Hierarch 18th century

Saint Philotheos Metropolitan of Tobolsk

c. 1650 – 1727

Also known as Philotheus Leschinsky · Enlightener of Siberia

A learned hierarch who, as metropolitan of Tobolsk, gave himself to the enlightenment of the peoples of Siberia, baptizing many thousands and building churches across the vast land.

Feast Day

May 31

Also Jun 10

Draft

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Philotheos, Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Enlightener of Siberia

Come to them for

Missionary Work

Life

Philotheos (Leshchinsky), Metropolitan of Tobolsk, was an eighteenth-century hierarch remembered as an enlightener and missionary of Siberia. Born to a noble but poor family in the lands of present-day Ukraine, he was educated at the Kiev Academy, ordained a priest at a rural church, and after being widowed entered monastic life at the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he was tonsured with the name Philotheos. In 1702 he was consecrated Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk and travelled east to take up the administration of an immense and sparsely served diocese.

As metropolitan he devoted himself both to strengthening church life among the settled Christian population and to the conversion of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The synaxarion records a great increase in the number of churches and clergy during his administration and credits him with the baptism of very many among the Ostyaks, Voguls, and other Siberian peoples. He also gave attention to education, establishing a school in his episcopal residence and founding schools intended for the instruction of the indigenous converts.

Owing to illness Philotheos withdrew from the active administration of the diocese in 1711 and retired to the Holy Trinity Monastery at Tyumen, where he received the great schema and the name Theodore. He was afterward recalled to the administration of the Siberian see for a further period before retiring once more. He reposed in 1727 at the Tyumen monastery. He is commemorated on May 31, and on June 10 with the Synaxis of the Saints of Siberia.

Timeline 4 moments Read Hide

1702 Consecrated Metropolitan of Tobolsk and Siberia Following the decree of Tsar Peter I, Philotheos was consecrated to the Siberian see and travelled east to administer it.
1711 Retired to Tyumen; received the schema Withdrawing from administration on account of illness, he received the great schema and the name Theodore at the Holy Trinity Monastery, Tyumen.
1715 Recalled to the Siberian see He was again entrusted with the administration of the Siberian diocese for a further period.
1727 Repose He reposed at the Tyumen monastery and is commemorated on May 31.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributions Read Hide

Mission to the Peoples of Siberia

The defining work of Philotheos's episcopate was the mission to the non-Christian peoples of Siberia. According to the OCA life, his missionary activity was directed chiefly toward the Ostyaks, Voguls, and other Siberian peoples, and over the course of his ministry he is said to have baptized a very great number of converts. Missions were sent into distant regions, including expeditions associated with Kamchatka and the Berezovsky territory, and the work is described as reaching toward the far northern peoples.

Alongside preaching, Philotheos pursued the building of churches and the founding of schools as instruments of the mission. Sources record a substantial multiplication of churches and monasteries during his administration and the establishment of schools for the instruction of both clergy and the indigenous converts, among them schools founded in the Ob North. Even in his later years, by tradition, the aged schemamonk Theodore continued to travel into the northern territories to visit those he had baptized.

Schema and Repose

Relieved of the active administration of the diocese on account of illness in 1711, Philotheos retired to the Holy Trinity Monastery at Tyumen, where he received the great schema together with the monastic name Theodore. He was subsequently entrusted once more with the governance of the Siberian diocese before withdrawing again into retirement.

He reposed at the Tyumen monastery in 1727. The OCA account relates that his relics were uncovered in 2006. He is venerated as one of the enlighteners of Siberia and is numbered among the Synaxis of the Saints of Siberia.

Notes

Also commemorated Jun 10 with the Synaxis of the Saints of Siberia.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints