Pavel Kolomensky(mind. April 3 (13) listen)) - bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, bishop of Kolomna and Kashira.
He actively supported opponents of the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, but at the same time did not separate from the Patriarchal Church. He is revered by the Old Believers as a saint in the guise of a martyr.
Biography [ | ]
Paul's family moved to the village of Kirikovo, where the Nizhny Novgorod priest Anania, considered one of the best confessors and the most educated person, came to serve. In the second half of the 1620s, John Neronov came to Ananias to study, meeting and making friends with the son of the second Kirikovo priest, the future bishop.
Paul argued his point of view with references to two ancient statutes - “charotein” and “written”. Apparently, the reaction to Bishop Paul's speech was stormy. Subsequently, he “cryingly” recalled how “he was tortured at the council, and how insolence and evil things were done to him.” The work presents a dialogue between Bishop Paul and Patriarch Nikon, where the first four times draws the attention of the second to the fact that his opinion does not correspond to the catechism Orthodox Church.
According to Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo, “ Bishop of Kolomna, being of an obstinate disposition, did not want to accept and approve that act, nor to attach his hand, not to mention give his testimony.” In fact, the formulation adopted at the Council: to rule “against the old and Greek books” (that is, according to ancient non-heretical models) satisfied him. The signature of Bishop Pavel of Kolomna and Kashira is under the acts of the Council, among others. Here his special opinion about bowing is stated: “And what he said at the Holy Council about bowing, and that charter of the Charatean for justification was laid down here, and another in writing.” The authority that Bishop Paul enjoyed in the Church initially prompted Nikon to resort to peaceful persuasion in order to convince Bishop Paul to change his mind about reforms. Simeon Denisov relayed the dispute that occurred between the Patriarch and Archpastor Kolomna. According to Old Believer legend, this dispute ended with Nikon tearing off Pavel’s robe and beating him without mercy with his own hands. The presentation of the incident in the documents of the official church is somewhat more cautious: the Great Moscow Council of 1666 blamed Nikon for being “the only one... except for all Local Council, on him his sins must be revealed... After the deposition of Paul, Bishop of Kolomna, he was cruelly stripped from his mantle and betrayed to severe beatings and punishment, and betrayed to distant imprisonment...”
Was without a Council Court (despite all church rules) was deprived of the episcopal see by Nikon and exiled to the Paleostrovsky monastery. After this, Nikon wrote a slanderous letter to Patriarch Paisius I of Constantinople - allegedly he and John Neronov composed new prayers and church rites, and corrupted people, and separated from the cathedral church. The misled Patriarch of Constantinople condemned the “supporters of innovation.” Bishop Pavel was exiled by Nikon to Lake Onega, to the Paleostrovsky Nativity Monastery, where he stayed for a year and a half. The conditions of detention were quite difficult, but the saint and confessor had the opportunity to communicate with the laity and priests who flocked to him, receiving advice, consolation and archpastoral blessing from him.
Know... the church of God and remain in it, enduring all attacks to the end; Beware of the meeting of demons, and the meeting of the wicked is also called the Church of God. (p. 16)
Stand and uphold the tradition of the holy apostles and holy fathers; Honor the priest, do not remain without him, come to repentance, maintain fasts, avoid drunken drinking, do not lose the Body of Christ. ... (P. 25.)
Some Old Believer sources mention the “Great Council” (pp. 16-18), convened with the blessing of Bishop Paul in (near the place of exile of Pavel Kolomensky). Eat different points view, whether it took place - as described.
Burning of Pavel Kolomensky. 19th century miniature
The Great Moscow Council of 1666-1667, which judged Nikon, charged him with the deposition and death of Bishop Paul: “But you, Nikon, without a council, Bishop Paul of Kolomna, contrary to the rules, overthrew and cursed him and sent him into exile and tortured him there, and then your overthrow will be charged as murder.”
Memory [ | ]
Among the followers of the Old Rite, the veneration of Bishop Paul as a saint began immediately after his death and continues to this day. The Old Believer tradition has a great many “Tales” about Bishop Paul, but separating the legendary information in them from the actual historical narrative presents considerable difficulty. Dmitry Urushev complains that “A lot of fables and fantasies are piled up around the names of Bishop Paul. He happened to be the hero of absolutely incredible Old Believer legends and arbitrary historical fabrications. It is all the more unfortunate that many indisputable and reliable information» .
Outside the Old Believer environment, the figure of Bishop Paul found itself in the shadow of his more famous contemporaries - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Patriarch Nikon and Archpriest Avvakum and rarely attracted the attention of scientists. As priest Sergius Kulemzin notes, “in our church historical literature, news about Bishop Paul is extremely scarce. This is due to the fact that for a long time, right up to the end of the synodal period, the topic of the schism and its leaders (to whom Bishop Paul indirectly belonged) was either kept silent or presented in a deliberately tendentious manner.”
The first secular historian to pay attention to Bishop Paul was Mikhail Pogodin, who in 1854 published in the magazine “Moskvityanin” the article “Note on the homeland of Patriarch Nikon and his opponents,” where he called on young scientists: “How important and useful for science You can also do this by getting acquainted with written literature and beginning to carefully collect information about our historical figures. What do we know in general about some... Bishop Paul? .
In 1938, the French scientist Pierre Pascal published the book “Archpriest Habakkuk and the Beginning of the Schism,” where he tried to reconstruct the biography of Bishop Paul.
Literature [ | ]
- Calendar of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church for 2006. - Publication of the Unified Council of the Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church.
- The story of the suffering and death of the Hieromartyr Paul, Bishop of Kolomna.
- Urushev D. A. On the biography of Bishop Pavel Kolomensky // Old Believers in Russia (XVII-XX centuries): Collection. scientific works. - Vol. 3. / Answer. ed. and comp. E. M. Yukhimenko. - M.: Languages of Slavic culture, 2004. - P. 21-22.
Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, who actively supported opponents of the reforms of Patriarch Nikon during the schism.
Pavel Kolomensky (died April 16 (3 Old Style) 1656) - bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, who actively supported opponents of the reforms of Patriarch Nikon during the schism.
Born in the village of Kolychevo, Knyagininsky district Nizhny Novgorod region in the family of a rural priest. He took monastic vows at the Makarievsky Zheltovodsky Monastery, and from 1636 became the monastery treasurer. According to some historical data, it is known that Bishop Paul permanently lived in the city of Kolomna. In the second half of the 1640s, Hieromonk Pavel entered the Moscow Circle of Devotees of Piety, along with Archpriest Avvakum, Archimandrite (future Patriarch) Nikon, Bishop Hilarion of Ryazan (future persecutor of the “schismatics”) and others. Since 1651, abbot of the Pafnutievo-Borovsky monastery. In 1652 he was one of 12 contenders for the patriarchal throne. At the insistence of Alexei Mikhailovich, Nikon becomes patriarch. In the same year, Nikon elevated Paul to the rank of Bishop of Kolomna and Kashira. In 1653, repressions began against opponents of Nikon's reforms. In 1654, to legitimize his actions, Patriarch Nikon convened a council with carefully selected participants, among whom was Pavel Kolomensky. At the council, Paul openly spoke out in defense of the “old books,” and under the council resolutions, instead of signing, he wrote: “If anyone takes away from the faithful customs of the holy catholic church, or adds to them, or corrupts them in any way, let him be anathema.” Nikon beat Paul at the council, tore off his robe, deprived him of his episcopal see without a council trial, and exiled him to the Paleostrovsky monastery. Some Old Believer sources mention a “great council” convened with the blessing of Bishop Paul in the Kurzhetsky Monastery (near the place of exile of Paul Kolomensky). In 1656, Pavel was transferred under stricter supervision to the Novgorod Khutyn Monastery, where he was apparently killed. The official explanation sounded like this: “no one saw how the poor man died: he was kidnapped by animals or fell into the river and drowned.” Old Believer sources claim that Paul began to act like a fool for Christ's sake (the only example of a holy fool-bishop in church history). Traditionally, holy fools were considered inviolable in Rus', and their words were listened to both by the people and by those in power, right up to the tsar. Having learned about this, Nikon allegedly sent assassins, Bishop Pavel Kolomna was burned in the log house on April 3 (old style) 1656.
The Moscow Council of 1666-1667, which judged Nikon, charged him with the deposition and death of Bishop Paul: “But you, Nikon, without a council, Bishop Paul of Kolomna, contrary to the rules, overthrew and cursed him and sent him into exile and tortured him there, and then your overthrow will be charged as murder.”
Bishop Pavel is revered by the Old Believers as a saint in the guise of a holy martyr.
Goda) - who actively supported opponents of the patriarch’s reforms during the schism.
Born in the village of Kolychevo, Knyagininsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region, in the family of a rural priest. Received in, with the monastery treasurer. According to some historical data, it is known that Bishop Paul permanently lived in the city. In the second half of the 1640s, Paul entered the Moscow Circle of Zealots of Piety along with (future patriarch), Bishop Hilarion of Ryazan (future persecutor) and others. Since the year he has been abbot of the Pafnutievo-Borovsky monastery. V was one of 12 contenders for the throne. Nikon becomes Patriarch at his insistence. In the same year, Nikon elevated Paul to the rank of Bishop of Kolomna and Kashira. Repressions against opponents have begun. In the year, to legitimize his actions, Patriarch Nikon convenes a council with carefully selected participants, among whom was Pavel Kolomensky. At the council, Paul openly spoke out in defense of the “old books,” and under the council resolutions, instead of a signature, he wrote: “If anyone takes away from the faithful customs of the holy catholic church, or adds to them, or corrupts them in any way, let it be.” Nikon beat Paul at the council, tore him off, deprived him of his episcopal see without a council trial, and exiled him to the Paleostrovsky monastery. Some Old Believer sources mention a “great council” convened with the blessing of Bishop Paul in the Kurzhetsky Monastery (near the place of exile of Paul Kolomensky). In the year Pavel was transferred under stricter supervision to the Novgorod Khutyn Monastery, where he was apparently killed. The official explanation sounded like this: “no one saw how the poor man died: he was kidnapped by animals or fell into the river and drowned.” Old Believer sources claim that Paul began for Christ’s sake (the only example of a holy fool-bishop in church history). Traditionally, holy fools were considered inviolable in Rus', and their words were listened to both by the people and by those in power, right up to the tsar. Having learned about this, Nikon allegedly sent hired killers, Bishop Pavel Kolomna was burned in the log house on April 3 (old style) 1656.
The Moscow Council of 1666-1667, which judged Nikon, charged him with the deposition and death of Bishop Paul: “But you, Nikon, without a council, Bishop Paul of Kolomna, contrary to the rules, overthrew and cursed him and sent him into exile and tortured him there, and then your overthrow will be charged as murder.”
However, here Paul enjoyed considerable freedom and continued to preach. The Old Believer “Tale of the suffering and death of the Hieromartyr Paul, Bishop of Kolomna” has been preserved, which, in particular, speaks of a certain “great council” that took place with the blessing of Paul and some other bishops in the Kurzhetsk monastery under Abbot Dosifei. At the council, a strict definition was drawn up: those who come from the “Nikonian” Church should not be baptized and ordained (i.e., priesthood). It is possible that Paul's active role in the Kurzhetsky Cathedral was the reason that he was transported from Paleoostrov to the Khutyn Monastery in Novgorod in the year and was placed under stricter supervision.
The final circumstances of his life are unknown. Deacon Theodore writes the following: “That Paul, the blessed bishop, began to disfigure for Christ’s sake.” According to Archbishop Lazar (Baranovich), Paul went crazy; The Khutyn abbot and the monastery brethren considered Bishop Paul crazy, and therefore decided not to burden themselves with supervising him, giving him full opportunity to wander in the vicinity of the monastery wherever he pleased. Paul used his freedom to wander around the surrounding area to preach ancient rites among the local residents. According to the stories of the Old Believers, the abbot of the Khutyn Monastery “tormented” him.
The official version at the time was: “No one saw how the poor man died: whether he was kidnapped by animals or fell into the river and drowned.” Subsequently, during the trial of Nikon at the Great Moscow Council - years, former patriarch charged the deposition of Bishop Paul with his own authority, without a council, as a crime:
"Yes you are, Nikon, - says the conciliar verdict, - Bishop Paul of Kolomna, without a council, contrary to the rules, overthrew and cursed him and sent him into exile and tortured him there, and then your overthrow will be charged with murder.".
Sources
- The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, written by himself, and his other works, Moscow, 1960, 65.
- The story of the suffering and death of the Hieromartyr Paul, Bishop of Kolomensky, Combined manuscript of the 18th century, BAN, Collection. Druzhinina, No. 127, l. 266–276 vol.
Literature
- Panchenko, A. M., Russian history and culture: Works different years St. Petersburg, 1999, 401.
- Macarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan, The history of the Russian schism, known as the Old Believers, Moscow, 1855, 249.
- Filippov, I., History of the Vygovskaya Old Believer Hermitage, Moscow, 2005, 88-89.
Used materials
- Christianity: Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 3 volumes., Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1995.
- Article Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron:
- “To the 350th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Pavel Kolomensky”, website of the “Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church” Old Believers, 3.IV.2006:
