The Russian Church canonized him in 1988 AD on the occasion of the millennium feast of the Baptism of the Russian people. He is rightly considered one of the most prominent makers of the spiritual renaissance in the Russian Church before the Bolshevik Revolution (1917). Some consider him the most prominent writer on “Orthodox spirituality,” not only in the nineteenth century, but throughout Russian history as a whole.
His name in the world was George Govorov. He was born on January 10, 1815 in the village of Chernavsk in the Ural Province in Central Russia. His father, Basil, was a pious, talented priest, and his mother was a lover of God, full of kindness and compassion. The bar's childhood was happy. At the age of eight, he was sent to the seminary and then to the seminary in the Urals. It was realistic that he would be prepared as a priest, in his father's line, according to the custom followed at that time. From his youth, he was distinguished by his calm nature and tendency toward silence. He also loved prayer and solitude. In addition, he demonstrated exceptional mental ability. After completing his studies at the Clerical Institute, he moved to the Ecclesiastical Academy in Kiev, where he studied for four years and excelled. During his stay in Kiev, he frequented the Caves Monastery, which is the cradle of Russian monasticism, and a tendency toward monasticism grew in his heart.
Among those who influenced him, during that period of his life, was a spiritual sheikh named Parthanius. He accepted the vows at the age of twenty-six. Father Parthanius said to him that day: “You, a group of learned monks, have great knowledge, but remember that the most important work you can perform is prayer. They prayed to God without interruption in unity of mind and heart. This is what you have to keep in mind.”
Saint Theophanes held several positions, from professor to superintendent of the Theological Institute in Novgorod and then dean of the Theological Institute in Olonets. His teaching was clear and exciting, and he inspired his students with enthusiasm.
In 1847, the Russian government decided to send a church mission to Jerusalem to investigate the conditions of Orthodoxy in the Middle East and to establish a permanent Russian mission in Palestine. One of the members of the mission was Theophanes and its head was Archimandrite Porphyrios Ospenksi. The members of the mission moved between Syria, Egypt, Sinai, and Mount Athos. She visited libraries and studied manuscripts. Theophanes worked, in particular, in the libraries of the Monastery of Saint Saba in Palestine and the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai. He also visited Coptic monasteries, interacted with the Orthodox clergy, learned about their conditions, and studied the conditions of Catholic and Protestant missionaries in the Holy Land. During the eight years he spent there, he was able to learn French, Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew. Then he returned to Russia following the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1855 AD.
In 1857 AD, Theophanes was appointed Dean of the Ecclesiastical Academy in Petersburg and remained in his position there for two years.
In 1859 AD, he was chosen as bishop of the see of Tambov, where he resided for four years. Then he moved to the see of Vladimir, where he resided for three years. Our saint, at this stage of his life, was particularly interested in improving the quality of preaching among priests and therefore created special lessons for it. He himself was a first-class preacher. He was also interested in teaching people the path of salvation and how to pray. In addition, he was a father to his people in every sense of the word, and he lived a simple life, eating only once a day. The features of monasticism were clear in the way he dealt with matters. Despite being a capable administrator, he refused to play the role of judge. Attending church courts was very painful for him, so he gave up this role to one of the priests. His tendency towards solitude and prayer was increasing, so he decided to abandon the bishopric and become a monk permanently. The Holy Synod granted him permission to do so. He had been in the bishopric for seven years.
In 1866, the Holy Synod made him head of the Fisha Monastery. There our saint spent the rest of his twenty-eight years. At first, he participated in the monastery’s prayers, received visitors, and performed some tasks related to him as head of the monastery. He stayed in this state for six years, after which he retired and began to stay in his corner and not meet anyone except the head of the monastery, his father, and the monk who was serving him. Its corner was a small bedroom, a small reception room, a chapel, a library and an atelier. In addition to his passion for intellectual and written work, he was a good icon painter and wood engraver. Since then, he began performing divine services, including the Divine Mass, in his prison cell. At first, he performed the divine sacrifice every Sunday and an important holiday, then he began to perform the sacrifice every day. We do not know much about his ascetic life. But we know that he spent most of his time in liturgical prayer, personal prayer - the Jesus Prayer - or reading and writing. He drank tea morning and evening, and ate once a day. His meal consisted of two eggs, a cup of milk, and a piece of bread. This is outside the times of fasting and fasting. Many have written many books. He translated many of the works of the Church Fathers into the modern Russian language, especially the Philokalia collection, and he used to respond to the huge volume of letters he received from believers, at a rate of twenty to forty letters every day. Although he was imprisoned, he was known throughout Russia thanks to his writings and correspondence. It seems that an attempt was made to attract him to the metropolitan seat of Kiev, but he did not want to accept it.
Saint Theophanes was exhausted by fatigue due to the rigor of his asceticism, his age, and his perseverance in writing and composing. In 1888 AD, he lost the sight of one of his eyes. However, he continued his ascetic discipline and his passion for writing without change. Rest in peace in the Lord without illness or conflict. This happened four days before his 80th birthday.
Saint Theophanes left us many works that constitute a library in every sense of the word. His spiritual and mystical writings include:
- Messages in spiritual life
- Messages in the Christian life
- Messages to people on the subject of faith and life
- What is the spiritual life and how do we live in it?
- The Path of Salvation (his most important works in the estimation of those who know)
- In repentance, the secret of gratitude, and self-reformation
- In wakefulness and prayer
- Interpretation of more letters of the Apostle Paul
- Interpretation of Psalms 33 and 118
- Transferring the Philokalia or the writings of the Fathers of the Wilderness
- Transfer of ancient monastic rules
- Translation of the sermons of Saint Simeon the Modern Theologian
- Quoting the book “Spiritual Warfare” by Lorenzo Scopoli
The church celebrates it on January 10
On the Lives of the Saints - Synaxarium, and other feasts in the Orthodox Church, Archimandrite Monk Thomas Bitar
