Metropolitan Benjamin or Veniamin (, born Iván Afanásevich Fédchenkov, ''Иван Афанасьевич Федченков''; 14 September 1880 – 4 October 1961) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Russian Church, Orthodox

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and writer.

Family

His family consisted of two children and a wife.

Education

Benjamin Fedchenkov was born in the village of selo Vazhki (Ilyinka),

Tambov Governorate Tambov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, and the Russian SFSR, with its capital in Tambov. It was located between 51°14' and 55°6' north latitude, north and betwee ...

1917–1920. White movement

Benjamin supported the White movement and closely cooperated with Wrangel's army of the Crimean peninsula. Benjamin emigrated in November 1920 together with the defeated soldiers of the Wrangel army and other fugitives.

Loyalty to Moscow Patriarchate

1933–1947 was

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

in North America. From April 19, 1932, was

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. From July 14, 1938, was Metropolitan of the

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain of 14 main, larger volcanic island ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Return

1947–1951 was Metropolitan of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. 1951–1955 was Metropolitan of

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

and

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

(from February 8, 1954, Metropolitan of Rostov and Kamensk). November 28, 1955 – February 20, 1958 was Metropolitan of

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

and Balashov (from December 26, 1957, Metropolitan of Saratov and

Volsk Volsk () is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, opposite the mouth of the Bolshoy Irgiz (a tributary of the Volga), northeast from Saratov, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 C ...

Late life

He died in

Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery Pskov-Pechory Monastery or The Pskovo-Pechersky Dormition Monastery or Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox male monastery, located in Pechory, Pskov Oblast in Russia, just a few kilometers from the Esto ...

, and is buried in the

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s of the monastery.

Sources

* (Russian
Towards the canonization of Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov)
* (Russian
Short biography and the list of Metropolitan Veniamin's works on the site "Russian Orthodoxy"
1880 births 1961 deaths People from Tambov Oblast People from Kirsanovsky Uyezd Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Eastern Orthodox metropolitans Eastern Orthodox missionaries White Russian emigrants to the United States Eastern Orthodox monks Saint Petersburg Theological Academy alumni {{EasternOrthodox-bishop-stub