Bishop of Volyn Antonius (Khrapovitsky) and January 9/22, 1905
Abstract
British press proclaimed the murder of Grand Duke Sergius being a revenge for the “Bloody Sunday”. That was an episode of anti-Russian media campaign during the Russian-Japanese war. Imperial Manifesto of February 18, 1905 contained an official statement about internal unrest and labor strikes. The sermon of bishop of Volyn Antonius (Khrapovitsky) at Isaac Cathedral of St. Petersburg on February 20, 1905 was a direct response to the Manifesto. In that sermon, Antonius also made a statement about causes of riots at the capital on January 9/22, 1905. Antonius was absent from the capital in January, but got information about the events when present in the Holy Synod in February 1905. The statement by Antonius has been seen as a confirmation of the official government evaluation of the January 9/22, 1905 riots. That was also the reason why immediately upon the publication that sermon provoked a series of media attacks on Antonius from writers associated with a “liberation movement”. First responder was Vasily Rozanov, who was shortly followed by Sergey Bulgakov. For both writers, the criticism of the sermon by Antonius was directly related to their political views and loyalties to the revolutionary movement. The better-known attack on Antonius was performed by then well-known writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky in 1906-1907. Merezhkkovsky’s attitude was connected first with the propaganda campaign to the election of State Duma in early 1906. Later, Merezhkovsky’s interest to the subject of Antonius’ sermon was linked to his stay in Paris and connections to socialists and terrorists.
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