Saint Tikhon (in the world Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin) was born in 1865 in the village of Klin, Toropetsk district, Pskov province, in the family of a priest who took his son with him to serve from an early age, and love for the temple became an integral part of his life. Tikhon received his education at the theological school of his hometown, and then at the Pskov Seminary and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. A humble, benevolent youth, he gained the affection of friends and teaching companions.
In 1888, Vasily graduated from the academy and was sent to the Pskov seminary to teach dogmatics, moral theology and French. In 1891, the young teacher took monastic vows with the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Ordained a hieromonk, he was transferred a year later to the Kholm Seminary, where he was appointed inspector. Also in 1892, he was confirmed as rector of the seminary with his elevation to the rank of archimandrite. From St. Tikhon's Hill he was transferred as rector of the seminary to Kazan, and in October 1897 his consecration as Bishop of Lublin, vicar of the Kholm diocese, took place at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
In December 1898, Bishop Tikhon was appointed to the Aleutian American See, which was located in San Francisco. In 1905, St. Tikhon was elevated to the rank of archbishop, and two years after that he was transferred to one of the most honorable sees in Russia, – Yaroslavl. In 1913, Archbishop Tikhon was transferred to the Lithuanian diocese – in Vilna. Here the ruler was caught by the war. By order of the Holy Synod, Archbishop Tikhon moved to Moscow, bringing with him the relics of the holy Vilna miracle workers, but soon moved from Moscow closer to his flock, almost to the front line.
After the February Revolution, along with other archpastors, Archbishop Tikhon was dismissed from the Synod. In June 1917, Saint Tikhon was elected by the will of the church people to the Moscow diocesan see, after which the Synod awarded him the rank of metropolitan. The local Council elected Metropolitan Tikhon as its chairman, and soon after that he was elevated to the restored patriarchal throne. In his first address to the All-Russian flock, Patriarch Tikhon characterized the era the country was experiencing as the year of God’s wrath«; his message expressed archpastoral concern for the situation of the Church and condemnation of bloody unrest. At the same time, as the Supreme Shepherd of the Russian Church, Patriarch Tikhon tried to avoid any political involvement in the events taking place.
In March 1918, Patriarch Tikhon called on the Russian people to repel Kaiser’s Germany, which had captured the western lands of Russia, and subsequently condemned the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: «This peace, signed on behalf of the Russian people, does not lead to fraternal cohabitation of peoples... It contains the germs of new wars and evil for all humanity». In the summer of 1921, after the horrors of the civil war, another disaster befell the Russian people: famine. Then Patriarch Tikhon called on church councils to donate precious church decorations, unless they have liturgical use. However, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued a decree on the seizure of church valuables for the needs of the hungry. The Patriarch responded to the decree with a new message to the flock, in which he declared the inadmissibility of confiscating sacred objects, the use of which not for liturgical purposes is prohibited by the canons of the Universal Church«. All this led to discontent among the authorities, and many clergy were arrested.
During the civil war, a stratification occurred among the clergy: renovationist groups appeared calling for revolution in the Church. Fighting back against anti-canonical modernist attacks, Patriarch Tikhon on November 17, 1921, in a special message to his flock, emphasized the inadmissibility of liturgical innovations.
In May 1922, the patriarch was taken into custody at the Donskoy Monastery, and in June 1923 he was released. During this period, as a result of the destructive actions of the schismatic Renovationists, church administration was beheaded: many bishops were expelled from the pulpits, most churches were captured by the Renovationists, the church people were thrown into confusion.
After his release from arrest, Patriarch Tikhon addressed his flock with a message, saying that the «Russian Orthodox Church is apolitical and does not want... to be either a white or a red Church. It must be and will be the One, Conciliar, Apostolic Church». And in the Address of 1924, the patriarch exposed the serious crimes of the leaders of the renovationist schism, on the basis of church canons and on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church, subjected the renovationists to a canonical prohibition and confirmed that they, henceforth to the point of repentance, are out of communion with the Church.
But at the end of 1924, his health deteriorated sharply, and on April 7, 1925, on the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patriarch Tikhon reposed himself with the Lord.
In 1989, by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' was canonized. And 67 years after the death of St. Tikhon, on February 22, 1992, his relics were found, which today rest in the large cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery.