Anthony Vadkovsky

Anthony, birth name Alexander Vasilyevich Vadkovsky (born on 3 September 1846 in Tsarovka, died on 2 November 1912 in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian Orthodox bishop and from 1898 to 1912.

He was the son of an Orthodox priest. Anthony completed his studies at the Tambov Theological Seminary and then the Kazan Theological Academy. After obtaining his final diploma, he was employed at the academy as a lecturer in homiletics. He also worked for the journal Orthodox Companion. In 1872, he married Elizaveta Penkovskaya, who died of tuberculosis after seven years of marriage. When their two children, born from this union, died ten years later, Alexander Vadkovsky decided to enter monastic life and took his perpetual monastic vows on 4 March 1883. On 14 November 1883, he was granted the dignity of archimandrite and appointed the superior of the. A year later, he became the inspector of the Kazan Theological Academy. With the support of the Ober-Procurator of the Most Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, he was transferred to the position of inspector of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy. In 1887, he became its rector, also receiving episcopal consecration with the title of Bishop of Vyborg, vicar of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg and Ladoga.

From 1892 to 1898, Anthony was the, initiating the translation of Orthodox liturgical texts from Church Slavonic into Finnish and participating in Orthodox-Old Catholic and Orthodox-Anglican dialogues. In 1898, he assumed the highest ecclesiastical office of the synodal period as Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg and Ladoga. As Metropolitan, he engaged in charitable activities and continued teaching at the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy. After 1905, most of his efforts were directed toward reforming the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Anthony sought the Emperor Nicholas II's approval for the abolition of the Most Holy Synod, full independence of the church from state bodies, and the election of the first Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia since 1700. Between 1905 and 1906, the committee led by the hierarch prepared the necessary documents for convening a Local Council to approve these changes. However, the council did not take place due to Nicholas II's opposition.

Anthony consistently opposed political activities by the Orthodox clergy, including electing clergy as deputies to the State Duma. Consequently, he was accused by Black Hundreds organizations of liberalism and hostility towards the monarchy. On the other hand, renewal movements, led by the Living Church, regarded him as their inspiration and precursor.

He died after an illness in 1912 and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Early life and academic work
Alexander Vadkovsky was born into a large family as the son of Vasily Yovlevich Vadkovsky, an Orthodox priest serving in the Tambov Diocese. From the age of two, he lived with his family in the village of Matchurka. At ten years old, he began his education at the lower theological school in Tambov and, after graduating in 1860, continued his studies at the theological seminary in the same city. During this period, he was a spiritual student of Bishop Theophan the Recluse, who was later canonized.

Six years later, after graduating from the seminary, Alexander Vadkovsky pursued higher theological studies at the Kazan Theological Academy as a state scholarship holder. He achieved high academic results and, based on his final thesis defended in 1870, he obtained a Master's degree in theological sciences, rather than the usual Candidate of Sciences degree. His thesis topic was the relationship between Arianism and Neoplatonism. In 1871, he was employed at the academy as a docent in the department of homiletics. At the same time, he was the chief editor of the journal Orthodox Companion  and worked on describing manuscripts and the oldest printed books from the Solovetsky Monastery collections, which had been transferred to the Kazan Theological Academy. He was subsequently awarded the title of extraordinary professor, equivalent to the rank of State Councillor. 

In 1872, he married Elizaveta Penkovskaya, who was already suffering from tuberculosis and died seven years later.  From this marriage, two children were born, whom Alexander Vadkovsky raised alone after his wife's death. In 1882, the children died of diphtheria. 

Under the influence of the loss of his loved ones, Alexander Vadkovsky decided to take monastic vows. He was tonsured as a monk on 4 March 1883 by Archbishop Palladius of Kazan and took the monastic name Anthony in honor of Bishop of Kazan. Two days later, he was ordained as a hieromonk.  He continued his academic and teaching work at the academy, being one of the two clergy lecturers.  On 14 November 1883, he was also granted the dignity of archimandrite and appointed as the superior of the. In 1884, he was appointed as the inspector of the Kazan Theological Academy. A year later, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, the Ober-Procurator of the Most Holy Synod, visited Kazan and recognized Archimandrite Anthony as a devout monk, capable organizer, and educated theologian. With his support, Anthony was transferred to the position of inspector at the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy. 

Bishop of Vyborg
On 3 May 1887, Anthony was consecrated as the Bishop of Vyborg, a vicar of the. He was also appointed as the rector of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy. He contributed to raising the level of theological education at the academy and encouraged students to engage in practical work for the church during their studies, accompanying him in pastoral and educational activities in Saint Petersburg parishes.  He founded a circle of students conducting theological and moral meetings in prisons, shelters, and parishes. He contributed to the opening of a department of Byzantine studies at the academy and aimed to increase the number of monks educated in theology.

He continued to support the Kazan Theological Academy, donating 287 books in 1891 and 5,000 rubles in 1899 for student scholarships.

Bishop of Finland and Vyborg
In 1892, Bishop Anthony was transferred to the. Around this time, he was officially introduced to Empress Maria Feodorovna, who became his patroness.  In the Grand Duchy of Finland, Anthony aimed to develop the missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in a way that avoided associating the faith solely with the Russification of the country.  He founded 14 new parishes, facilitated the construction of 10 churches, and initiated Orthodox publications in both Finnish and Russian. He opened the country's first female monastery and started translating liturgical texts from Church Slavonic to Finnish. Additionally, he opened more parish schools and engaged in charitable activities. His efforts significantly contributed to the future establishment of the Orthodox Church of Finland.  In 1893, he organized a congress of Finnish Orthodox clergy in Serdobol. He frequently visited the parishes under his jurisdiction.

In 1892, he published a volume of his works in homiletics and church history in Saint Petersburg, titled On the History of Christian Preaching, for which he received a Doctor of Theology degree in 1895.  In 1893, he became the head of a commission for dialogue with Old Catholics,  a position he held for five years. The commission aimed to prepare for the entry of some Old Catholics into the Orthodox church. Bishop Anthony, recognizing the value of dialogue, advocated for Old Catholics to unconditionally accept the teachings of the Russian Orthodox Church, particularly in ecclesiology, where theological differences were greatest, and to abandon the Filioque clause in the creed.

In 1897, as the first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, he made an official visit to the United Kingdom, where he participated in the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign. He engaged in dialogue with Anglicans and received honorary doctorates from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.  He then traveled to Germany, where he met with Old Catholic theologians. Upon returning to Russia, on 24 December 1898, he was appointed Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg, the highest-ranking hierarch in the Russian Orthodox Church, succeeding the late Palladius Rayev. 

Pastoral and charitable activities
As the Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg, Anthony regularly visited prisoners, following the old Russian custom of church hierarchs advocating for them to the rulers.  He was involved in charitable activities, chairing an organization founded by Empress Maria Feodorovna that supported the blind and working in the charitable Brotherhood of the Queen of Heaven, also under the patronage of the emperor's wife. He donated 27,000 rubles monthly out of the 29,000 rubles he received as the Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg to charity.  He established the All-Russian Brotherhood of Sobriety named after St. Alexander Nevsky. He ceased holding lavish receptions at the metropolitan residence and instead financially supported city clergy,  as well as church and monastery construction. He was a pioneer in introducing electric lighting in Russian churches.

In 1903, he presided over the canonization celebrations of Monk Seraphim of Sarov. In 1909, he founded an archaeological museum at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. He supported the.

Excommunication of Leo Tolstoy
On 22 February 1901, the Most Holy Synod declared the writer Leo Tolstoy an enemy of the church and excommunicated him. The immediate cause was the content of his novel Resurrection, which included a mocking description of an Orthodox service in a prison chapel and an attack on the Russian Orthodox Church's stance on social issues in Russia. The excommunication also cited Tolstoy's attacks on the Russian church, his rejection of the sacraments, and the salvation of the soul. Metropolitan Anthony was the direct initiator of the excommunication, although Konstantin Pobedonostsev had been pushing for this decision for some time.

In the face of changes in Russia
On 22 March 1905, the Most Holy Synod, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Anthony, adopted a memorandum to Emperor Nicholas II. In this document, the hierarchs appealed for changes in the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church, the convening of a local council, and the election of a patriarch. Citing the emperor’s previous edict of religious tolerance, Anthony argued that minority faiths had gained greater freedoms than the official church. He met with Prime Minister Sergei Witte, stressing that to rectify the church's situation, four legal changes were necessary:


 * abolition of the Most Holy Synod;
 * establishment of a collegial governing body composed of clergy;
 * convening a Local Council;
 * election of a Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.

