Archimandrite Amvrosii (Pogodin) Reposes at Tolstoy Farm

On Saturday, October 30, Archimandrite Amvrosii (Pogodin) died at Tolstoy Farm. He was a renowned author of a multitude of theological and ecclesio-historical articles as well as translations of the works of the Holy Fathers, published in Pravoslavnaya Put' [Orthodox Path] and other periodicals of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. The late Fr Amvrosii served in London under Archbishop Nikodim of Richmond of blessed memory for a decade, was Rector of St Nicholas Parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in Rome and at the Church of St Tikhon of Zadonsk in San Francisco. In the early 1960's, by the decision of our bishops, he was appointed one of the observers of the Synod of Bishops at Vatican II.

In the USA, Archimandrite Amvrosii served in the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church of America as a cleric of the latter.

The last few years of his life, Fr Amvrosii spent at the nursing home of Novo-Diveevo Convent and at Tolstoy Farm. At Fr Amvrosii's deathbed was Protopriest Gregory Kotliaroff, who bathed him after his repose. The funeral and burial was performed in California on November 4 by the clergymen of the Western American Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America. With the blessing of Archbishop Kyrill of Western America and San Francisco, Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Protopriest Stefan Pavlenko and Protopriest Peter Perekrestov attended the services.

In 2002, Archimandrite Amvrosii was visited by Monk Vsevolod (Filipiev) and several residents of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, to which he bequeathed his archives. "Fr Amvrosii," writes Monk Vsevolod, "was very much consoled by our visit. We looked at his family photographs for a long time and his as-yet-unpublished translations of the Holy Fathers. It should be said that batiushka will become part, or has already become a part, of Russian patrology for having performed the greatest number of patrological translations from the Greek and Latin into Russian in the 20th century. His translations and articles can be read in almost every annual edition of Pravoslavnaya Put' (Jordanville). Also, Fr Amvrosii is the author of the renowned book St Mark of Ephesus and the Florentine Unia. When a pilgrim from Moscow told batiushka that his book and translations are in every Orthodox home in Russia and are being published in editions of hundreds of thousands, he sighed heavily and said 'And here I waste away.' Everyone at Novo-Diveevo treated him well, but age, sorrows and ailments were the cross which Fr Amvrosii now bears. For this reason, we ask all Orthodox Christians to pray for our dear theologian Archimandrite."