View source for Bartholomew Remov

{{Short description|Russian Greek-Catholic archbishop (1888–1935)}}
{{more citations|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type             = Bishop
| honorific_prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| name             = Bartholomew Remov
| honorific_suffix = 
| title            = [[Titular Bishop]] of [[Sergeyev Posad]]
| image            = Archbishop_bartholomew_remov.jpg
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = Remov, {{circa|1920s}}
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| church           = [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]]<br>[[Russian Orthodox Church]] (previous)
| archdiocese      = 
| province         = 
| metropolis       = 
| diocese          = 
| see              = 
| elected          = 25 February 1933
| term             = <!-- or term_start / term_end -->
| quashed          = 10 July 1935
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = 
| opposed          = 
| other_post       = Auxiliary Bishop of Moscow (1933–1935)
| previous_post    = Abbot of the [[Vysokopetrovsky Monastery]] (1924–1929)
<!---------- Orders ---------->
| ordination       = 23 June 1911 (deacon)<br>18 February 1912 (priest)
| ordained_by      = [[Fyodor Pozdeyevsky]]
| consecration     = 10 August 1921
| consecrated_by   = [[Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow|Patriarch Tikhon]]
| cardinal         = 
| created_cardinal_by =
| rank             = 
| laicized         = 
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name       = {{langx|ru|Николай Фёдорович Ремов|translit=Nikolai Fedorovich Remov}}
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1888|10|3|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Moscow]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1935|6|26|1888|10|3|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Butyrka Prison]], [[Moscow]], [[Soviet Union]]
| nationality      = <!-- use only when necessary per [[WP:INFONAT]] -->
| religion         = [[Eastern Catholicism]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodoxy]] (previous)
| education        =
| parents          = Fyodor Remov (father)
}}

'''Bartholomew Remov''' ({{langx|ru|Варфоломе́й Ре́мов|lit=Varfolomey Remov}}; 3 October 1888 – 26 June 1935), born '''Nikolai Fyodorovich Remov''' ({{langx|ru|Никола́й Фёдорович Ре́мов}}), was a [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] monk and [[archbishop]] who secretly entered the [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]] in 1932. He was sentenced to death in 1935 by the [[Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union]] on charges of [[anti-Soviet agitation]] and [[espionage]] on behalf of the [[Holy See]] and executed soon after.

==Early life==
Nikolai Remov was born on 3 October 1888 in [[Moscow]] in the family of a married [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] priest. After he was born, his father Fyodor and their family was visited by [[John of Kronstadt]], who said that Nikolai would be a "confessor of the Church and great man of prayer." He had several siblings, some of whom died of illnesses at a young age, which had an impact on Nikolai and influenced his later decision to become a monk.<ref name="VP">{{Cite web |title=Архиепископ Варфоломей (Ремов) – настоятель Высоко-Петровской обители в 1922–1935 гг. |language=ru |trans-title=Archbishop Bartholomew (Remov) – abbot of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery from 1922 to 1935. |publisher=[[Vysokopetrovsky Monastery]] |url=https://vpmon.ru/arxiepiskop-varfolomej-remov-nastoyatel-vysoko-petrovskoj-obiteli-v-1922-1935-gg/ }}</ref> He attended the [[Monastery of the Holy Mandylion, Moscow|Zaikonospassky Theological School]] and the Moscow Theological Seminary.<ref name="enc">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=ВАРФОЛОМЕЙ |encyclopedia=[[Orthodox Encyclopedia]] |language=ru |pages=716–717 |volume=6 |date=29 November 2009 |url=https://www.pravenc.ru/text/154407.html }}</ref>

==Orthodox Church==
Remov became a student at the [[Moscow Theological Academy]] in 1908, and during his time there, on 10 June 1911 he was [[tonsure]]d as a monk by the abbot of a monastery.<ref name="VP" /><ref name="enc" /> On 23 June 1911, he was ordained as a [[hierodeacon]] (deacon-monk) by Bishop [[Fyodor Pozdeyevsky]], and was ordained as a [[hieromonk]] (priest-monk) on 18 February 1912. When Remov became a monk, he took the name ''Varfolomey'' (Bartholomew) as his religious name, after [[Bartholomew the Apostle]].<ref name="VP" /><ref name="Catholic">{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bremov|Bishop Varfolomey Nikolay Remov|24 May 2025}}</ref> He graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy in 1912 with a master's degree in theology, and in 1916 became an [[associate professor]] in the Holy Scriptures department of the Academy.<ref name="enc" />

His master's degree thesis, "The Book of the Prophet Avvakum: Introduction and Interpretation",<ref name="enc" /> is based on a detailed analysis of the Greek and Hebrew texts of [[Habakkuk]], complemented with the Slavic manuscripts. The work shows the deep erudition and a multifaceted approach to the subject. The author focused on textual criticism and the historical interpretation of the book of Habakkuk.

Beyond his work as a historian and biblical scholar, Remov was known as an expert on [[Divine Liturgy]] and the [[Old Church Slavonic language]]. In later years, Remov's knowledge of Old Church Slavonic, the [[liturgical language]] of his Church, caused him to be ordered to audit all church services, in particular, to listen in on the choir and hymns of the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Moscow Patriarchate]].

In 1913, Remov was appointed as the [[Protopope]] of the Theological Academy's Church of the Intercession, and in 1914, he became an associate professor of Old Testament studies. In 1919, he became the pastor of the Theological Academy's Church of the Protection and was raised to the rank of [[Archimandrite]]. In 1920, the [[Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow]] appointed Remov the director of the Higher Institute of Theology. 

On September 6, 1920, Remov was arrested for preaching against the [[Bolshevik]] seizure and confiscation of the relics of St. [[Sergius of Radonezh]]. The GPU's Remov Case file alleges, as the [[Soviet secret police]] often did of Orthodox clergy who supported Patriarch Tikhon against the Pro-Soviet [[Renovationism|Renovationist schism]], that Archimandrite Bartholomew was, "a prominent and active member of the militant [[Black Hundreds]] clergy". The secret police also chose to interpret Archimandrite Bartholomew's sermon calling for defense of St. Sergei's relics against desecration as "calling for a [[pogrom]] and, as a consequence, inciting the ignorant masses."<ref> I.I. Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR from Material in Criminal Investigation and Labor Camp Files'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Pages 42-43.</ref>

Under interrogation, however, Archimandrite Bartholomew said, "The truth of Christ, as I understand it and accept it, is dearer to me than life. I have never called for any kind of violence and would consider such a call dishonorable."<ref> I.I. Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR from Material in Criminal Investigation and Labor Camp Files'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Page 47.</ref>

He was released on 28 February 1921, "in view of the poor state of his health."<ref name="osipova"> I.I. Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR from Material in Criminal Investigation and Labor Camp Files'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Page 43.</ref> Archimandrite Bartholomew was carried away from the prison on a stretcher.

===Orthodox Bishop===
On 28 July 1921, the bishop of [[Sergiyev Posad|Sergiev Posad]] Vicariate of the Moscow Diocese, appointed Remov to a position at the [[Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius|Trinity Sergius Lavra]]. He served in that position from 1921 to 1923 and became the Archimandrite of the [[Vysokopetrovsky Monastery]] in [[Moscow]]. From 1925 to 1935, he was also the Pastor of the [[Nativity Church at Putinki|Church of the Nativity of the Virgin]] at Putinki.

Although Remov at first supported the Deputy Patriarchal ''[[Locum Tenens]]'' Metropolitan [[Patriarch Sergius of Moscow|Metropolitan Sergei]]'s 1927 declaration of loyalty to the Soviet State, according to historian Irina Osipova, Metropolitan Bartholomew, "could not accept the harsh policy which Sergei adopted after the schism that divided the clergy in two camps. Bartholomew was disturbed by threats to visit punishment on every 'insubordinate' priest and by the mass arrests and sentencing of these recalcitrants."<ref> I.I. Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR from Material in Criminal Investigation and Labor Camp Files'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Pages 43-44.</ref>

Two fellow members of the Orthodox Hierarchy later signed depositions admitting, in the words of the [[Soviet secret police]], to having, "participated in illegal gatherings at Archbishop Bartholomew's apartment." Both Hierarchs admitted that those at the gatherings had discussed at length Metropolitan Sergei's use of coercion and his alliance with the [[Soviet secret police]] to enforce his policy of [[Caesaropapism|subservience to the State]] and to have all agreed that, "the line pursued by Metropolitan Sergei is fatal for the Church."<ref name="osipova1"> I.I. Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR from Material in Criminal Investigation and Labor Camp Files'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Page 44.</ref>

In 1928, Remov was arrested and charged with "harbouring a spy", whom in Bartholomew's opinion, was simply a fellow religious believer. He was released, however, without charge.<ref name="osipova" />

