New Martyr 20th century

Hieromartyr Benjamin Metropolitan of Petrograd, and Companions

c. 1874 – 1922

Also known as Benjamin Kazansky · Archimandrite Sergius · George Novitsky · John Kovsharov

The beloved metropolitan of Petrograd who, condemned on false charges in a show trial during the seizure of the church treasures, met death with forgiveness and peace, and was shot with the archimandrite Sergius and two laymen in 1922.

Feast Day

July 31

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Benjamin, Metropolitan of Petrograd, and Those With Him

Life

Benjamin, Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, was a Russian hierarch executed in 1922 during the Soviet campaign to confiscate church valuables. Born Basil Pavlovich Kazansky around 1874 in the Olonets Province into a priest's family, he rose through the ecclesiastical schools and monastic life to lead the diocese of the former imperial capital through the upheavals that followed the Russian Revolution. He is commemorated on July 31 together with three companions condemned with him: the Archimandrite Sergius (Shein) and two laymen, the jurists George Novitsky and John Kovsharov.

By the accounts preserved in the synaxarion, Benjamin's downfall arose from his conduct during the 1922 seizure of church treasures. The Soviet authorities professed that the confiscated valuables would be sold to feed a starving population, and Benjamin did not refuse to surrender them; he held it his duty to help save lives, but insisted that the offering be voluntary rather than a forced plundering of consecrated vessels. When a group of twelve priests associated with the emerging renovationist, or 'Living Church,' movement demanded the unconditional surrender of all church property and attempted to seize ecclesiastical authority, the metropolitan responded with a decree against their leader. His refusal to retract it placed him in direct conflict with the regime.

Arrested and tried on charges of counter-revolutionary conspiracy, Benjamin was sentenced to death and, with his companions, secretly shot in the late summer of 1922. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992 and is numbered among the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

Timeline 8 moments Read Hide

c. 1874 Birth Born Basil Pavlovich Kazansky in the Olonets Province into a priest's family.
1893 Enters the Academy Begins study at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
1895 Monastic tonsure Tonsured a monk with the name Benjamin and ordained a deacon.
1910 Consecrated bishop Made Bishop of Gdovsk.
1917 Metropolitan of Petrograd Named Metropolitan of Petrograd in the summer following the revolution.
1922 Confiscation crisis and arrest Opposed the unconditional seizure of church valuables and was arrested and tried.
Jul 31, 1922 Martyrdom Shot with Archimandrite Sergius, George Novitsky, and John Kovsharov.
1992 Glorification Glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church among the New Martyrs.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributions Read Hide

Early Life and Episcopal Career

He was born Basil Pavlovich Kazansky in the Olonets Province in the north of European Russia, the son of a priest. After studies at the Petrozavodsk Theological Seminary he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1893. In 1895 he was tonsured a monk and took the name Benjamin, was ordained a deacon, and the following year a priest.

Following his graduation in 1897 he served in the theological schools, teaching at Riga and holding inspectorships at the Kholm and St. Petersburg seminaries before becoming rector of the Samara seminary in 1902 with the rank of archimandrite. He was consecrated Bishop of Gdovsk in 1910. After the revolution of February 1917 he was raised to the rank of archbishop and then, in August 1917, named Metropolitan of Petrograd; his title was subsequently fixed as Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk. The sources describe him as a pastor who kept his attention on the care of his flock rather than on politics during a turbulent period.

The Seizure of Church Valuables

In 1922, amid a severe famine, the Soviet government launched a campaign to confiscate the treasures of the Church. Benjamin sought a path that would relieve the suffering without sacrilege: by tradition he reached an agreement in early March 1922 permitting parishes to contribute voluntarily while retaining some oversight of their sacred vessels, an approach that the press initially praised.

This conciliatory course was undercut by a faction of priests who would form the renovationist 'Living Church.' According to the synaxarion, twelve of them publicly demanded the unconditional surrender of all church property and moved to usurp diocesan authority. Benjamin issued a decree against their leader, Vvedensky, calling him to repentance and declaring him separated from the Church. The authorities threatened the metropolitan with death unless he rescinded the decree, and he declined.

Trial and Martyrdom

Benjamin was arrested and brought before a tribunal together with a large group of co-defendants on charges of counter-revolutionary conspiracy and resistance to the confiscation. The proceedings lasted some weeks. By the account preserved in the synaxarion, when the question of his sentence arose he declared that whatever the court decreed he would give thanks to God, saying, 'Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee for all things.' Early in July the chairman announced that the metropolitan and several other defendants were condemned to death.

On July 31, 1922, Metropolitan Benjamin was shot together with the Archimandrite Sergius (Shein) and the two lay jurists George Novitsky and John Kovsharov. The execution was carried out in secret, and the four were shaved and dressed in rags so that the firing squad would not recognize that they were killing clergy and faithful of the Church.

Glorification

In April 1992 the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Metropolitan Benjamin and those who suffered with him as holy martyrs. They are commemorated on July 31 and among the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

Notes

Named group commemorated as one; modern glorification.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints