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Alexander Vasillevich Vadkovsky was born on [[August 3]], 1846 in Tambov. He attended the [[Kazan Theological Academy]], from which he graduated in 1870. After graduation he remained at the academy as a lecturer, inspector, and working as editor of the academy’s journal the “Orthodox Interlocutor” (Pravoslavny Sobesdnik). The sudden death of his wife and two children suddenly changed the course of his life as in 1883 he was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] with the name Anthony. As a scholar, and now a monastic, Fr. Anthony contributed greatly to the revival of “learned [[monasticism]]” that had characterized the hierarchy of the Church before the reforms of the 1860s.
In 1885, Fr. Anthony was assigned as inspector at the [[St. Petersburg Theological Academy]], then in 1887, he became the rector. Among the many students Fr. Anthony nurtured during his time at the academy, that were to become prominent churchmen, were [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergei Sergius (Stragorodsky)]] and [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev|Anthony (Kharpovitsky)]].
In 1887, Fr. Anthony was also [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] [[Bishop]] of Vyborg, [[vicar]] of the St. Petersburg [[Diocese]]. In 1892, he was elected [[Archbishop]] of Finland with the formation of Finland as its own diocese. In 1893, Abp. Anthony was appointed to lead the Commission for Old Catholic Affairs. Then in 1898, he was appointed [[Metropolitan]] of St. Petersburg and Ladoga and [[abbot]] of [[Alexander Nevsky Lavra]]. In 1900, Abp. Anthony was named to the [[Apostolic Governing Synod|Holy Synod]], and, as revolutionary activity increased into the new century, Metr. Anthony became involved in the broader struggle of church reform, both in and outside the Church of Russia.
He argued that the act of religious tolerance enacted in 1905 put the Church at a disadvantage to the other faiths and churches that were freed from state control and interference but was not permitted to Orthodoxy. His position was sent to Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] by the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Sergei Witte, and became the basis for the popular reform movement in the Orthodox Church that resulted in the convening of the [[All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918|All Russian Local Council]] of 1917. In 1906, Metr. Anthony was appointed the leader of the Pre-Convocation Commission that was instrumental in the preparations for the 1917 council. Fearing that the Church could be drawn into the political maelstrom that was brewing, Metr. Anthony warned the [[clergy]] not to participate in the political parties that were forming in Russia during the early years of the twentieth century.
As a strong proponent of reform in the Church, Metr. Anthony broke with the traditions of succession by seniority in the appointment of clergy to leadership positions of the cathedrals when, in 1912, he appointed the young [[priest]] Fr. Philosoph Ornatsky as the dean of Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=?Sergius (Serafimov)|
title=Bishop of Vyborg|
years= 1887-1892 |
after=?—}}
{{succession|
before=—|
title=[[List of Archbishops of Finland|Archbishop of Finland]]|
years= 1892-1898 |
after=[[Nicholas (NailimovNalimov) of Vladimir and Suzdal|Nicholas (NailimovNalimov)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Pallady Palladius (RaevRayev-Pisarev) of St. Petersburg|Pallady Palladius (RaevRayev-Pisarev)]]|
title=[[Eparchy of St. Petersburg|Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga]]|
years=1898-1912|
after=[[Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Kiev and Gallich|Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky)]]}}
{{end box}}
==Sources==
[[Category: Bishops]]
[[Category:19th-20th-century bishops]]
[[Category: Bishops of Saint Petersburg]]
[[Category: Kazan Theological Academy Graduate]]