Metropolitan Anthony criticized the subordination of the church to state administration and its treatment by the state. He emphasized that the church, turned into a government institution, had lost its authority in social matters and individual morality.

On March 31, Nicholas II agreed with the main points of the memorandum, aligning with Anthony’s views. However, influenced by Konstantin Pobedonostsev, the emperor deemed the immediate organization of a council inappropriate due to the country's internal complexities. Nonetheless, he allowed preliminary preparations for the future council. On 27 July 1905, Anthony sent a letter to all Russian bishops requesting their suggestions for necessary changes in the church and issues for the council's agenda. On December 17, Nicholas II agreed to convene a Council of Bishops, and on December 27, a committee was formed to prepare an official ukase announcing the council and its agenda. The committee, led by Metropolitans Anthony, Vladimir of Moscow, and of Kyiv, advocated for the abolition of the Most Holy Synod and the restoration of the patriarchate. From March to December 1906, the committee conducted preparatory work. Between 1906 and 1907, Anthony dedicated himself to organizing the council.  However, on 25 April 1907, after reviewing the preparatory documents, Nicholas II concluded that the time for changes in the Russian Orthodox Church had not yet come. Influential voices from the imperial family, interior ministers, and subsequent Ober-Procurators of the Synod, including Alexander Obolensky, Alexei Shiryinsky-Shikhmatov, and, influenced this decision.

Unlike most contemporary hierarchs, Metropolitan Anthony supported grassroots movements among white clergy advocating for church structural renewal, internal reforms, and the convening of a local council. He permitted the Philosophical-Religious Assemblies organized by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius and allowed Orthodox clergy to participate. He initiated discussions within the church on the state of Orthodox monasticism, the monks' roles in Russian society, their relations with various social strata (especially the intelligentsia), and potential changes in monastery operations.

Anthony opposed Orthodox clergy's participation in political organizations of any kind and deemed it inappropriate for clergy to run for the State Duma after 1905. He believed that direct political involvement by hierarchs, including forming a clerical party, would ultimately undermine the church’s authority, which was already diminished.  He did not support any Black Hundreds organizations, despite their professed attachment to Orthodoxy. In 1906, he refused Alexander Dubrovin's request to consecrate the banners of the Union of the Russian People, stating that he would reject similar requests from other parties. In a conversation with Dubrovin, he plainly stated:"I have no sympathy for your right-wing parties and consider you terrorists: left-wing terrorists throw bombs, and right-wing parties throw stones at everyone who disagrees with them. "Consequently, he was accused by the Black Hundreds press of liberalism and supporting the idea of overthrowing the tsar,  and was criticized for careerism, lack of intellectual prowess, aspiring to the patriarchate, and raising clergy with socialist tendencies. After the October Revolution, renewalist movements, such as the Living Church, cited Anthony as an inspiration and precursor.

In 1906, Anthony refused to participate in the State Council;  although elected in April, he announced his resignation in July. Following the outbreak of peasant riots in Russia that year, he labeled the participants as criminals committing unheard-of crimes but did not call for immediate suppression. He urged bishops to work together for the state and the people.

Metropolitan Anthony was lenient with his clergy, often advocating for liberal or even revolutionary-sympathizing clergy or seminarians to the state authorities. Simultaneously, he sought to limit Rasputin's influence at court and in the Synod.

Metropolitan Anthony’s high regard among the clergy allowed him to unite church hierarchs – during his lifetime, there were no open conflicts among bishops.  An exception was the 1905 attempt by conservative bishops, Anthony, Hermogenes, and Seraphim to remove him from the Synod. He was also effective in mobilizing parish clergy and advocating for internal church reforms, although his political views failed to persuade most priests, who were elected to the Duma and joined various factions. 

Illness and death
After 1910, his declining health forced Anthony to reduce his activities. His last Synod meeting was on 16 October 1912; he died a few days later. 

Anthony’s funeral took place at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. The service was led by Metropolitan Vladimir of Moscow, with 22 other bishops, 60 archimandrites and protopriests, and 150 hieromonks and white clergy in attendance.