Vasily Ivanovich Belavin

Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, the future Saint Tikhon, was born on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese.
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When Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children.One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them.He had seen in a dream his dead mother, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons.One would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man.The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary.The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature.He was fair-haired and tall of stature.His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions.Vasily was called "bishop" and "patriarch" by his classmates.

In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him.He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows.Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony.He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely the service of the Church.The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.He was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite.

Saint Tikhon of Moscow (January 19, 1865 - April 7, 1925), born Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, was the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Church during the early years of the Soviet Union, 1917 through 1925.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary.In 1888, at the age of 23, he graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman.He then returned to the Pskov Seminary and became an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.In 1891, at the age of 26, he took monastic vows and was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on October 19, 1897.On September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska.As head of the Russian Orthodox Church in America he reorganized the diocese and changed its name from "Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska" to "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" in 1900.While living in the United States Archbishop Tikhon was made a citizen of the United States.

He had two vicar bishops in the United States: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn.In June of 1905, St. Tikhon gave his blessing for the establishment of St. Tikhon's Monastery in Pennsylvania.On May 22, 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, New York, and was also involved in establishing other churches in North America.On November 9, 1902, he consecrated the church of St. Nicholas in Brooklyn for the Syrian Orthodox immigrants.Two weeks later, he consecrated St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York.

In 1907, he returned to Russia, and was appointed Bishop of Yaroslavl.St. Tikhon was transferred to Vilnius, Lithuania on December 22, 1913.On June 21, 1917, he was elected the ruling bishop of Moscow by the Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity.On August 15, 1917, Archbishop Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan of Moscow.

Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, the future Saint Tikhon, was born on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese.
...
When Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children.One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them.He had seen in a dream his dead mother, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons.One would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man.The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary.The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature.He was fair-haired and tall of stature.His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions.Vasily was called "bishop" and "patriarch" by his classmates.

In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him.He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows.Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony.He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the service of the Church.

The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.He was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite.

Born Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, the son of a country priest, the future saint graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1888 and became a seminary instructor.Three years later, he took monastic vows and assumed the name “Tikhonâ€, after St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783).In 1898 he was chosen as Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska, which made him the only Orthodox prelate in the Western Hemisphere.As the name of the diocese suggests, its attention had hitherto been focused on the Orthodox community in Alaska, a legacy of Russian rule.Bishop Tikhon looked to the rest of the continent.He changed the name of the see to “the Aleutians and North Americaâ€, moved its headquarters to New York and, after being raised to the rank of Archbishop, appointed two auxiliary bishops, one of them an Arab, St. Raphael Hawaweeny, the first Bishop of Brooklyn.He also obtained the approval of the Holy Synod in Moscow for an Orthodox Western Rite with a liturgy is based on the Book of Common Prayer (now known as the “Rite of St. Tikhon†and used by the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese).

In 1907 he was recalled to Russia, serving as Bishop of Yaroslavl (1907-1913) and Vilna (1913-1917).
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Therefore the archbishop Victor consecrated archimandrite Vasily to be the first Chinese bishop of Beijing in preparation to lead the Church to autonomy which was eventually granted in 1957.

Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, the future Saint Tikhon, was born on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese.
...
When Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children.One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them.He had seen in a dream his dead mother, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons.One would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man.The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary.The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature.He was fair-haired and tall of stature.His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions.Vasily was called "bishop" and "patriarch" by his classmates.

In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him.He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows.Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony.He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the service of the Church.The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.He was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite.

Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, the future Saint Tikhon, was born on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese.
...
When Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children.One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them.He had seen in a dream his dead mother, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons.One would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man.The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary.The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature.He was fair-haired and tall of stature.His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions.Vasily was called "bishop" and "patriarch" by his classmates.

In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him.He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows.Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony.He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the service of the Church.The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.He was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite.Archimandrite Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on October 19, 1897, and returned to Kholm for a year as Vicar Bishop of the Kholm Diocese.Bishop Tikhon zealously devoted his energy to the establishment of the new vicariate.His attractive moral make-up won the general affection, of not only the Russian population, but also of the Lithuanians and Poles.On September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska.As head of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Tikhon was a zealous laborer in the Lord's vineyard.He did much to promote the spread of Orthodoxy, and to improve his vast diocese.

According to the hagiographical material available on the OCA website, Saint Tikhon was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese.
...
When Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children.One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them.He had seen his dead mother in a dream, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons.She said that one would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man.The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary.The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature.He was fair-haired and tall of stature.His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions.Vasily was called "bishop" and "patriarch" by his classmates.

In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the St Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him.He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows.Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony.He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the service of the Church.The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of St Tikhon of Zadonsk.

He was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite.