You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 44.201.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪ST47‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a web host's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and they should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 23:54, 31 July 2024.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪AntiCompositeNumber‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: Visit the FAQ if you are affected .
- Start of block: 13:55, 18 August 2022
- Expiry of block: 13:55, 18 April 2025
Your current IP address is 44.201.113.141. The blocked range is 44.201.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Russian Greek Catholic hieromonk and exarch (1879–1935)))
((distinguish|Leonid Fyodorov))
((more citations needed|date=January 2013))
((Infobox saint
|honorific-prefix=[[Beatification|Blessed]]
|name=Leonid Feodorov<br/>((Nobold|((Lang|ru|Леонид Фёдоров))))
|birth_date=4 November 1879
|death_date= 7 March 1935 (aged 55)
|feast_day=7 March
|venerated_in=[[Latin Church|Roman Catholic Church]],
[[Russian Byzantine Catholic Church]]
|image=
|imagesize=200
|caption=Blessed Leonid Feodorov
|birth_place=[[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire]]
|death_place=[[Kirov, Kirov Oblast|Viatka]], [[Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
|titles=
|beatified_date=27 June 2001
|beatified_place=[[Ukraine]]
|beatified_by=[[Pope John Paul II]]
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=
|patronage=
|major_shrine=
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
))

'''Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov''' (((lang-ru|Леонид Иванович Фёдоров)); 4 November 1879 – 7 March 1935) was a [[Ukrainian Studite Monks|Studite]] [[hieromonk]] from the [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]], the first [[Exarch]] of the [[Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Russia]], and a survivor of the [[Gulag]] at [[Solovki prison camp]]. He was [[beatified]] at [[Lviv]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] on 27 June 2001.

==Early life==
Feodorov was born in [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], on 4 November 1879, into a [[Russian Orthodox]] family.<ref name=Siccardi>[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92946 Siccardi, Christina. "Beato Leonida (Leonid) Federov", Santi e Beati, December 29, 2011]</ref> His father, Ivan Feodorovich Feodorov, was the son of a former [[State serf]] from [[Yaroslavl Governorate]] and had become the owner of the ''Malii Yaroslaviets'', a highly successful St. Petersburg restaurant, which was one of the centers of the Imperial capital's artistic, literary, and intellectual ferment during the [[Silver Age of Russian Poetry|Silver Age]].<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 3-7.</ref> The restaurant's regular patrons included poet and philosopher [[Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)|Vladimir Soloviev]]<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 11-12.</ref> and a young [[Joseph Stalin]], who, according to [[Simon Sebag Montefiore]], more than once braved the risk of arrest during [[Okhrana|Tsarist secret police]] manhunts out of a longing to eat at his "favorite hangout" of "Fedorov's restaurant."<ref> Simon Sebag Montefiore (2007), ''Young Stalin'', Alfred A. Knopf. Pages 242-243, 256.</ref>

Leonid's mother, Lyubov Feodorov, a woman of [[Greeks in Russia|Greek descent]], raised him as a single mother after his father's early death. Lubov Feodorov used her husband's legacy of 15,000 rubles to send her son, out of a desire for him to move up in the world, to the First Imperial Gymnasium, where he was educated alongside the sons of the [[Russian nobility]]. Although she also attempted to raise her son as a devout member of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], she simultaneously encouraged him to read the popular novelists of the day.<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 1-5.</ref> 

He later recalled, "So I began to devour the best known French novelists of the day, [[Émile Zola|Zola]], [[Victor Hugo|Hugo]], [[Maupassant]], and [[Alexandre Dumas|Dumas]]. I became acquainted with the [[Italian Renaissance]] and its corrupt literature, [[Boccaccio]] and [[Ariosto]]. My head came to be like a sewer into which the foulest muck was emptied."<ref>Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J., ''Exarch Leonid Feodorov: Bridgbuilder between Rome and Moscow'', 1964. Pages 8-9.</ref><ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Page 5.</ref> 

