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Innokenty (Figurovsky)

English Translation by Nina Tkachuk Dimas

Surname, first name and patronymic: Figurovsky, Ivan Appolonovich

Rank: Metropolitan

Place: of Birth: The eparchy of Tomsk
of Death: Beijing

Date of Birth: 1863 19^th century

Date of Tonsure: 1890 19^th century

Date of Consecration: June 3, 1902 20^th century

Date of Death: June 15/28, 1931 20^th century

Church Affiliation: Russian Orthodox Church

Biography

Innokenty (Figurovsky), Metropolitan of Beijing and China.
Born February 22, 1863 in the family of a priest of the Kiriko-Iulitinsk Church in the village of Panovsky.
In 1878 completed spiritual [pre-theological] school in Krasnoyarsk.
In 1878 entered theological seminary in Tomsk; left after completing 3rd year.
In 1883 appointed to duties of chanter in the Church of the Presentation, in Blakhtinsk, in the Achinsk district.
In November 1883, married 18 year-old Anna, the eldest daughter of the priest-in-charge of the Presentation Church, Pyotr Seimov.
In 1884, ordained a priest of the Yeniseisk eparchy.
In 1886 entered the 4th year class of the St. Petersburg theological seminary, which he completed in 1888. Entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in the same year.
In 1890 received monastic tonsure.
In 1892 completed the academy with a degree of candidate in theology and was appointed inspector of the Alexander Nevsky spiritual school.
In 1894 elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed rector of the Petersburg Theological Seminary.
1895 — Priest-in-charge, Moscow's "Protection" [Pokrov] Missionary Monastery .
From 1896 — leader of the 18^th Chinese spiritual mission to Beijing.
June 3, 1902, consecrated bishop of Pereslavsk, vicar of the Vladimir eparchy. The Consecration took place in in the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the Alexander-Nevsky Lavra.
Administered the Beijing mission for 33 years.
In 1921^[1], named Archbishop of Beijing.
During the last days of his life, he is commemorated as the Metropolitan of Beijing and China.
Died June 28, 1931.
Buried in the crypt of the Church of All the Holy Martyrs in Beijing^[2].
He was a man of a great, penetrating mind, with enormous energy and a firm advocate of Orthodoxy.
Expert on Chinese language. Knew 62 thousand Chinese characters. Chinese professors turned to him for explanations of incomprehensible characters.
Relatives: mother- the nun Manefa, died in 1911 (burial service on November 20).

Works:

"Chinese-Russian Dictionary", 6 volumes. Beijing, 1906.
"Russian-Chinese Dictionary. Beijing, 1906.

Literature:

"Tserk. Ved." [Church News] 1902, № 26, page 244.
"Tserk. Vestn." [Church Messenger] 1895, № 31, page 991; 1904, № 30, p. 949; 1908, № 1, p. 22.
"Miss. Kalend." [Missionary Calendar] 1907, p. 133
"Kitaisk. Blag." [Chinese Herald] 1947, August-September, pp. 35-37.
"Sostav. Sv. Prav. Vser. Sin. I ros. Tserk. Ierarkhii" [?Composition of the Holy Orthodox All-Russian Synod and Russian Church Hierarchy] for 1917, p. 330-331.
"Immenn. Spisok rektor. i inspector. Dykh. Akad. i seminar. Na 1917." [Names directory of the rectors and inspectors of Theological Academies and Seminaries, 1917, p. 177.]
"Zh.M.P" [Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate] № 10, p. 28.
"FPS" [?Faculty of Petersburg Seminary], III, p. 3].
Bulgakov. P. 1418
"Zametki I dopolneniya E.M." [Notes and Additions (supplements) E.M.], № 83.
N. Rklickij, Zizneopisanie X, 13-15; Nekrolog des. M Antonij (Chrapovickij).
"Cerk. Ved." (Church News), 1929, 13/14. p. 19.

Duties and places of service

Rector
St. Petersburg Theological Seminary

1894, 19^th century   -  
1895, 20^th century

Priest-in-Charge
Convent of the Holy Protecting Veil of the Theotokos (stavropighial)

1895, 19^th century   -  
1896, 19^th century

Leader (chief)
Russian Spiritual Mission in China

1896, 19^th century   -  
1902, 20^th century

Beijing

April 1918, 20^th century   -  
June 15/28 1931, 20^th century

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^[1] original Russian text incorrectly states "March 1918" ^[2] original Russian text incorrectly states "Church of the 40 Holy Martyrs in Tianjin."

Photographs

 

Group of Albazinians
1 - head of girls' school in the Spiritual Mission
2 - Albazinian company commander Luo
3 - hieromonk of the mission Fr. Avraamiy
4 - Colonel Voronov
5 - head of the Spiritual Mission, Archimandrite Innokenty
6 - M.D. Batuev
8 - non-commissioned officer Zaporozhets
9 - non-commissioned officer Artamonov
11,13,19,20 - godchildren of Colonel Voronov
12 - godson of a non-commissioned officer Zaporozhets
14,15,16,17,18 - godmothers
photo from "New Time"
Illustrated appendix.
Mar 27 (Apr 7) 1900, № 8648 pg. 12.

"Beiguan", 1939. pp 26-27.

H.E. Met. Innokenty at his desk
(The picture was taken in March 1931)
"Chinese Good News",
June-July 1931, pg 4

Reading the Gospel over
the body of deceased Met.
Innokenty at Dormition Church
"Chinese Good News",
June-July 1931, pg 8

"Beiguan", 1939. pp 102-103.

• The Chinese Language Learning and New Testament Translation Projects Conducted by the Orthodox Missionaries in China by Dr. Aleksandrs Dmitrenko, PhD (Decolonial Subversions, Special Issue 2020, Pp. 58-79)
• THE RE-ESTABLISHER OF THE RUSSIAN ECCLESIASTICAL MISSION IN PEKING METROPOLITAN INNOKENTY (FIGUROVSKY) OF PEKING AND CHINA (To the 90th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia)
• Krasnoyarsk missionaries in Beijing: Ivan Apollonovich Figurovsky (Machine Translation)
• The Russian Orthodox Mission in China: ARCHIMANDRITE INNOCENT (Oct 1916)
• Bishop Innocenty (Figurovsky). Beginning of a New Period in a History of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing (Jan 2000, Machine Translation)
• New Testament
  Translated by Bishop Innokenty of Beijing, 1910
• Pascha service (printed with blessing of Bp Innokenty of Beijing, 1918)
• Explanation to Making the Sign of the Cross (printed with blessing of Bp Innokenty of Beijing)