Archimandrite Photius (russian: Архимандрит Фотий, Arkhimandrit Fotii, link=yes, secular name Pyotr Nikitich Spassky, russian: Пётр Никитич Спасский, link=no; Julian calendar: 4 June 1792,

Novgorodsky Uyezd Novgorodsky Uyezd (''Новгородский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Novgorod Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Veliky Novgorod. Dem ...

– 26 February 1838, Novgorod) was an influential and reactionary

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

priest and mystic, appointed in 1822 the

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

Yuriev Monastery The St. George's (Yuriev) Monastery (russian: Юрьев монастырь) is usually cited as Russia's oldest monastery. It stands in 5 kilometers south of Novgorod on the left bank of the Volkhov River near where it flows out of Lake Ilmen. T ...

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the o ...

. From 1823 to 1825, he and Alexey Arakcheyev plotted the downfall of Arakcheyev's political rival,

Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn Prince Alexander Nikolayevich Golitsyn (December 19, 1773 – December 4, 1844) was a statesman of the Russian Empire, in 1803–1816 he served as Chief Prosecutor, and in 1816–1824 he served as Minister of Education, an Active Privy Council ...

, Minister of Education and Spiritual Affairs. As in the later reign of

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

, this was an age of rebellion, dissent and disputed succession, and Photius, a "theatrical and hypnotic character", has been compared to

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...

.Michael Jenkins, ''Arakcheev, Grand Vizier of the Russian Empire'', Faber, 1969. .

Biography

Photius arrived in Saint Petersburg in 1817 as a theology teacher to the Cadet Corps. In 1820 he began to preach in the Kazan Cathedral against the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

Russian Bible Society The Bible Society in Russia (russian: Российское Библейское Общество) is a Christianity, Christian non-denominational organization for translating and distributing the Bible in Russia, in languages and formats accessible ...

, which he alleged was responsible for all the unrest among young Russians. He and others feared that there might be a

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

in Russia. This impressed powerful sponsors, such as the immensely wealthy Countess

Anna Orlova-Chesmenskaya Countess Anna Alekseyevna Orlova-Chesmenskaya (russian: Анна Алексеевна Орлова; 1785–1848), was a Russian Empire landowner, and courtier. She was known for her work against the serfdom in Russia. Also known for her piety, she ...

, Arakcheyev, and Speransky's assistant, Magnitsky. In 1822 and 1824 Photius met

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gr ...

who regarded Photius as 'divinely inspired' and agreed to abolish the Masonic Lodges. Photius also pleaded for Golitsyn's dismissal. The Tsar hesitated, and Photius then confronted Golitsyn with a curse, later confirmed by Metropolitan Seraphim; 'Anathema! You will be damned!'. Golitsyn was thus forced to resign, his ministry was abolished, and control of the Bible Societies passed to the Orthodox Church; in 1826 Photius and Seraphim persuaded Nicolas I to abolish it altogether. It was a 'surreal episode of fanaticism' by a 'psychologically unstable' priest. Arakcheyev was the mastermind behind the plot and Photius continued to support him in later years, for example insisting that Arakcheyev's murdered mistress should be 'buried in holy ground'. Countess Orlova is buried alongside Photius near the Church of the Annunciation in Novgorod.

In popular culture

Pushkin capitalised on the rumours of an affair with Orlova by writing three short satirical poems: Photius was a 'half saintly fool who means no good'; the countess 'pious on the whole/ To God devoted full her soul/ And gave her flesh without a fight/ To Photius, Archimandrite'.Max Fram, '' The Motherland of Elephants'', print ed., Max Fram, 2016, p. 173. .

References

{{Authority control 19th-century people from the Russian Empire 19th-century Christian mystics Eastern Orthodox mystics Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia Russian royal favourites

Biography

In popular culture

See also

References