August: Day 13: Teaching 1: Saint Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh

August: Day 13: Teaching 1:
Saint Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh
 
(A Role Model for Christians)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The great Saint Tikhon, the intercessor of the whole Russian land and the glorious wonderworker, the discovery of whose holy relics is commemorated today, was born in 1724 in the village of Korotsko, now in the Valdaysky district of the Novgorod province. His father Savva Kirillov was a very poor village deacon and died soon after his birth, so that the Saint did not remember him. The eldest son took his place and became the breadwinner of the family. Their mother Domnikia, three brothers and two sisters had to subsist on the meager wages of a psalmist. There was often no bread. The future luminary of Russia in his infancy and adolescence sometimes toiled until the sweat of his brow, harrowing the whole day for some peasant, just so that they would feed him with bread. But, in poverty, what a wonderful family it was! This is what happened one day: there was a coachman in their village, a well-to-do man, but childless. He often said to Timothy's mother (the secular name of Saint Tikhon): "Give him to me, I will feed him and arrange for him." One time, the elder brother, the breadwinner, was not at home: the mother, unable to bear to see her orphans without bread, without shoes, after crying, took Timothy and led him to the coachman. But the elder brother soon came, rushed after his mother, fell on his knees before her and said: "Where are you taking him? I would rather go out into the world with a bag, than give my brother to a coachman." The mother returned home. What brotherly love! And what it means to support a person in time! If it were not for such a good brother, we, perhaps, would not have had the great Saint, who for his great soul-saving writings can truly be called the Russian Chrysostom.

When the modest and intelligent Timothy was sent to the seminary in Novgorod, he endured similar hardships; however, he studied with even greater diligence. "It used to be," he wrote later, "when I received the government bread, I would keep half of it for food for myself, and sell the other half, and buy a candle and sit with it and read a book." Children from well-off families laughed at him, but he remained silent, endured, and learned! Thus, with outstanding success, he completed his studies and became a teacher at the same seminary. The example of the great Saint is comforting for the poor and instructive for the rich: behold the need he was in, and yet he was able, through patience, zeal, and trust in God, to emerge not only as an exceptional individual but as a holy man! O the wealthy! Do not wait until a poor person comes to you and asks for help! Seek out those around you: is there someone who might need assistance in a timely manner, or an orphan to take in, or a boy or young man needing support to receive an education! The Lord will reward you! The Lord will reward you! And Saint Tikhon will pray for you because his example, a poor man, moved you to mercy!

With a zeal in fulfilling his duties, Saint Tikhon enjoyed reading spiritual books and praying, especially at night, in his free time. One night, during a clear and calm May evening, he stepped out onto the porch facing the northern direction and began to ponder the eternal blessedness of the righteous. "Suddenly before me," he recounted later, "it was as if the heavens were opened, and I beheld such brilliance and light that it is impossible to convey in mortal words or comprehend with the mind." This vision remained etched in his memory for the rest of his life: whenever sorrow befell him, as soon as he recalled it, he always felt joy and gladness in his heart. This vision, along with yet another so-called incident (the incident is a veil under which the matter of God's providence is concealed), when he was miraculously saved from falling from a dreadful height, ultimately inclined him towards the acceptance of monasticism, to which he had felt a strong attraction since childhood. In monastic life, he engaged even more fervently in the duties assigned to him, in spiritual contemplation, prayer, and began to write his soul-saving works. Finally, by a special arrangement of God, which came to pass contrary to human expectations and against the hopes of the most humble Tikhon, he was elevated to the rank of bishop in the Church, where he displayed his great peaceableness, compassion for all, gentleness, and humility.

The episcopal ministry of Saint Tikhon lasted only a short time: about two years in Novgorod (in the position of vicar of the Metropolitan of Novgorod) and four years in Voronezh; yet how much toil he bore and how many good deeds and initiatives he accomplished in this brief period! Above all, the good shepherd was concerned with the Christian education of the people and personally labored in the preparation of instructive teachings, some of which he sent throughout the diocese, while others he commanded to be affixed to the walls of churches so that all could hear the archpastoral word, encouraging the priests subordinate to him to do the same.

