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Sylvester (Holmsky) of Kazan

His Eminence Sylvester (Holmsky) of Kazan was the Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Kazan of the Church of Russia in the sixteenth century, serving from 1725 to 1731. As a result of a dispute with the governor of Kazan, A. P. Volynsky, in 1731, Metr. Sylvester was removed from office and reduced to the status of an ordinary monk.

Life

Metropolitan Sylvester (Holmsky) of Kazan, also Sylvester (Volynsky)[1], came from a family of noblemen. The date of his birth is not known. He was a student at the Kiev-Mogila Academy. He was tonsured a monk at the end of seventeenth century and received the name Sylvester and was soon appointed treasurer of the Hierarchical House in Novgorod, Russia. In December 1700, he was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite at the Derevyannitsky Monastery. In 1701, Father Sylvester was appointed abbot of the Yuriev Monastery. On October 22, 1704, he was appointed abbot of Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra.

After his consecration to the episcopate on September 14, 1708, as Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Nizhny Novgorod, Metr. Sylvester was assigned to a succession of sees. On March 5, 1719, he was transferred to the see of Smolensk as Metropolitan. Then, on March 3, 1720, he was transferred as Metropolitan to the see of Tver with instructions that he was to wear black monasticklobuk. On February 3, 1723, Metr. Sylvester was appointed the Bishop of Ryazan. In August, 1725, he was again transferred, this time to the Eparchy of Kazan, with the rank of archbishop. At his request on March 15, 1727, the rank of metropolitan was returned to him.

In late 1730, Metropolitan Ignatius (Smola) of Kolomna was deposed and banished to the Sviyazhsk Monastery in the Eparchy of Kazan. Metr. Sylvester provided hospitality and a pleasant reception to the deposed Ignatius, actions that raised a bitter hostility between him and the Governor of Kazan, A. P. Volynsky. As a consequence, on December 30, 1731, Metr. Sylvester was removed from his position as metropolitan with a prohibition on serving. He was then sent to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg where he was prohibited from leaving the monastery.

On March 28, 1732, Metr. Sylvester was banished to the Krypetsk Monastery in Pskov. Further, on October 19, 1732. Metr. Sylvester was deposed as metropolitan and his priesthood and, then, as an ordinary monk he was banished to the Germonsky castle in Vyborg where he died on May 31, 1735.

Succession box:
Sylvester (Holmsky) of Kazan
Preceded by:
Isaiah
Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod
1708 - 1719
Succeeded by:
Pitirim
Preceded by:
?
Metropolitan of Smolensk
1719 - 1720
Succeeded by:
?
Preceded by:
?
Metropolitan of Tver
1720 - 1723
Succeeded by:
?
Preceded by:
?
Bishop of Ryazan
1723 -1725
Succeeded by:
?
Preceded by:
Tikhon III (Voinov)
Metropolitan of Kazan
1725 - 1731
Succeeded by:
Hilarion (Rogalevsky)
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