Day of the discovery of the relics of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1992)

Since 1992, the Orthodox Church has been celebrating the Day of the Discovery of the Relics of St Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' The memorial date was approved on February 22 and is celebrated annually The patriarch was canonized as a saint 55 years after his death in 1981 Such high recognition of the significance of his personality occurred at the height of the Soviet era, when the Church was out of favor with state power But it was precisely through the forces of Tikhon that the Orthodox faith in the Land of the Soviets retained its true essence and was able to revive its former significance for the entire country The future saint was born in 1865 into the family of a clergyman, which predetermined his future fate From a very young age, surrounded by the traditions of Orthodoxy, Vasily (secular name) knew that he would follow in the footsteps of his parent Having received an education in religious educational institutions, the young man chooses teaching But two years later, completely unexpectedly for friends and relatives, he took monastic vows, taking the name in honor of Tikhon of Zadonsk The monastic life of the saint was far from peace and quiet; he occupied various positions and carried out many assignments One of Tikhon’s destinations was North America, where the preaching activities of the new bishop brought many people into the fold of the Orthodox Church After returning to Russia, Tikhon distinguished himself in Yaroslavl, becoming an honorary resident of the city, and was then evacuated to Moscow during the First World War Constant concern for believers makes the personality of the saint more and more revered and leads him to his election as Patriarch of All Russia in August 1917 After the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the power of the proletariat, Tikhon expresses concern about the situation in the state and condemns the bloody riots Trying to stay away from the political turmoil of his time, the saint still calls on Russians to resist Kaiser Germany, and then condemns the signing of a separate peace treaty with the enemy The unity of the Orthodox Church and adherence to conciliar principles become Tikhon’s main concern He carries out active church activities, performing divine services every two to three days during the seven years of his patriarchate By condemning the new government, the patriarch incurs disfavor and is taken into custody After his release, the saint sadly faces the consequences of the destructive actions of the schismatic-renovationists and the general confusion of the Orthodox flock The main meaning of Tikhon’s message was the statement that the Church cannot be neither white nor red, that its purpose is the unity and holiness of the faith At the end of 1924, the patriarch’s health deteriorated sharply The conclusion of his death was death from heart failure, but at the same time there were rumors about his possible poisoning The last words of the saint were a prophecy about a long, dark night that covered the Russian Orthodox Church The contribution of St Tikhon to preserving the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church was appreciated at the end of the 20th century, when special days of his veneration were established