Metropolitan Bishop
Saint Cyril, Metropolitan of Kazan and Sviyazhsk (in the world Smirnov Konstantin Ilarionovich) was born on April 26, 1863, in the city of Kronstadt. In 1887, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy. On November 21, 1887, he was ordained a priest and appointed to the Resurrection Church in Saint Petersburg. From 1900, he was the rector of the Kronstadt Holy Trinity Church. In 1902, after the death of his wife and daughter, he took monastic vows and was appointed to the Urmia Spiritual Mission in Persia. On August 6, 1904, he was consecrated as Bishop of Gdov. From 1908 to 1928, he managed the Tambov and Shatsk diocese, striving for communion with his flock. In 1914, he was glorified as Saint Pitirim of Tambov. In 1917, he warned of the necessity to preserve the past. During the war, he organized assistance to the front and to those in need. On March 19, 1918, he was appointed to the metropolitan see of Tiflis and Baku, but was unable to travel. In 1919, he was arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary agitation. In 1920, he was appointed to the Kazan and Sviyazhsk see, but was arrested again. In 1921, he was released under amnesty, but in 1922 he was arrested again and exiled to Ust-Sysolsk. In 1924, he returned from exile and met with Patriarch Tikhon, refusing to cooperate with the Renovationists. In 1926, he was elected Patriarch, but the enthronement did not take place. In 1927, he was arrested again and exiled to the Turukhansk region. In 1933, he was released, but in 1934 he was arrested and sentenced to three years of exile. On November 7 (20 according to the new style), 1937, he was shot in the Lisy ravine near Chimkent. Metropolitan Cyril is one of the outstanding hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, canonized among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in 2000.
