- Leonid Feodorov
Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov ( _ru. Леонидъ Ивановичъ Фёдоровъ; 1879 - 1935) was a bishop and
Exarch for theRussian Catholic Church , in addition to being a survivor of theGULAG . After painstaking investigation, he wasbeatified byPope John Paul II onJune 27 2001 .Early life
Feodorov was born in
Saint Petersburg ,Russia on November 4, 1879 into aRussian Orthodox family. After his graduation from the Second Imperial Gymnasium in 1901, he enrolled in the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Academy in order to study for thepriesthood in theRussian Orthodox Church . After much soul-searching, he left the academy in the summer of 1902 in order to embraceCatholicism . He traveled to the Vatican by way ofAustria n-ruledLviv , whereMetropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church blessed his mission.Conversion and ordination
On July 31, 1902, Feodorov formally converted to
Catholicism inRome . After studying in thePontifical College atAnagni he wasordained apriest atConstantinople byBishop Mikhail Mirov of theBulgarian Greek Catholic Church onMarch 25 1911 . He spent the following years as a Studitehieromonk in Bosnia andUkraine .Dissident
On the eve of the
First World War , he returned to Saint Petersburg whereupon he was immediately exiled toTobolsk inSiberia as a potential threat to theTsar 'sgovernment which held Russian Orthodoxy as itsstate religion .After the
February Revolution , theProvisional Government ordered the release of all political prisoners. A three daySynod of theRussian Catholic Church opened inSaint Petersburg under theleadership of Metropolitan Andrey. The Metropolitan appointed theHieromonk Leonid (Feodorov)' asExarch of theRussian Catholic Church . Rumors have circulated since then that Metropolitan Andrey also secretlyconsecrated Hieromonk Leonid as abishop . As if to confirm the rumors, a photograph survives of Exarch Leonid dressed in thevestments of a bishop.Open persecution of
religion began in 1922. Theclergy were forbidden to preach religion to anyone under eighteen years of age. Then, all the churches were closed. in 1923, all Catholic priests and bishops were rounded up and placed on trial for counter-revolutionary activities. In what was described as a politicalshow trial in every sense of the word, futureCommissar of JusticeNikolai Krylenko acted aspublic prosecutor . According to witnesses, Krylenko attempted to paint all religious practice as a political conspiracy against the Soviet State. At one point, he turned to the defendants in the dock and screamed,"Your religion, I spit on it, as I do on all religions -- on Orthodox, Jewish, Mohammedan, Lutheran, and the rest." [ Captain Francis McCullagh, "The Bolshevik Persecution of Christianity,"
With the verdict and sentences already decided upon, Exarch Leonid was sentenced to ten years in theE.P. Dutton and Company , 1924. Page 224.]GULAG .The GULAG
After serving three years in
Solovki prison camp , Exarch Leonid was released and exiled toMogilev , inBelarus . After continuing to spread Greek-Catholicism, he was arrested again and returned to Solovki.In
Solovki , Roman CatholicMass was offered in achapel which had been restored for the purpose with the permission of the guards. Exarch Leonid would offer theDivine Liturgy of theRussian Catholic Church every other Sunday. When the camp authorities cracked down on this in 1929, the Masses continued in secret.Release and death
On August 6, 1929, Exarch Leonid was released to the town of
Pinega in theArkhangelsk Oblast and put to work making charcoal. After continuing to teach theCatechism to young boys, he was transferred to the village ofPoltava ,Ukraine , where he completed his sentence in 1932. He chose to reside inViatka , where, worn out by the rigours of hisimprisonment , he died onMarch 7 1935 .Legacy
On
June 27 2001 Exarch Leonid Feodorov wasbeatified by Pope John Paul II. He remains deeply venerated among Russian Catholics.Quotes
* "When I fel overwhelmed by misfortune, the greatest joy that the Lord can give me is to go to the
altar , to put my forehead against it (as on the day of myordination to thepriesthood ), and to feel the presence of the only reality. Not only does calm return, but my body seems to be annihilated; the only true life begins, the life of thatwhich is intangible." [Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J., "Exarch Leonid Feodorov, Bridgebuilder Between Rome and Mocow," page 166.]* "I am not a
Jacob wrestling withGod , but aJob lying on his dung-hill. i have assimilated Western thought and its clarity, but, in fact, I am solidly rooted in the passive Eastern nature and remain rebellious to any action. The book, the cell, the presence at the altar and at lengthy church ceremonies, and above all the solitude and withdrawal from the world -- this is the atmosphere which suits me; it is there that I feel like a fish in the water. I cannot led an active and contemplative life at the same time. You know how much I love theJesuit s, but their ideal (to unite contemplation with action) is not within my means." [Fr. Paul Mailleux, "Exarch Leonid Feodorov," page 181.]* "If the Soviet Government orders me to act against my conscience, I do not obey. As for teaching the
Catechism , the Catholic Church holds that children must be taught their religion, no matter what the law says. Conscience is above the law. No law which is against the conscience can bind." [Captain Francis McCullagh, "The Bolshevik Persecution of Christianity,"Dutton and Company , 1924, page 192.]* "My whole life has been based on two principles: the love of the Church to which I am united, and the love of my country, which I adore. If I do not care whether I am sentenced to ten years imprisonment or to be shot, it is not because I am a fanatic... Since I joined the Catholic Church my sole object has been to reconcile my country to that Church which I believe to be the One True Church." [ Captain Francis McCullagh, "The Bolshevik Persecution of Christianity," page 238.]
* "The true
messianism of the Russian Church is not what theSlavophiles have imagined, but it is the example of suffering. It is in this way that she shows that she is the continuation ofChrist in this world." [ Fr. Paul Maileux, "Exarch Lenid Feodorov," page 204.]References
External links
* [http://www.redemptorists.org.uk/red/mag/russian1.htm "The Servant of God Exarch Leonid Feodorov."]
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintl46.htm Biography]
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