On September 27 (September 14 on the Julian Calendar) we commemorate Arsenius (Zhadanovsky), Archbishop, of Serpukhov, Bishop and Martyr of the Communist Yoke, who reposed in the Lord in 1937.
Bishop Arseny (in the world, Zhadanovsky Alexander Ivanovich), was born on March 6, 1874 in the village of Pisarevka, Volchansky district, Kharkov province. Several generations of clergy from the Zhadanovsky family, including Alexander's father, Archpriest John, and his brothers, Archpriests Alexy and Andrey, and Priest Nikolay, served in churches in the city of Chuguev, Kharkov province.
In 1884, Alexander entered the Kharkov Theological School. Kharkov Archbishop Ambrose (Klyucharev), who visited the school, predicted that the boy would become a bishop.
In 1888-1894 he studied at the Kharkov Theological Seminary, after which he was appointed a teacher of the Law of God at the parish school in the village of Osinovka near Chuguev; in 1896-1899 he served as a supervisor-tutor at the Sumy Theological School. Relatives, who wanted Alexander to take his father's place at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, asked the young man to return to Chuguev. Zhadanovsky sent a letter to St. John of Kronstadt asking him to help him choose his path in life. In a letter dated January 17, 1898, Archpriest John blessed the young man to take monastic vows.
On July 17, 1899, Alexander was tonsured into monasticism in the Svyatogorsk Zimnensky Monastery by Archbishop Ambrose (Klyucharev) and given the name Arseny.
On August 14, he was ordained a hierodeacon by the same bishop.
On October 1, 1899, he entered the Moscow Theological Academy.
On May 9, 1902, he was ordained a hieromonk by the rector of the academy, Bishop Arseny (Stadnitsky) . During his studies, he often visited the sketes of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Communication with the elders, the Venerable Alexy (Solovyov), Barnabas (Merkulov) and Hegumen Herman (Gomzin), who was Arseny's spiritual father, had a huge influence on the formation of the spiritual image of the young hieromonk. Later, he also gratefully recalled the teachers of the academy, D. F. Golubinsky and Archpriest E. A. Vorontsov.
In 1903 he graduated from the academy with a degree in theology for his work "Conversations of the Venerable Macarius of Egypt from a homiletic point of view."
On July 17-19, 1903, he attended the celebrations of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the Sarov Hermitage.
On September 2, 1903, he was appointed treasurer of the Chudov Monastery in Moscow .
Abbot of the Chudov Monastery
On March 26, 1904, he was appointed abbot of the Chudov Monastery; on March 27 of the same year, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky).
He introduced a number of measures to strengthen monastic discipline in the Chudov Monastery: mandatory presence of the brethren at all services, attendance of the inhabitants at meals only in full monastic attire, etc. Women were forbidden to enter the monastery fence and cells. A school for novices was opened at the monastery, where church history, catechism, and asceticism were taught; only those who graduated from this school were accepted into the brethren.
On October 27, 1911, he established the Moscow Department of the Kamchatka Missionary Brotherhood at the Chudov Monastery. In 1912-1917, together with missionary I. G. Aivazov, he published the magazines "The Lepta of the Monastery of St. Alexis" and "The Voice of the Church", which published sermons and "Spiritual Diaries" of Fr. Arseny, dedicated to the discussion of Orthodox doctrine, as well as current problems of church life: the activities of the Johannite sect, the spread of atheism, the youth eldership , the revival of the rank of deaconesses, name worship, etc. Through the efforts of Archimandrite Arseny, who became close during these years with Archimandrite Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), Archpriest Alexy Mechev, schema-monk. Famarya (Mardzhanova), the Chudov Monastery became one of the centers of spiritual enlightenment in Moscow.
Bishop of Serpukhov
On June 8, 1914, he was consecrated Bishop of Serpukhov, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese. The consecration took place in the Alekseevsky Cathedral of the Chudov Monastery. Bishop Arseny was responsible for overseeing the teaching of the Law of God in secondary educational institutions in Moscow, appointing religious teachers, and monitoring tonsures in monasteries of the Moscow Diocese.
He was also the chairman of the missionary brotherhood in the name of St. Peter, the Committee for the organization of extra-liturgical conversations with the people, the religious and philosophical circle, etc.
From October 27 to November 3, 1917, the Moscow Kremlin was subjected to artillery fire by the Bolsheviks, and among other things, the buildings of the Chudov Monastery were damaged. When the shelling began, the relics of St. Alexis were transferred by the brethren to the Ermogenov cave church, where, under the roar of exploding shells, Bishop Arseny prayed together with Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazansky) of Petrograd, Archbishop Mikhail (Ermakov) of Grodno, Venerable Alexis (Solovyov) and the monks of the monastery.