The increased labors, especially the constant and exhausting concern for the flock, disrupted the health of the great hierarch. The zealous archpastor feared to neglect his duties; the faithful servant of Christ worked day and night, and dreaded the answer he would have to give before the Chief Shepherd, Christ. Time and again, he requested to be relieved of his position. It pleased the Lord that in the solitude of the desert, the great virtues of the Christ-bearer flourished even more, and his divinely wise, highly instructive works were inscribed for the benefit of not only the Church of Voronezh but for the entire Russian Church. Having been granted retirement, he spent fifteen years almost entirely in that secluded monastery on the banks of the Don, which is now so dear to the heart of every Russian.

II. Is it possible to adequately portray the noble virtues of the great Saint? Let us point out only a few of them to the pious listener.

a) What a fervent jealousy Saint Tikhon had for the salvation of his neighbors: not sparing his fragile health, he dedicated his entire life to the compilation of soul-saving books, to the distribution, so to speak, of spiritual alms. "If he who quenches the thirst of his neighbor's perishable body with a cup of water will not be forgotten before the Rewarding God, how much more will he be remembered in favor by Him who has helped the immortal soul, in the time of its spiritual thirst, to taste even a drop of the sweet and living water of prayer and grace" (Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow).

"If you see a blind man standing on the edge of an abyss, would you not hurry to prevent him from falling? How can we gaze upon our brethren, continually plunging into the abyss of hell, and not extend a hand of help to them?" (Saint John Chrysostom). "Devote all your efforts, apply all your knowledge, and all your care to the guidance and conversion of the lost" (Saint John Chrysostom). "I, says the Lord, have created heaven and earth, and to you, O man, I have given the same power to make the earth a heaven. I have ignited the heavenly lights, illuminating your neighbor with the light of truth. You cannot create a man, but you can transform him and make him pleasing and beloved to Me." "He who turns even one soul pleases God incomparably more than one who would distribute all his possessions to the poor" (Saint John Chrysostom, "Homily 3 on Genesis"). (Gal. 6:1; 1 John 3:18; 1 Peter 2:9, 12; James 5:20; Ezekiel 3:18).

"Preaching the truth to others is greater than prayer," says Saint Gregory the Great, "turning a sinner to repentance is a greater miracle than resurrecting a dead man: the one who is resurrected will die again, while the soul that rises from sin will live forever. Pay close attention: the Lord raised Lazarus from the grave, and there are no accounts in the Gospel about his subsequent life; Christ resurrected the soul in the Apostle Paul – and he performed many miracles through his teachings" (Prologue, February 29).

b) How fervent was the prayer of Saint Tikhon! He spent whole nights in vigil, and in the morning he was invariably in church. Sometimes, in the deepest contrition, he would prostrate himself, crying out loudly: "Lord, have mercy! Spare us! Have mercy!" – and he would strike his head to the ground. At other times, detached from earthly matters, he would kneel facing the east with raised hands, seeing and hearing nothing of what was happening around him. The prayer of God’s bishop embraced the entire Church, the whole world, and reached to the heavens!

c) What a love for the word of God! Both at the table and on the road, during every moment of rest, the books of the Gospel, the Psalms, or the Prophets were constantly with him... Among the Church Fathers, he particularly esteemed Chrysostom, and in his own works, the spirit of this greatest universal teacher is vividly imprinted.

d) What a love for the poor! Almost every day, sitting at his meager table, he would say: "Glory to God! Here I have such good food, while some of my brethren sit in prison, and others eat without salt; woe is me, wretched one!" He devoted almost his entire monetary pension to acts of philanthropy. He would send his cell attendant to Yelets to gather information about the poor and then assist them. On numerous occasions, he secretly visited prisoners in jail, comforting them with love and urging them toward repentance and reform.

e) The meekness and humility of the great hierarch are equally worthy of admiration. When he heard bitter slander against himself or suffered grief from someone, he invariably endeavored to show kindness and goodness to his offenders. A certain nobleman, raised in unbelief, entered into a dispute with the hierarch concerning the dogmas of faith and, being unable to refute him, dared to strike him on the cheek... The meek hierarch fell to his feet and said: "Forgive me, for God's sake, that I led you into temptation." The atheist who struck him burst into tears of repentance and became a good Christian.

Thus, from his youth until his grave, the great Saint of God labored on earth and in the short time of this fleeting life, as a wise householder, he acquired for himself eternal, never-ending blessedness.

III. May the Lord grant us, through the prayers of Saint Tikhon, to imitate him in faith and piety. 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.