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Venerable (Monastic)20th century

Venerable Sergius (Srebryansky) the New Confessor of Tver

1870 – 1948

Also known as Sergius Srebryansky · Mitrofan Srebryansky · Sergius the New Confessor of Tver

A married parish priest and army chaplain, Mitrofan Srebryansky became confessor of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and was later tonsured the monk Sergius. Repeatedly arrested and exiled under the Soviets, he endured imprisonment with faith and reposed in 1948.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Sergius (Srebryansky), Confessor

Life

Sergius (Srebryansky) was a Russian married parish priest and army chaplain who became confessor and superior of the Marfo-Mariinsky (Martha-Mary) Convent in Moscow, founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Born Mitrofan (Metrophanes) Vasilyevich Srebryansky on July 31, 1870, he was later tonsured the monk Sergius and raised to archimandrite.

Through the years of Soviet persecution he was repeatedly arrested and exiled, spending long years in prisons and camps before settling in exile in the Tver region, where he reposed in 1948. He is venerated among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship,
the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs:
all-wise father Sergius, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things.
Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline9 momentsReadHide
  1. July 31, 1870Birth in Voronezh provinceBorn Metrophanes Vasilyevich Srebryansky in the village of Tresvyatskoye, Voronezh uyezd, Voronezh province, into the family of a priest.
  2. 1892–1894Seminary, marriage, and ordinationHe completed theological seminary studies in 1892 and married Olga Vladimirovna Ispolatovskaya in 1893. He was ordained deacon in 1893 and priest in 1894, beginning parish ministry; sources record him serving at Orel from 1896.
  3. 1904–1906Chaplaincy in the Russo-Japanese WarHe served as a regimental chaplain during the Russo-Japanese War, with the 51st Chernigov regiment, taking part in military actions near Lyaoyan and Mukden. He recorded his experiences in a wartime diary published in 1906.
  4. 1908Confessor of the Marfo-Mariinsky ConventGrand Duchess Elizabeth selected him as spiritual father and superior of the Martha-Mary (Marfo-Mariinsky) Convent in Moscow, a community she had established. He served there until the convent's closure in the mid-1920s.
  5. 1922Tonsure as the monk SergiusHe was tonsured a monk with the name Sergius, while his wife Olga became the nun Elizabeth; he was subsequently elevated to the rank of archimandrite. The Orthodox America account records that the tonsure was received from Patriarch Tikhon.
  6. 1923 onwardArrests and exileBeginning in 1923 he endured repeated arrests and was exiled. The Orthodox America account records that he spent some sixteen years in various prisons and camps.
  7. 1933Settlement in the Tver regionFollowing his release in 1933, he and his matushka settled in exile at Vladychnya (Vladichnoye) in the Tver region.
  8. April 5, 1948ReposeHe reposed from pneumonia at Vladychnya in the Tver region and was buried in the village cemetery. Two years later, when his wife was interred in the same grave, his body was found incorrupt.
  9. 2000GlorificationHe was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church among the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, canonized in 2000.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributionsReadHide

Priest and Army Chaplain

Before his monastic life, Mitrofan Srebryansky was a married parish priest, serving at Orel from 1896. During the Russo-Japanese War he accompanied troops to the front as a regimental chaplain with the 51st Chernigov regiment, taking part in the fighting near Lyaoyan and Mukden.

His diary of those years was serialized in a Russian journal and published in 1906; it was through this published account of his chaplaincy, the sources relate, that Grand Duchess Elizabeth came to know of him and invited him to Moscow.

The Marfo-Mariinsky Convent

Though reluctant to leave his flock at Orel, Father Mitrofan accepted the position of father-confessor and superior of the Martha-Mary (Marfo-Mariinsky) Convent in Moscow, the community of sisters of mercy founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The Orthodox America account records that he daily served the Divine Liturgy and gave lectures three times a week.

His marriage to Olga was childless, and the couple made a monastic commitment, living as brother and sister; both later received monastic tonsure, he as Sergius and she as the nun Elizabeth. After the Grand Duchess's arrest in 1918 he continued to shepherd the convent community until the monastery was closed by the Soviet authorities in the mid-1920s.

Persecution and Confession

From 1923 onward, Archimandrite Sergius was repeatedly arrested and exiled under the Soviet regime. The Orthodox America account records that he spent some sixteen years in various prisons and camps before settling in exile at Vladychnya in the Tver region following his release in 1933.

He reposed there in 1948. It is for this endurance of imprisonment and exile in faith that he is numbered among the confessors rather than as a martyr by violent death.

Relics & Shrines

He was buried in the village cemetery at Vladychnya. Two years after his repose, when his wife was interred in the same grave, his body was found to be incorrupt, and local veneration of him began.

Member ofReadHide
Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia
Synaxis
Companions1 figureShowHide
Founder of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, who chose him as its father-confessor and superior; also a New Martyr of Russia.
New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth
Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Tonsured him to the monastic name Sergius in 1922; fellow confessor among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
Tikhonof Moscow

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