After the monastery was closed in August 1918, Bishop Arseny, who had fallen seriously ill from the shock he had experienced, together with Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), left for the Seraphim-Znamensky Skete near Moscow , where he became the spiritual mentor of Schema-Abbess Tamara and many sisters. Bishop Arseny celebrated the Divine Liturgy daily, was engaged in icon painting, studied church music, and medicine. In the skete church in front of the abbot's seat there was an icon he had painted, "The Savior Not Made by Hands."
At the end of December 1919 , Bishop Arseny moved to Serpukhov, where he carried out episcopal service.
Arrest
In 1923, due to illness, he was dismissed from the management of the Serpukhov Vicariate and settled in the Seraphim-Znamensky Skete, where he remained until its closure on July 12, 1924 .
In 1924-1925, together with his two spiritual daughters, he lived in the village of Kuzmёnki, Serpukhov district, in the house of the rector of the Assumption Church, Archpriest Mikhail Pyatikrestovsky. Having arranged a church in his half of the house, Bishop Arseny celebrated divine services daily. Schema-Abbess Tamara, the inhabitants of the skete, and numerous spiritual children came to see the bishop; in Kuzmёnki, he performed several monastic tonsures. On March 1, 1926, in the village of Kotelniki, Ukhtomsky district, Moscow region, he was present at the death of the Moscow Metropolitan Macarius (Nevsky), whom he revered; in 1927, Bishop Arseny compiled a biography of the saint.
In 1926 or 1927 he was exiled to Arzamas in the Nizhny Novgorod province. After some time he settled in the Seraphim-Ponetaevsky Monastery, after the closure of which he returned to Arzamas, where he rented a small house and, having built a church in it, conducted services.
During this time he was elevated to the rank of archbishop by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). However, Bishop Arseny did not accept the appointment and did not participate in public services.
Returning from exile at the beginning of 1928, Bishop Arseny, together with several of his spiritual children, lived in Serpukhov and in the village of Kotelniki, where he bought a house thanks to the help received from Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) .
In 1931 he was arrested and released after 2 months.
In the early 1930s he lived in Serpukhov with his spiritual children D. V. Matveeva and K. N. Sokolnikova.
On April 21, 1932, he was arrested by the Serpukhov district department of the OGPU of the USSR on charges of illegal activity as part of the "church-monarchist organization 'True Orthodox Church'" and systematic agitation among the population. Together with Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), he was accused of leading Moscow churches of "anti-Soviet orientation." Soon Bishop Arseny was released.
In May 1933, he was arrested together with his cell attendant, Nun Alexandra (Murashova), as part of a group of 10 people, accused of anti-Soviet agitation among the population of the Zvenigorod district, and sentenced to 3 years of exile in Kazakhstan. Bishop Arseny appealed the sentence, citing the morbid condition (mental disorder) in which he was while giving testimony; on August 14, the OGPU MO troika decided to consider the sentence suspended.
In 1935-1937, the seriously ill Bishop Arseny lived in Kotelniki together with his cell attendants, nuns Alexandra (Murashova) and Matrona (Chusheva) .
On April 14, 1937, he was arrested again, accused of leading the "counter-revolutionary monarchist organization 'True Orthodox Church'" and imprisoned in Moscow's Butyrka prison. He pleaded guilty.
On September 26, 1937, he was sentenced to death by a troika of the NKVD of the Moscow region.
He was shot on September 27, 1937 at the Butovo firing range. Together with Bishop Arseny, the following individuals were executed: Sergei Sidorov, Mikhail Shik , Pyotr Petrikov, Hieromonk Andrei (Elbson), nuns Matrona (Chusheva), Vera (Rozhkova), Valentina (Zasypkina), while six others were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment in a labor camp.
In 1956 Bishop Arseny was exonerated.
Though Bishop Arseny has not (yet) been glorified as a saint, we still remember his martyric sacrifice and the example he set of forbearance in the face of persecution.
Essays
- [Diaries for 1909-1914] // RGADA. F. 1207. Unit of storage 1577-1580;
- The Divine Dignity of the Person of Jesus Christ. Moscow, 1905;
- Ancient Christian practice of receiving Holy Communion. Moscow, 1914 (reprint: How ancient Christians received communion. St. Petersburg, 1998);
- About the priesthood. M., 1914;
- Venerable Macarius of Egypt. Moscow, 1914;
- The Moscow Sacred Kremlin and its Shrines. M., 1917;
- Memories of remarkable Moscow archpriests // Pravosl. path. Georg., 1987. Pp. 69-76;
- Memories. M., 1995;
- On the Jesus Prayer: 33-part worship of the God-Man Christ. Moscow, 1997;
- Spiritual diary. M., 1999.
Literature
- Regelson L. Tragedy of the Russian Church. 1917-1945 P., 1977. S. 560-565;
- "Quiet Light": Life and Works of Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) of Serpukhov. Moscow, 1996. Vol. 1;
- Those who suffered for Christ. Book 1. P. 105-106;
- Notes of priest Sergiy Sidorov, with an appendix of his biography, compiled by his daughter V. S. Bobrinskaya. Moscow, 1999.