Ignatius Brianchaninov

Infobox Saint
name=Ignatius Brianchaninov
birth_date=February 15, 1807
death_date=April 30, 1867
feast_day=April 30
venerated_in=Eastern Orthodox church


imagesize=200px
caption=Icon of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
birth_place=Vologda, Russia
death_place=Nicolo-Babaevsky Monastery, Kostroma
titles=Saint, Holy hierarch
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=June 30, 1988
canonized_place=
canonized_by=Russian Orthodox Church
attributes=Vested as a bishop
patronage=
major_shrine=Tolga Monastery, Yaroslavl
suppressed_date=
issues=

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807-1867) is a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. He was born Demetrius Alexandrovich Brianchaninov, to a wealthy landowning family. He was educated at Pioneer Military School in St. Petersburg. Although successful in his studies he was deeply unhappy there and turned to a life of prayer. In 1827 he fell seriously ill and left the army on this ground. He began pursuing a monastic vocation and in 1831 took monastic vows and received the monastic name of Ignatius. Soon after he was ordained a priest. He rose rapidly to the rank of archimandrite and at the age of 26 was appointed superior of the St. Sergius monastery in St. Petersburg. In 1857, he was consecrated Bishop of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, but he retired only four years later to devote himself to spiritual writing. ["The Arena", pp. vi-vii.]

He wrote a large amount of material, mostly about the spiritual life and prayer. Only a small portion of his writing has been translated into English. Although his writing was intended primarily for monks, his works are highly recommended for lay Christians by leading Orthodox figures such as Father Thomas Hopko. [ [http://www.svots.edu/Faculty/Thomas-Hopko/Articles/In-the-Spiritual-Arena.html Hopko, Thomas. "In The Spiritual Arena"] ]

Books

Available in English translation:
* "The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism". Brianchaninov, I. Translated by Arch. Lazarus. Holy Trinity Monastery, 1997. ISBN 0-88465-011-1
* "On the Prayer of Jesus". Brianchaninov, I. Translated by Arch. Lazarus. Ibis Press, 2006. ISBN 0-89254-120-2

Veneration as a saint

He was glorified (canonized) as a saint by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of 1988. His relics are preserved at the Tolga Monastery, near Yaroslavl. [Maximovitch, St. John. "The Orthodox Veneration of Mary the Birthgiver of God", St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1996. p. 20]

Quotes

* "He who is careless about prayer is careless about his salvation; he who quits prayer renounces his salvation." ["The Arena" p. 218]
* "Worldly people and even monks without spiritual discernment are nearly always attracted by humbugs, imposters, hypocrites and those who are in demonic delusion, and they take them for saints and genuine servants of God." [quoted from "The Arena" by Hopko]

References

External links

* [http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Ignatius_Brianchaninov Ignatius Brianchaninov] article from OrthodoxWiki
* [http://www.roca.org/OA/28/28e.htm Champion of the Arena - Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov] article from "Orthodox America"
* [http://www.fond.ru/calendar/88.htm The Act of Canonization of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church] Trinity-Sergius Laura, 6-9 June, 1988 ru icon