While attending the Second Imperial [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] in St. Petersburg, Feodorov considered himself, after reading sacred texts of both [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], to be a [[Russian nihilist movement|Nihilist]]. He often used to quote [[William Wordsworth]]'s maxim, "War is the daughter of God", and intended following his graduation to become an officer in the [[Imperial Russian Army]].<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Page 6.</ref> 

Under the influence of the Gymnasium's Orthodox chaplain and teacher of religion, Fr. Konstantin (Smirnov), whom Father Paul Mailleux has termed, "one of the most remarkable Russian Orthodox priests of his time", Feodorov underwent a religious conversion and instead decided to study for the Orthodox priesthood.<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 7-9.</ref> 

After his graduation from the Gymnasium in 1901, he enrolled in the [[Saint Petersburg Theological Academy]] in order to study for the [[priesthood]] in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. The Ecclesiastical Academy, however, was largely focused towards training civil service officials rather than priests, and Feodorov accordingly found it a great disappointment.<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 9-10.</ref> 

During a crisis of Faith, Feodorov came to believe, "through the reading of the Fathers and of history", that the [[Roman Catholic Church]] is the one true church, "at a time when I was losing my faith".<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Page 13.</ref> In response, he began discreetly attending the [[Tridentine Mass]] at [[Church of St. Catherine (Saint Petersburg)|St. Catherine's Church]] on [[Nevsky Prospect]]. At the Ecclesiastical Academy, his teachers took to calling Feodorov, "our Catholic."<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 13-14.</ref>

After much soul-searching, Feodorv decided to leave his studies in the summer of 1902 and travel to Rome in order to openly convert to the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. In order to interrupt his studies and be granted a passport necessary for foreign travel, Feodorov needed the permission of the Academy Inspector, [[Archimandrite]] [[Theofan (Bystrov)]], who responded, "I know very well why you wish to go to Italy... So be it, and may God keep you."<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Page 20.</ref> Fr. Cyril Korolevsky alleges that Archimandrite Theofan, "was quite convinced of the truth of Catholicism, but like a number of others he could not bring himself to take the definite step."<ref> Cyril Korolevsky (1993), ''Metropolitan Andrew (1865-1944)'', Stauropegion, Lviv. Volume 1. Page 278.</ref> In reality, Archimandrite Theofan remained Orthodox even after the [[October Revolution]], when he become a [[White emigre|refugee]] from the [[Red Terror]] in [[Bulgaria]] and [[France]].

Leonid Feodorov and his Catholic spiritual mentor, Fr. [[Jan Szyslawski]], travelled to Rome by way of [[Austria]]n-ruled [[Lviv]], where [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] [[Andrey Sheptytsky]] of the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] blessed his mission.<ref name=":0">((Cite book|last=|first=|title=Church of the Martyrs: The New Saints of Ukraine|publisher=St John's Monastery|year=2002|isbn=966-561-345-6|location=Lviv, Ukraine|pages=8))</ref>

==Conversion and ordination==
On 31 July 1902, Feodorov was formally received into the [[Catholic Church]] at the [[Church of the Gesù]] in [[Rome]]. In the aftermath, he began studying at the [[Jesuit]] seminary at [[Anagni]] under the [[pseudonym]] of "Leonidas Pierre," which was meant to keep the Tsar's secret police, or [[Okhrana]], off his trail. In a conversation with a fellow seminarian at Agnani, Feodorov predicted, "Russia will not repent without travelling the [[Red Sea]] of the blood of her martyrs and numerous sufferings of her apostles."<ref> Cyril Korolevsky (1993), ''Metropolitan Andrew (1865-1944)'', Stauropegion, Lviv. Volume 1. Page 285.</ref>

Although Leonid had originally promised to adopt the [[Latin liturgical rites|Latin Rite]], while studying in the Collegio Leoniano, a [[Jesuit]] [[major seminary]] at [[Anagni]], Leonid became aware that the Pope wished instead for him to remain faithful to the liturgy and customs of the Christian East. With the full permission and encouragement of [[Pope Pius X]], Leonid transferred to the [[Russian Byzantine Catholic Church]]. As a result of his decision, Leonid was disowned by his former Jesuit mentor and afterwards depended for his finances on Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky of [[Lviv]].

On March 25, 1911, he received ordination as a Byzantine Rite priest by Metropolitan [[Michael Mirov]] in Holy Trinity parish of the [[Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church]] in the [[Galata]] neighborhood of [[Constantinople]].<ref name=Arduino>[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92946 Arduino, Fabio. "Beato Leonida (Leonid) Federov", Santi e Beati, December 29, 2011]</ref><ref> Cyril Korolevsky (1993), ''Metropolitan Andrew (1865-1944)'', Stauropegion, Lviv. Volume 1. Page 280.</ref> He spent the following years as a [[hieromonk]] of the [[Ukrainian Studite Monks]] at [[Kamenica (Čelinac)|Kamenica]] (existing 1908-1924), near [[Čelinac]] in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], where his spiritual formation was supervised by a Greek Catholic [[Starets]] named "Elder Josaphat. Brother Leonid was tonsured with monastic name 'Leontiy' on 12 March 1913.<ref> Cyril Korolevsky (1993), ''Metropolitan Andrew (1865-1944)'', Stauropegion, Lviv. Volume 1. Pages 280-281.</ref>

==Return to Russia==
On the eve of the [[First World War]], he returned to Saint Petersburg whereupon he was immediately exiled to [[Tobolsk]] in [[Siberia]] as a potential threat to the [[Tsar]]'s [[government]] which held Russian Orthodoxy as its [[state religion]].

After the [[February Revolution]], the [[Provisional Government]] ordered the release of all political prisoners.<ref name=Siccardi/> A three-day [[Synod]] of the [[Russian Byzantine Catholic Church]] opened in [[Saint Petersburg]] under the [[leadership]] of Metropolitan Andrey, who, at the end of the Synod, named Feodorov [[Exarch]] of the [[Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Russia|Russian Catholics]]. Once Fr. [[Cyril Korolevsky]] successfully proved to the Holy See that Metropolitan Andrey had simply made use of his rights as defined by [[Pope Pius X]], Feodorov's position as Exarch was confirmed by [[Pope Benedict XV]].

He served as abbot in the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in Petrograd, under his leadership the women's order of the Holy Family, the Community of Sisters of the Holy Spirit, and the Society of John Chrysostom were founded. He made presentations, participated in discussions with Orthodox clergy,<ref>((Cite book|last=Парфентьев|first=Павел|title=Служение блаженного Леонида Федорова в России|publisher=Православные католики Одессы|year=2017|isbn=|location=|pages=))</ref> including Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow]] and Metropolitan [[Benjamin of Petrograd]]. At the time, Patriarch Tikhon was faced with the ongoing Soviet-backed [[Renovationism|Living Church Schism]] and was determined defend the hard won independence of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] from again being lost to [[Caesaropapism|control by the State]]. For this reason, Patriarch Tikhon was both meeting regularly to discuss possible reunion with both the Exarch and with Father [[Vladimir Abrikosov]]. The Patriarch was also urging those Orthodox clergy and laity who remained loyal to him to similarly meet with the Russian Catholics in order to discuss the possible reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church with the [[Holy See]] under the terms laid down at the [[Council of Florence]] in 1439.
<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 155–187.</ref>

This was why, when Fr. [[Edmund A. Walsh]], the head of the American and Papal relief missions during the [[Russian famine of 1921]], and the Exarch of the Russian Greek Catholic Church first met one another and conversed in [[Ecclesiastical Latin]], Feodorov, who admired Patriarch Tikhon and felt only contempt for the so-called Living Church, urged that the Famine Relief food supplies be entrusted to not only to Catholic clergy, but also to those Russian Orthodox priests who remained loyal to Patriarch Tikhon for distribution to the starving. Fr. Walsh enthusiastically agreed with the Exarch's idea and ensured that it was carried out. In [[Orenburg]] alone, his assistant, Fr. [[Louis J. Gallagher]] hosted six local Russian Orthodox bishops to his table to organize the delivery of food supplies to the starving.<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 150-153.</ref>

