abstract
| - He was born in Kolomna as Vasily Drozdov (Russian: Василий Михайлович Дроздов). He was educated at the seminaries of Kolomna and Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, and on the completion of his studies was at once appointed professor in the latter. He became preacher of the lavra in 1806, and four years later was appointed professor of theology in the ecclesiastical academy of Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, becoming archimandrite in 1811 and director in 1812. The Events of 1812 produced a strong impression on Filaret; he explained the success of the Russians by moral reason and read a lecture on this theme in the "Society of friends of the Russian word". In 1813 he declaimed his famous speech on Kutuzov's death. He took monastic vows in 1817, and after being bishop of Reval and episcopal vicar of St. Petersburg, became, in 1819, archbishop of Tver and a member of the Holy Synod. In the following year he was archbishop of Yaroslavl, and in 1821 was translated to Moscow, also becoming metropolitan in 1826. His daring utterances, however, brought him into imperial disfavor from 1845 until the accession of Alexander II. In 1855 he was restricted to the limits of his diocese. He is said to have prepared Alexander's proclamation freeing the serfs, and he enjoyed the reputation of being one of the leading pulpit orators of his time and country. He was the spiritual father of missionary hieromonk Makarii Glukharev (1792-1847), canonized in 2000 for his role as "Apostle to the Altai". Filaret was responsible for some of the worst offences towards the Old Believers, including the misappropriation of churches and the sealing of the altars at the churches of the Rogozhskoye Cemetery, which was the administrative and spiritual center of the Belokrinitskoe Soglasie Old Believers. Filaret was also directly involved in the imprisonment of Old Believer hierarchs and monastics.
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