On 9 June 1934, Remov was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

In 1928, Remov began meeting with [[Pie Eugène Neveu]], [[Assumptionists|A.A.]], formerly the parish priest of the mining town of [[Makiivka]], [[Ukraine]], who had been secretly consecrated as a Bishop by [[Michel d'Herbigny]] in 1926 and installed in the [[Church of St. Louis of the French (Moscow)|Church of St. Louis des Français]] as the secret [[Apostolic Administrator]] for the [[Catholic Church in Russia|Catholic Church]] in [[Moscow Oblast]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Catholic Church and Soviet Russia, 1917-39|last=Dunn|first=Dennis J.|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2016|isbn=9781315408859|pages=viii}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apostolische-nachfolge.de/Russia.htm|title=Die Apostolische Nachfolge|last=Pyshkovych|first=Rev. Fr. Manuil|website=apostolische-nachfolge.de}}</ref> Over the years that followed, Remov and Neveu stayed in contact. Remov later recalled, "I got to know Neveu in Moscow through the engineer Rumyantsev, Alexander Alexandrovich. Rumyantsev was fascinated by the idea of uniting the Orthodox and Catholic Churches."<ref name="osipova" />

After the [[Vysokopetrovsky Monastery]] was closed down by the Soviet authorities in 1929, Remov arranged for the monastery to continue in secret at the [[Nativity Church at Putinki]].<ref name="osipova" /> 

One secret monastic later recalled, "The institution of the novitiate was created in our society as a means of inducing staunch Christians who would replenish the declining monastic cadres and, if necessary, suffer for the Faith."<ref name="osipova2"> Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', page 46.</ref>

To protect secret monks and nuns from arrest by the [[Soviet secret police]], Archbishop Bartholomew decreed, "All those initiated into monasticism should continue to live and work as before in their institutions and enterprises, avoiding any outward change in their lifestyle, and concealing their monastic commitment from others."<ref name="osipova2" />

As a further protection from arrest, Archbishop Bartholomew ordered the monastery's Archimandrites to refer to each monk and nun by a false name on the lists presented to the Diocesan Council.<ref name="osipova2" />

Meanwhile, his secret meetings continued with Bishop Neveu.

In a letter from 1931, Bishop Neveu doubted whether Bishop Bartholomew would ever become a Catholic since he "limited himself to vague words about his sympathies and was too afraid of compromising himself".

===Secret conversion===
According to Remov, however, "By 1932, our relationship was friendly and we had begun to meet regularly. In 1932, prompted by Neveu, I secretly entered the Catholic Church."<ref name="osipova" />

On August 10, 1932, Remov wrote a letter to [[Pope Pius XI]], "Monsignor... In humility and gratitude I fall at the feet of the most Holy Father. I rejoice in expressing to you, Monsignor, my profound thanks. It is wonderful to know that one is engaged in God's work, to 'labor all the day long', and I would like to repeat, together with you, the words of the Archangel, 'For Thee, nothing is impossible.'"<ref> I.I. Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR from Material in Criminal Investigation and Labor Camp Files'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. [[Fargo, North Dakota]]. Page 45.</ref>

On February 25, 1933, the Vatican released an official document signed by Bishop [[Michel d'Herbigny]], which established the titular diocese of [[Sergiyev Posad]] for the [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]] and appointed Remov, "already possessing the rank of Archbishop in the Eastern Rite", as the titular bishop. A second document, dated July 3, 1933, appointed Remov as suffragan Apostolic Administrator in Moscow for Catholics of the Eastern Rite. Remov later admitted to NKVD interrogators that Bishop Neveu had shown him both documents, but chose not to give them to Remov, "for fear that [they] might be discovered in a possible search."<ref name="osipova1" />

D'Herbigny gave his support to Bishop Bartholomew, the first such convert from Episcopal rank in 20th century Russia, and considered the secret Catholic bishop as a potential future Patriarch of the [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]].

Some{{who?|date=June 2022}}{{fact|date=June 2022}} have believed Bishop Bartholomew's conversion to Catholicism to have been a lie by the Soviet State. They seriously considered the possibility of his identity as a martyr and one of the Orthodox saints during the Soviet persecution of the Church. They believed that his meetings with Bishop Neveu did not go beyond consultation and the transfer of information about the religious persecution of the Orthodox Church. In their view, the interrogations was forged by employees of the [[NKVD]] and the documents that came from d'Herbigny are forgeries as well. However, their arguments are now rejected by both Orthodox and Catholic scholars. The General Archive of the [[Augustinians]] in Rome preserved the correspondence between Metropolitan Bartholomew and Bishop Neveu, which proves his passionate belief in the [[Russian Greek Catholic Church]]. They also reveal, according to Irina Osipova, that Archbishop Bartholomew viewed Bishop Neveu as his spiritual mentor.<ref name="osipova5"> Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', pages 45.</ref>

==Final arrest and death==
In the fall of 1934, the [[NKVD]] arrested Pavel Velikanov, the organiser of a sect called "The Fourth International of Spirit and Truth". Under interrogation, Velikanov revealed that an illegal Orthodox convent and monastery existed at the [[Nativity Church at Putinki|Church of the Nativity of the Virgin]] at Putinki. Velikanov also provided a long list of the priests, monks, and nuns who were involved. The first arrests connected with the NKVD's investigation took place on January 28, 1935 and those who were arrested named Archbishop Bartholomew as the spiritual leader of the secret monastery and convent.<ref> Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', pages 40-41.</ref>

On February 18, 1935, the NKVD received a letter from certain Putinki parishioners, who alleged, "It would appear that the closure of the monastery has not eliminated the monastic spirit, which has recently begun to manifest itself with particular intensity. The churches are flooded with women in black headscarves and black dress (the so-called hysterics) in numbers so great that they are able to perform any role desired of them, but also to dominate the congregations; this is, in the end, transforming us from a parish church into a monastery."<ref> Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', pages 41-42.</ref>

Along with 21 others, Remov was arrested again on 21 February 1935 and was accused of being, "a member of the Catholic group of a counterrevolutionary organization attached to the illegal Petrovsky Monastery" and of [[anti-Soviet agitation]].<ref> Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', pages 42.</ref>

In a signed confession, Remov admitted, "I frequently passed to Neveu letters from exiled clergymen. Neveu forwarded these letters to the Vatican as proof of the persecution of religious believers by the Soviet authorities. I told Neveu that all the actions of Metropolitan Sergei were planned in collaboration with the [[Soviet secret police|organs of State Power]]."<ref name="osipova5" />

After a brief detention period in the [[Butyrka Prison]], where he was sent shortly after his arrest, Remov was further charged with, "betrayal of the Motherland and [[espionage]] on behalf of [[Holy See|the Vatican]]."<ref name="osipova5" />

On June 17, 1935, a closed session of the [[Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union]] sentenced Remov, "to the supreme penalty, death by shooting, with confiscation of property. The sentence is final and no appeal is allowed."<ref> Osipova (2003), ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', page 47.</ref> 

Metropolitan Bartholomew Remov was executed soon after, on 10 July 1935.<ref name="Catholic" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Dennis J. |title=The Catholic Church and Russia: Popes, Patriarchs, Tsars, and Commissars |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1-351-89335-1 |page=87 }}</ref> In a letter to d'Herbigny, Bishop Neveu wrote that "to the end he remained faithful to the Catholic Church and to the Holy Father, whom he loved and whose commands he was ready to fulfill at any cost."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Book of Remembrance - Biography of Archbishop Bartholemew (Nikolay) Remov |publisher=[[University of Notre Dame]]|date=2022|url=https://biographies.library.nd.edu/biographies/790 }}</ref>

==Further reading==
* Irina I. Osipova, ''Hide Me Within Thy Wounds: The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the USSR'', Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, [[Fargo, North Dakota]], 2003
* Father Arseny, ''A cloud of witnesses''. Translated from the Russian by Vera Bouteneff, 2001.

==See also==
* [[Leonid Feodorov]]

==Sources==
* [http://www.beutel.narod.ru/write/convert.htm The Catholic Revival] 
* http://vselenskiy.narod.ru/remow.htm
* https://books.google.com/books?id=HnUnJ7X10BMC&dq=bartholomew+remov&pg=PA168

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* http://vselenskiy.narod.ru/remow.htm
* [http://periodical.pstgu.ru/en/series/issue/2/79/article/6193]
*[https://biographies.library.nd.edu/biographies/853 Book of Remembrance: Biographies of Catholic Clergy and Laity Repressed in the Soviet Union - Biography of Elena Rozhina (Sister Eugenia)] [[Notre Dame University]]
*[https://biographies.library.nd.edu/biographies/790 Book of Remembrance: Biographies of Catholic Clergy and Laity Repressed in the Soviet Union - Biography of Archbishop Bartholomew Remov] - [[Notre Dame University]]
* http://elib.sfu-kras.ru/bitstream/handle/2311/31520/06_Soloviev.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

{{S-start}}
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{{S-bef|before=[[Pankraty Gladkov]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Abbot]] of the [[Vysokopetrovsky Monastery]]|years=1924–1929}}
{{s-vac}}
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{{s-rel|ca}}
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{{s-non|reason=Title established}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Auxiliary Bishop]] of [[Moscow]] |years=1933–1935}}
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{{s-non|reason=Title established}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Titular Bishop]] of [[Sergeyev Posad]]|years=1933–1935}}
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{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Remov, Bartholomew}}
[[Category:1935 deaths]]
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:20th-century Eastern Catholic martyrs]]
[[Category:Catholics executed by the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic monks]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic titular bishops]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox biblical scholars]]
[[Category:Executed people from Moscow]]
[[Category:Executed Russian people]]
[[Category:Former Russian Orthodox Christians]]
[[Category:Russian Greek-Catholics]]
[[Category:Russian Orthodox monks]]
[[Category:Russian people executed by the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Bishops of the Russian Greek Catholic Church]]