Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow

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Saint Tikhon of Moscow (Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin) lived from 1865 to 1925 and is honored as a confessor, patron of the church in America, and a saint in the Orthodox tradition.

Early life and call to ministry
- Born January 31, 1865, in Klin, Russia.
- Studied at Pskov Theological Seminary and the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy.
- Became a monk in 1891 and took the name Tikhon.
- Became a bishop in 1897, first of Lublin, then of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, where he served Orthodox communities in North America and helped build churches, including St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York. He even became a naturalized American citizen.

Work in North America
- Led the Russian Orthodox presence in the United States and Canada, reorganizing the diocese and supporting church-building and ecumenical connections.
- Oversaw the construction and consecration of several important churches, including St. Nicholas in Brooklyn and St. Vladimir’s in Chicago.

Return to Russia and rise to the Patriarchate
- Returned to Russia in 1907, serving in Yaroslavl and Vilno before moving to Moscow.
- In 1917 he was elected ruling bishop of Moscow and, as the church restored the patriarchate, was chosen as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

During the Soviet era
- Faced tremendous pressure and danger as the Bolshevik regime confiscated church property.
- Condemned the murder of the tsar’s family and spoke out against attacks on the church.
- In 1920 he granted autonomy to the Russian Orthodox Church in America and other dioceses that had broken away from Moscow.
- Under pressure, he was placed under house arrest from 1922 to 1923. He died in Moscow on April 7, 1925.

Canonization and legacy
- Canonized as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1981 and by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1989.
- His relics were found to be incorrupt in 1992 and are honored at the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.
- He is the patron saint of the Orthodox Western Rite.
- His feast is celebrated on April 7 (his death day). The major shrine is at Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.