Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow

Our father among the saints Philaret (Drozdov) was Metropolitan of Moscow from 1821 to 1867. He was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1995. His feast day is celebrated on November 19.

Life

Metropolitan Philaret (Vassily Mikhailovich Drozdov) was born December 26, 1782, in Kolomna, a Moscow Province, into the family of a deacon who later became a priest.

• From 1791, Vassily Drozdov studied in the Kolomna Seminary, where courses were taught in Latin.
• From March of 1800, he studied in the Moscow Holy Trinity Theological Seminary, where he completed his degree on December 21, 1803. Upon graduation, he was assigned to his alma mater as a professor of Greek and Hebrew.
• On November 16, 1808, V.M. Drozdov was tonsured a monk with the name Philaret after St. Philaret the Merciful (December 1). In November 1808, Monk Philaret was ordained a hierodeacon, and on March 1, 1809, he was assigned as Dean of Students of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary and professor of Philosophy at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
• On March 28, 1809, Philaret was ordained a hieromonk and in August 1809 was appointed Dean of the St. Alexander Nevsky Theological School.
• On February 8, 1810, he received a bachelor's degree from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
• On July 8, 1811, Hieromonk Philaret was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, and on March 11, 1812, he was appointed rector at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
• On March 27, 1812, he was made abbot of the Monastery of St. George in the Novgorod Diocese while also retaining his position as rector and professor of the Academy.
• On August 13, 1814, Archimandrite Philaret was awarded a Doctorate in Theology for his collection of works. On August 30, 1814, Archimandrite Philaret was appointed as a member of the Commission on Theological Schools and in 1816, a member of the Russian Bible Society. In March 1816, he was made abbot of Novospassky Monastery in Moscow, again while retaining his position as rector and professor of the Academy.
• On June 2, 1816, he became a member of the Committee on Legal Matters concerning Orthodox Clergymen; June 16, 1816, a member of the Council for a Merciful Society; March 3, 1817, a member of the Building Committee at St. Petersburg Theological Academy; and on April 7, 1817, a member of the Central Directorate of Schools.
• On August 5, 1817, Archimandrite Philaret was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Revel, Vicar to the St. Petersburg Diocese.
• On September 21, 1818, he was chosen a full member of the Russian Academy.
• On March 15, 1819, he was appointed Archbishop of Tver and member of the Most Holy Synod.
• On September 26, 1820, he was appointed Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov and on July 3, 1821, appointed Archbishop of Moscow.
• On August 22, 1826, the Most Reverend Philaret became the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, where he remained until his death.

Metropolitan

As metropolitan, Philaret believed that it was his duty to educate and enlighten his flock about the Church's teachings and traditions. Therefore, he preached and wrote about how to live a Christian life, basing his words on the wisdom of the Holy Fathers. His 1823 catechism has been an influential book in Russia and in other countries for nearly two hundred years.

The reforms of Tsar Peter the Great had abolished the patriarchate and severely restricted the Church, placing many aspects of its life under governmental control. Metropolitan Philaret tried to regain some of the Church's freedom to administer its own affairs, regarding Church and State as two separate entities working in harmony. Not everyone shared his views, and he certainly made his share of enemies. Still, he did achieve some degree of success in effecting changes.

The holy hierarch made a direct, creative, and decisive organizational contribution to the accomplishment of the Synodal translation of the Bible into Russian from Slavonic.

Hymns

Troparion (Tone 4)

Having acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit

O divinely wise and holy hierarch Philaret,

You preached truth and righteousness to the people with enlightened understanding;

With a contrite heart you showed peace and mercy to the suffering;

And as a teacher and tireless guardian of the Faith

With the staff of uprightness you preserved the Russian flock.

Therefore, as you have boldness before Christ our God,

Pray that He preserve the Church and salvation to the people and our souls.

Kontakion (Tone 2)

As a true imitator of the venerable Sergius;

You loved virtue from childhood, O divinely blessed Philaret.

As a righteous pastor and blameless confessor you were subject to mockery and abuse by :the ungodly after your holy repose,

But God has glorified you signs and miracles

And shown you to be the helper of our Church.

Writings

Saint Philaret was a prominent figure in preparing a Russian translation of the Bible, and wrote many volumes of theological and historical works collectively known as the Filaretica. They include:

• Colloquy between a Believer and a Skeptic on the True Doctrine of the Greco-Russian Church (St. Petersburg, 1815)
• Compend of Sacred History (1816)
• Commentary on Genesis (1816)
• Attempt to Explain Psalm lxvii. (1818)
• Sermons delivered at Various Times (1820)
• Extracts from the Four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles for Use in Lay Schools (1820)
• Christian Catechism (1823)
• Extracts from the Historical Books of the Old Testament (1828–30)
• Principles of Religious Instruction (1828)
• New Collection of Sermons (1830–36).

Philaret also wrote spiritual poems from an early age. His poetical correspondence with Alexander Pushkin is well known.

Succession box: Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow
Preceded by: ?	Bishop of Revel 1817-1819	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: ?	Archbishop of Tver 1819-1820	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: ?	Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov 1820-1821	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: Serafim	Metropolitan of Moscow 1821-1867	Succeeded by: St. Innocent of Alaska

Help with box

Sources

• Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow (OCA)
• St. Philaret, metropolitan of Moscow Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist web site (ROCOR)
• Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow at Wikipedia

External links

• Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow from Orthodox America
• Philaret from The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. IX: Petri - Reuchlin, by Philip Schaff at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Writings

• The Longer Catechism of The Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church also known as the Catechism of St. Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow
• The Morning Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow