His Beatitude, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)

Metropolitan Anthony was born to the old noble family Khrapovitsky on March 17th, 1863, in the town of Vatagino in the Novgorod providence. He was baptized Alexis. After finishing a gymnasium in St. Petersburg, he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Upon his graduation in 1885, he was tonsured as a monk, subsequently ordained as a Hieromonk and appointed as an assistant inspector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. In 1886 ? 1887, he completed his courses and was awarded a Doctorate in Theology. In 1889, he was appointed Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and six years later, in 1895, he became Rector of the Kazan Theological Academy. In 1897, he was consecrated Bishop of Cheboksarsk. In 1900, as Archbishop, he was designated to head the Ufimsk Diocese. In 1902, Archbishop Anthony was transferred to Zhitomir to head the Volinsk Diocese. By 1913, he was appointed to head the Kharkov Diocese where he remained until 1917.

During the All-Russian Church Council of 1917, Archbishop Anthony was the main proponent of the restoration of the Patriarchate to Russia. He received the vast majority of votes during the election for Patriarch; however, a die was cast and fell to the Metropolitan of Moscow, Tikhon. During the Sobor, Archbishop Anthony was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Kharkov, and later that summer was transferred to head the ancient Diocese of Kiev. He was arrested during the Petrula movement and sent to a Uniate monastery. He was soon freed and returned to Kiev from whence he departed to Novocherkask where he became the Head of the Highest Church Administration.

After the Russian Civil War, Metropolitan Anthony was evacuated to Constantinople, and then to Yugoslavia where he headed the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. His firm and unwavering defense for the purity of Orthodoxy served as his hallmark.

Metropolitan Anthony was the architect of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and its first Hierarch. He left in his stead over 100 major works on Orthodox theology and a whole generation of Bishops and theologians.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Anthony reposed on July 28/August 10, 1936, in the city of Sremski Karlovci, Yugoslavia.