Meanwhile, according to historian Edward E. Roslof, to a much greater extent than the Rurikid and Romanov Tsars before them, the Soviet State and it's secret police, the [[State Political Directorate|GPU]], had no intention of tolerating the possible reunion of East and West, and were especially determined to snuff out all efforts to preserve the continued independence of the Russian Orthodox Church from the State's power and control.<ref>Edward E. Roslof,'' Red Priests: Renovationism, Russian Orthodoxy, & Revolution'', 1905–1946 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), 98.</ref>

Open persecution of [[religion]] began in 1922. The [[clergy]] were forbidden to preach religion to anyone under eighteen years of age. Then, during the [[Russian famine of 1921]], all sacred objects were [[1922 seizure of church valuables in Russia|ordered to be seized]] for "famine relief" and lay councils called ''dvatsatkii'' were installed in each parish by the [[State Political Directorate|GPU]] with the intention of making the priest a mere employee. When both the Exarch Leonid and the Latin Rite Archbishop [[Jan Cieplak]] refused to permit this, all Catholic parishes were forcibly closed by the State.

==The Cieplak Trial==
In the spring of 1923, Exarch Leonid, Archbishop Cieplak, Monsignor [[Konstanty Budkiewicz]], and fourteen other Catholic priests and one layman were summoned to [[Moscow]] trial before the revolutionary tribunal for [[counterrevolution|counter-revolutionary activities]] and [[anti-Soviet agitation]].

According to Father Christopher L. Zugger,

<blockquote>The Bolsheviks had already orchestrated several '[[show trial]]s.' The [[Cheka]] had staged the 'Trial of the St. Petersburg Combat Organization'; its successor, the new [[GPU]], the '[[Trial of the Socialist Revolutionaries]].' In these and other such farces, defendants were inevitably sentenced to death or to long prison terms in the north. The Cieplak show trial is a prime example of Bolshevik revolutionary justice at this time. Normal judicial procedures did not restrict revolutionary tribunals at all; in fact, the [[prosecutor]] [[Nikolai Krylenko|N.V. Krylenko]], stated that the courts could trample upon the rights of classes other than the [[proletariat]]. Appeals from the courts went not to a higher court, but to political committees. Western observers found the setting -- the grand ballroom of a former Noblemen's Club, with painted [[cherubs]] on the ceiling -- singularly inappropriate for such a solemn event. Neither judges nor prosecutors were required to have a legal background, only a proper 'revolutionary' one. That the prominent 'No Smoking' signs were ignored by the judges themselves did not bode well for legalities."<ref>Father Christopher Lawrence Zugger, "The Forgotten: Catholics in the Soviet Empire from Lenin through Stalin," [[Syracuse University Press]], 2001. Page 182.</ref></blockquote>

[[New York Herald]] correspondent Francis McCullagh, who was present at the trial, later described its fourth day as follows:

((quote|Krylenko, who began to speak at 6:10 PM, was moderate enough at first, but quickly launched into an attack on religion in general and the [[Catholic Church]] in particular. "The Catholic Church", he declared, "has always exploited the working classes." When he demanded the Archbishop's death, he said, "All the [[Jesuitical]] duplicity with which you have defended yourself will not save you from the [[death penalty]]. No Pope in the Vatican can save you now." ...As the long oration proceeded, the Red Procurator worked himself into a fury of anti-religious hatred. "Your religion", he yelled, "I spit on it, as I do on all religions, -- on [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]], [[Judaism|Jewish]], [[Islam|Mohammedan]], and the rest." "There is no law here but [[Soviet Law]]," he yelled at another stage, "and by that law you must die."<ref>Captain Francis McCullagh, ''The Bolshevik Persecution of Christianity'', [[E.P. Dutton and Company]], 1924. Page 221.</ref>))

Unlike the other defendants, Exarch Leonid insisted on acting as his own attorney, which led to some of the most dramatic moments of the trial. According to Father Zugger,

