Metropolitan Tryphon (Turkestanov): Spiritual Eldership as a Church Practice and a Subject of Study

On the 165th Anniversary of Birth of Metropolitan Tryphon (Turkestanov; 1861–1934)

Abstract

The article is devoted to one of the most important phenomena in the Ortho­dox Church — spiritual eldership. In the Russian Church, this phenomenon has had a special significance, both as a church practice and as a subject of study and reflection. The author examines this topic through the prism of the life and legacy of Metropolitan Tryphon (Boris Petrovich Turkestanov; 1861–1934), one of the renowned bishops of the early 20th century. On the one hand, Metropolitan Tryphon had personal ascetic experience in monasteries and close ties with famous spiritual elders: St. Ambrose of Optina, St. Barnabas of Gethsemane and others. On the other hand, Metropolitan Tryphon can be classified, albeit with reservations, as a “scholarly” monastic: graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy, he taught and served as rector of theological schools. In his personal experience, research, and sermons, Metropolitan Tryphon sought to connect these two components — spiritual eldership and scholarship — sometimes finding harmony, sometimes a conflict. This is precisely what will be the focus of this article.

Special attention is paid to Hieromonk Tryphon’s PhD dissertation “Ancient Christian and Optina Spiritual Elders”, presented at the Moscow Theological Academy. In it, the author identifies the common foundations of spiritual eldership in the Eastern tradition and attempts to integrate Optina eldership into this tradition. Hieromonk Tryphon concludes that it is impossible to attain the most important Christian virtues without the spiritual elders’ guidance, which is confirmed by his personal experience of spiritual mentorship from the elders. Later, Bishop Tryphon drew several further conclusions regarding eldership. An elder should be spiritually educated: although God’s will may be revealed to a Christian through a spiritual elder, the latter cannot rely solely on his own spiritual experience for this revelation and must verify it with the spiritual experience of the Church through reliance on Holy Scripture, the patristic heritage, as well as the examples of the ancient ascetics, liturgy, and his spiritual understanding. Monastic life and a spiritual elder’s mentorship are not synonymous. Recognizing the hardships of a monastic life outside the monastery and yearning wholeheartedly for a holy monastery, Bishop Tryphon spent some periods of his life in the world being blessed by spiritual elders to do so. Still, in the hierarchy of values — monastery and obedience — he unquestionably chose obedience: one can live in a monastery, but having no guidance of a spiritual elder one cannot grow in spiritual life; one can live in the world, and obedience to the will of a spiritual elder will help to overcome all hardships, doubts, temptations, despondency, and other dangers. Thus, Bishop Tryphon also addresses the problem of academic — non-monastic — monasticism, a topic of intense debate in his era, through the obedience to a spiritual elder’s will.