his sympathy.

In the 1990s he was known as the leading clergyman in promoting environmental issues in Russia. After the devastated Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery was returned to the church in 1989 , Pitirim organized a program to restore it so that it was restored to its former glory.

Pitirim was one of the participants in the I., II. And VI. All-Christian Peace Assembly (ACFV), which held the Christian Peace Conference (CFK) in Prague .

Publications

  • Tysjačeletie počitanija presvjatoj bogorodicy na Rusi iv Germanii , Mjunchen: Šnell 'and Štajner, 1990
  • A thousand years of devotion to Mary in Russia and Bavaria , Munich: Schnell u. Steiner, 1988
  • A thousand years of holy Russia , Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder-Taschenbuch-Verl., 1988, orig. Edition.
  • The Russian Orthodox Church , Berlin: de Gruyter - Evang. Verl.-Werk, 1988
  • A thousand years of holy Russia , Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder-Taschenbuch-Verl., 1987, orig. Edition.
  • Pitirim von Wolokolamsk , Tutzing: Evang. Akad., 1987, 2nd ed.
  • The Orthodox Church in Russia , Zurich: Orell Füssli, 1982
  • The millennium of the baptism of Russia in the context of ecumenical cooperation between East and West for relaxation , Tutzing: [Evang. Akad.], 1986
  • Pitirim von Wolokolamsk , Tutzing: Evang. Akad., 1986
  • Mayer, Fred / Pitirim, Archbishop of Volokolamsk: The Orthodox Church in Russia , ( ISBN 3280012279 / 3-280-01227-9)
  • The Russian Orthodox Church; Edited by Metropolitan Pitirim von Volokolamsk and Jurjev; Langues: Anglais, Allemand; Subjects: eglise orthodox. russie.-1977 / russie. religion. eglise orthodoxe.-1917 / eglise orthodoxe. urss1917-1988 / urss religion. eglise orthodoxe. 1917-1988, W. de Gruyter; Berlin, ISBN 3-11-011399-6
  • The Russian Orthodox Church , Berlin - New York: De Gruyter - Evangelisches Verlagswerk GmbH 1988

literature

  • Alexandrova / Suzdaltseva: Departing Rus'. The Stories of Metropolitan Pitirim. St. Petersburg, 2007.
  • Celestine Patock OSA: On the death of Metropolitan Pitirim (Necaev). In: Ostkirchliche Studien , Volume 53, Issues 1-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. (Умер митрополит Питирим) (grani.ru, November 5, 2003, Russian, accessed March 12, 2012)
  2. ^ Volker Hagemann: Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius. Trescher Verlag, 2008, ISBN 9783897941052 , p. 24. Limited preview in Google book search