<blockquote>Dressed in the traditional Russian black [[cassock]], with his long hair a beard often described as 'Christ-like', Feodorov was a man of the ''narod'', of the ordinary Russian people for whom the Revolution had been fought. His presence put the lie to the usual description of Catholicism as 'the Polish religion.' His presentation -- a moving testimony of Russian spirituality and the history of the Church in that country -- evoked the best of Russian [[Christendom]]. He pointed out that Greek-Catholics greeted the Revolution with joy, for only then did they have equality. There was no secret organization, they had simply followed Church law. Religious education, the celebration of Mass, and the administration of the Sacraments of marriage and baptism had to be fulfilled. He pointed out that the Church, accused of having neglected the starving, was at that moment feeding 120,000 children daily. Following a scathing rebuttal by Krylenko, Exarch Feodorov rose for his final remarks: "Our hearts are full, not of hatred, but of sadness. You cannot understand us, we are not allowed liberty of conscience. That is the only conclusion we can draw from what we have heard here."<ref>Father Christopher Lawrence Zugger, ''The Forgotten: Catholics in the Soviet Empire from Lenin through Stalin,'' [[Syracuse University Press]], 2001. Page 186.</ref></blockquote>

With the verdict and sentences already decided upon in advance, Archbishop Cieplak and Monsignor Budkiewicz were both sentenced to death. Exarch Leonid and all the other defendants were sentenced to the term of ten years imprisonment.<ref name=Arduino/>

==The Gulag==
The international uproar which followed the trial gave the Soviet government pause, however. In 1926,<ref name=":0" /> after serving the first three years of his sentence in Moscow's [[Butyrka prison]], Exarch Leonid was transported to [[Solovki prison camp]],<ref name=Siccardi/> located in a former island monastery in the [[White Sea]].

During a conversation inside the anti-religious museum at Solovki with fellow Russian Greek Catholic [[political prisoner]] [[Julia Danzas]], the Exarch revealed that felt profoundly moved to be incarcerated in the former monastery complex once led by [[Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow|St. Philip of Moscow]]. The Exarch also reverently kissed both the vestments once used by the former [[Hegumen]] and the stone which St. Philip had once used instead of a pillow. The Exarch commented, "On this stone, the Saint had not only radiant visions, but how many bitter tears did he shed!"<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages 236–237.</ref>

When Danzas described her own recent struggles inside the [[Irkutsk]] [[labor camp]] against spiritual despondency and doubt, the Exarch advised her, "That is well. The Lord will sustain you, but if ever the moment returns when you no longer feel this support, don't be frightened. The Lord's aid is perhaps precisely the most abundant when it seems that He has forsaken us."<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Page 237.</ref>

During a later conversation, the Exarch confided in Danzas, "The true [[Messianism]] of the Russian Church is not what the [[Slavophile]]s have imagined, but it is the example of suffering. It is in this way that she shows that she is the continuation of Christ in this world."<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Page 237.</ref>

According to Deacon Vasili von Burman, "At that time, when the camp seemed a spiritual desert, a place of depression and even despair, the Catholic priests led a fruitful life in their closed circle... Observing them, one could not help but comprehend what an important part religion played in people's lives; how in inspired them. In the context of existence on Solovki this stood out with particular clarity... On Sundays and Feast Days, services were held in the Germanovsky chapel and it was, for all its poverty, a place of celebration."<ref>Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', page 75.</ref>

In response, however, to escalating diplomatic protests and publicity given to religious persecution in the USSR by the [[Holy See]], the [[Chekism|Chekist]] guards on Solovki cracked down on the Catholic prisoners with a vengeance. Beginning on January 19, 1929, the use of the [[Herman of Solovki|Germanovsky]] chapel for religious services was forbidden, all religious books and artifacts were confiscated from Catholic prisoners, and the Catholics of Solovki were reduced to what Irina Osipova was termed, "a [[catacomb]] existence".<ref>Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', pages 75-76.</ref>

