Metropolitan Cornelius - biography, spiritual path, activity

The Old Believers Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Cornelius (worldly name - Konstantin Titov) is the spiritual shepherd of about two million Old Believers living in Russia and the world. On the deep conviction of the adherents of this religious trend, they are preaching the true, pure Orthodoxy, which did not distort the little-grounded church reforms of the seventeenth century.

The history of the Old Believers is one of the most sad pages in the Russian church. Indeed, the hasty transformation of Nikon disconnected the Russian people according to one of the most important for the Slavs - the Faith in God. The split led to irreconcilable rivalry and mutual hostility between former co-religionists who suddenly became enemies.

Old Believer Church - a historical digression

There was an Old Believer in the second half of the 17th century, after a great church reform, which was held from 1653-1666 by Patriarch Nikon. The changes touched on worship, rituals, texts of sacred books. For example, the three-fingered sign of the cross came to replace the two-fingered, the spelling of the name Jesus replaced the former spelling of Jesus, the triple praise of "hallelujah" became the norm instead of the double.

A fairly impressive portion of the population and the clergy did not accept these innovations. So there was a split and the Old Believers appeared, which also split into two parts: the bespopovskaya, which does not recognize the clergy, and the priests, who believe that priests are still needed for rituals and worship. Popovtsev was also called the Beglopopians because they became a shelter for fugitive priests who denied Nikon's reforms.

The authorities began cruel persecutions against the Old Believers and especially against their leader, Protopope Avvakum, whom the current Metropolitan Kornily also revered. Habakkuk was once a close associate and assistant to Nikon, but did not accept his reformist reforms and devoted himself to the struggle for true Orthodoxy. Protopop denounced the God-forgiving innovations, wrote to the king passionate petitions, even in the face of death, he was persistent and did not give up his views. Avvakum was burned in the spring of 1682, becoming for the Old Believers a holy martyr for the true Faith.

The power softened the attitude towards the Old Believer church only two centuries later, when Alexander II signed a decree according to which the Old Believers were allowed to perform free worship, go abroad, open schools, hold public office. And in 1971 the Council of the Orthodox Church recognized the illegality of the "split", which was adopted at the Councils of 1656 and 1667.

Metropolitan Cornelius - biography

The future metropolitan Cornelius (Titov Konstantin Ivanovich) was born on August 1, 1947 in the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo near Moscow. Both parents were Old Believers. His family did not live well, so the young Kosta had to go to work at the local cotton mill in 1962, after the eighth grade, where he worked for 35 years.

Konstantin Ivanovich constantly studied without interruption from work. At first he studied at the evening school, then at the technical school, and in 1972 graduated from the Auto Mechanics Institute in Moscow. Diligence and a craving for education helped him to go from student to chief of OTC (department of technical control).

The beginning of the spiritual path

Since 1991, the future Metropolitan Cornelius became the head of the church council of the urban community of the Old Believers. His tutor and spiritual teacher was the priest and rector of the Orekhovo-Zuevsky Temple of the Theotokos, Leonti Pimenov, who exerted enormous influence on his pupil. In many respects it was Father Leonty who persuaded him to become a priest.

Church service

In the spring of 1997, Konstantin Titov gave a dinner of celibacy and was ordained a deacon by the Old Believers Metropolitan Alimpy. In March 2004, Deacon Constantine was elevated to the rank of priest by Metropolitan Adrian. The newly-made priest was the second priest in the church of the Holy Virgin, in the very place where he took the first steps in the church ministry under the leadership of Leonty Pimenov.

In October 2004, Priest Constantine was named among the candidates for the rank of bishop of the Kazan-Vyatka diocese. In March 2005, Constantine took the monastic vows and was named after Cornelius. And two months later, on May 7, Metropolitan Adrian ordained Constantine to the high office of the bishop. But he did not stay long in this position. On October 18 of the same year, the 58-year-old bishop received the archpastoral title after the third vote - Metropolitan Cornelius the Old Believer. In just eight years, this purposeful and energetic man ascended the church ladder from the rank of deacon to the highest church rank.

Views and activities

Metropolitan Cornelius Old Believer in religious views and actions adheres to the course of Metropolitan Hadrian - his predecessor. His ideas are simple and understandable. First of all, we must overcome the spiritual and cultural isolation of the Old Believer church in the life of Russia. People should learn more about the most pure Orthodox faith of the forefathers, the faith that Nikonov's reforms did not touch. In addition, the Old Believers are a treasury of the Russian common culture, preserving elements of the ancient Russian tradition for centuries: spiritual verses, songs, words.

During the archpastoral activity, Metropolitan Cornelius ordained three bishops and dozens of priests, reciters, deacons. Within a year he visits all the dioceses subordinate to him. Actively communicates with local and federal authorities. In the spring of 2017, I met with Vladimir Putin, who was told about the problems and wonders of the Old Believer church. According to the Metropolitan, the president will try to help in solving such important issues as the allocation of money to return to the homeland of the Old Believers and the transfer of temples to the use of the Old Believer church.