ROCOR Saints

ROCOR has glorified a number of saints whose lives and witness are central to its spiritual identity. These include the vast host of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, as well as individual saints whose lives exemplified holiness in the conditions of twentieth-century exile and persecution.

Tradition: ROCOR-specific

Overview

The canonization (glorification) of saints is one of the most solemn acts of the Orthodox Church. ROCOR has exercised this prerogative to honor those whose sanctity has been recognized by the faithful, confirmed by miracles, and attested by the witness of their lives.

ROCOR’s saints fall into several categories:

The New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia

The largest group, glorified collectively in 1981, encompasses the bishops, clergy, monastics, and laity who suffered and died for the Orthodox faith under the atheist Soviet regime (1917-1991). This includes the Royal Martyrs (Tsar Nicholas II and his family). The Moscow Patriarchate’s own glorification of the New Martyrs in 2000 (with over 1,000 named saints) significantly expanded this list.

Individual Saints Glorified by ROCOR

Several individual saints were glorified by ROCOR for their exceptional holiness of life (with two related figures noted for clarity):

  • St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908), glorified 1964: The great pastor and wonderworker of pre-revolutionary Russia, and ROCOR’s first canonization, performed under Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky).
  • St. Herman of Alaska (d. 1836), glorified in 1970: The first Orthodox saint canonized in America. The OCA performed the glorification on August 9, 1970, at Kodiak, Alaska; ROCOR, which had worked toward Herman’s glorification since 1939, performed its own parallel glorification the same day (July 27, Old Style) at the Cathedral of the Joy of All Who Sorrow in San Francisco – simultaneous but separate acts, as the two churches were not in communion.
  • St. Xenia of St. Petersburg (eighteenth century), glorified by ROCOR on September 11/24, 1978, at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York, a decade before Moscow’s glorification at the Local Council of June 1988: A beloved holy fool (yurodivaya) of St. Petersburg.
  • St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966), glorified July 2, 1994: Archbishop, wonderworker, ascetic, and shepherd of the Russian diaspora. One of the most revered saints of the twentieth century.
  • Metropolitan Philaret of New York (1903-1985): Third First Hierarch of ROCOR, known for his prayerfulness and spiritual leadership. He has not been glorified by ROCOR; his relics were found incorrupt in November 1998 when transferred to a vault beneath Holy Trinity Cathedral in Jordanville, and the ROCOR Synod has commissioned the preparation of materials toward a possible future canonization. (Glorifications of Metropolitan Philaret performed since 2001 by groups not in communion with ROCOR, beginning with the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church in 2001, are not recognized.)
  • Blessed Matrona of Moscow (1881-1952): Not a ROCOR glorification. She was canonized by the Moscow Patriarchate for local veneration in the Moscow diocese on May 2, 1999, extended to universal veneration in 2004, and her veneration is shared by ROCOR since the 2007 reunion.

Saints Received from the Moscow Patriarchate’s Canonizations

Since the 2007 reunion, ROCOR has accepted the Moscow Patriarchate’s canonization lists, including the vast number of New Martyrs glorified in 2000 and subsequently.

Hagiographic Tradition

ROCOR has maintained an active hagiographic tradition, documenting the lives of saints for liturgical and educational use:

  • The Jordanville press has published numerous hagiographic works.
  • Fr. Seraphim Rose and the St. Herman Brotherhood played a major role in making the lives of Russian saints accessible in English.
  • Individual ROCOR clergy and scholars have produced biographies, service texts, and icon descriptions for ROCOR’s saints.

Section Contents

See Also

References

  • ROCOR Council of Bishops. Act of Glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. New York, October 19/November 1, 1981.
  • Rose, Fr. Seraphim, and Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky). Blessed John the Wonderworker: A Preliminary Account of the Life and Miracles of Archbishop John Maximovitch. 3rd rev. ed. Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987.
  • Holy Trinity Monastery. Orthodox Life. Various issues.
  • Moscow Patriarchate. Jubilee Bishops’ Council: Act of Canonization. Moscow, August 13-16, 2000.
  • ROCOR Studies. “St. Xenia: Veneration and Glorification in ROCOR.” rocorstudies.org, 2024.
  • ROCOR Studies. “The Order of Glorifying Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (1920-2007).” rocorstudies.org, 2019.