==Release and death==
On 6 August 1929, Exarch Leonid was released to the town of [[Pinega]] in the [[Arkhangelsk Oblast]] and put to work making charcoal. After continuing to teach the [[Catechism]] to young boys, he was transferred to the village of Poltava, 15&nbsp;km from [[Kotlas]] (not to be confused with the city of [[Poltava]], [[Ukraine]]), where he completed his sentence in 1932. He chose to reside in [[Kirov, Kirov Oblast|Viatka]], where, worn out by the rigours of his imprisonment, he died on 7 March 1935.<ref name=Arduino/>

==Legacy==
Following his return to the [[United States]] following the 1923 Cieplak show trial, Fr [[Edmund A. Walsh]] commissioned a painting of Exarch Leonid from [[White emigre|Russian refugee]] artist [[Paul Maltzev]]. The painting was based on a photograph taken of the Exarch as a [[political prisoner]] at [[Solovki prison camp|Solovki concentration camp]], located above the [[Arctic Circle]]. The painting hung in Fr. Walsh's office at [[Georgetown University]] for the rest of his life and he always spoke of the first Exarch of the [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]] with a deep sense of reverence.<ref> Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (2017), ''Blessed Leonid Feodorov: First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow'', [[Loreto Publications]]. Pages ''vii''-''viii''.</ref>

On 27 June 2001, Exarch Leonid Feodorov was [[beatified]] by Pope John Paul II. He remains deeply venerated among Russian Catholics.

Metropolitan [[Andrey Sheptytsky]] of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said, "We expect that the exarch [Leonid Feodoriv] is on the road to glorification through beatification. Of course, it is much too early to talk about this, but all of us were strongly impressed by his holiness, strengthened by the crown of martyrdom and death; this certainly supports our expectations. On the other hand, as a Russian Catholic, as exarch, as someone who died at the hands of the Bolsheviks, it seems to us that he will be right in the center of attention of the entire Church."<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
((wikiquote))

==References==
<references/>

((s-start))
((s-rel|ca))
((s-bef
| before = established
))
((s-ttl
| title = [[Russian Byzantine Catholic Church|Exarch of Russian Byzantine Catholic Church]]
| years = 1917–1935
))
((s-aft
| after = [[Klymentiy Sheptytsky]]
))
((end))

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060524043945/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintl46.htm Biography]
*[http://russiancatholic.blogspot.com/2009/04/exarch-leonid-feodorov.html Life of Blessed Leonid Feodorov]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXeQ1o3mnRo An "Insight" episode based on Leonid Feodorov], portrayed by [[Steve Forrest (actor)|Steve Forrest]]

((Persecution of Christians))
((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Feodorov, Leonid))
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1935 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs]]
[[Category:Beatifications by Pope John Paul II]]
[[Category:Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic beatified people]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic monks]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholics from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic writers]]
[[Category:Former Russian Orthodox Christians]]
[[Category:Inmates of Solovki prison camp]]
[[Category:Clergy from Saint Petersburg]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Russian beatified people]]
[[Category:Russian exiles in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Russian Greek-Catholics]]
[[Category:Russian people of Greek descent]]
[[Category:Soviet show trials]]
[[Category:Studite Brethren]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Leonid Feodorov (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Blockquote (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Blockquote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Br separated entries (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:C (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Delink question hyphen-minus (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Distinguish (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:End (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist (view source) (protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:If empty (view source) (protected)
Template:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox saint (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Lang-ru (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Nobold (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Nobold/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Persecution of Christians (edit)
Template:Plainlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Quote (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-aft (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-aft/check (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-aft/filter (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-bef (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-bef/check (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-bef/filter (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-rel (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-start (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-ttl (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:S-ttl/check (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Side box (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Sister project (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Template other (view source) (protected)
Template:Wikiquote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/auxiliary (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Distinguish (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Exponential search (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:If empty (view source) (protected)
Module:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang/ISO 639 synonyms (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana languages (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana regions (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana suppressed scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana variants (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:List (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:MultiReplace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:Separated entries (view source) (protected)
Module:Side box (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Side box/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Unicode data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unicode data/scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Leonid Feodorov.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Feodorov"