Protopresbyter Matfei and Matushka Feodosia Stadniuk

Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk (1925-2020)

and

Matushka Feodosia Stadniuk (1927-2017)

Matfei may be spelt Matvei, Matthew.

Feodosia may be spelt Theodosia.

Stadniuk may be spelt Stadnyuk.

Early life of Matfei Savvich Stadniuk

Matfei Savvich Stadniuk was born to Anna Demyanovna Stadniuk on 22 September, 1925, in the village of Zalessi, in the Kremenets County of the Ternopil Oblast. The village is located 8 km (5 mi) northeast of the Pochaiv Uspensky (Dormition) Lavra in Western Ukraine. This particular village is famous for the fact that about 150 of its young villagers have devoted themselves to the Holy Priesthood. This fact is attributed to the presence and activity of the spiritual fathers in the nearby monastery, as well as to the many relics and wonder-working (miraculous) icons in the lavra.

Throughout his childhood, the mother of Matfei took him and her other children to the Uspensky Lavra in Pochaiv for Divine Services. Thus, he and they were raised in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church, and they grew up in the Orthodox Christian Faith. Of the 4 sons of Anna Demyanovna, 3 became clergymen, and the fourth died during the Great Patriotic War (World War II).

From the age of 10 years, Matfei began to serve in the Altar in the lavra. Just before this time, Archimandrite Panteleimon (Rudyk) had been assigned to be the Vicar-Abbot (“namestnik”) of the Pochaiv Dormition Lavra, and in 1934, he opened a theological school with a 6-month course for the monks at the Pochaiv Dormition Lavra.

World War II began on 1 September, 1939, and Western Ukraine soon became a soviet territory. At this time, great anti-religious pressure was exerted by the soviet communists against the monastery, and the monastic population was greatly reduced. Archimandrite Panteleimon soon was ordained to the Holy Episcopate, and he served in Kyiv during the war, but he was then forced into exile at the end.

On 22 June, 1941, the Nazi German Army invaded Ukraine. It eventually occupied Ukraine and beyond, and for the years of the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Matfei lived in occupied territory.

It is noteworthy that his compatriot, Andrey Mazur (later the Archdeacon of Patriarch Aleksey II (Ridiger)), grew up in a house in Novi Kokorev, only 3 km (2 mi) away from his home.

Higher education

In 1942, at the age of 16, Matfei enrolled in pastoral courses at the Pochaiv Lavra. The time was difficult. Ukraine was under German occupation and the situation of believers was very difficult. Matfei would later relate :

 We all knew that, since people were demonstrating their external loyalty to the Orthodox Church, the Germans 
 in fact did not hesitate in any way to interfere actively in its affairs, as they sought to pursue their 
 policies. They killed Metropolitan Alexy (Gromadsky), who was a supporter of the preservation of the canonical 
 unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine with the Moscow Patriarchate.  We, the students of the pastoral 
 courses, lived hard, in hunger and cold, huddling in abandoned houses, where sometimes there was no glass in 
 the windows, but we studied with great enthusiasm and zeal.

The rector of the courses, Archimandrite Veniamin (Novitsky), the future Archbishop of Cheboksary and Chuvash, cared for his children in a fatherly manner and, as best he could, he supported them. Matfei studied in the pastoral courses for 2 years. After graduation, he became a psalm-reader. He remained at the lavra through the deportations of 1943, until the end of the war.

Marriage, 1944

Before 1945, Matfei met and married his wife Feodosia, who became his constant supporter and helper.

However, although they were very much a loving and beloved couple, who worked hard together, they were not blessed with the gift of their own children. Regardless, their love bore fruit in very many spiritual children, those who became faithful servants of Christ as they were.

Diaconal ordination, 1945

On 10 March, 1945, Matfei Stadniuk was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Bishop Job (Kresovich) (†1977), Bishop of Kremenets. He was 19 years old at the time.

Priestly ordination, 1946

Ten months later, on 4 January, 1946, at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Chernivtsi, Bishop Theodosius (Koverninsky) (†1980), Bishop of Chernivtsi and Bukovina, ordained him to the Holy Priesthood.

Pastoral service

His first parish was an ancient wooden Temple of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in a small village in the Carpathian Mountains, 60 km (37 mi) from the nearest railway. The young priest, because of the great lack of clergy, had to perform services in 4 neighbouring Temples. These were demanding and extraordinary times.

 I walked all day, I even had to spend the night on the road.  I was young, and the distances did not frighten 
 me, it seemed that it was not very far.  In addition to my parish, it was necessary to serve in the Temples of 
 4 more villages, where there were no priests.  I remember that these villages were located in very beautiful, 
 picturesque places in the Carpathians.  Since I was alone, I had to serve literally day and night.  Sometimes, 
 you would go to the Temple in the very early morning, and you’d come back at 4 p.m.  On Pascha, I visited 
 every village in turn : in one Temple you would serve matins, in another the Divine Liturgy, and in the third 
 you could only repeat Bright Week Matins and bless Paschal breads and cheeses.  There was no transportation, 
 but I got there on horseback somehow.  The first years of priestly service, of course, were difficult, but for 
 me the memories of them are very joyful, because I was doing my service with love and joy.  The parishioners 
 loved me, and with them I had very good relations.

At 20 years of age, the young priest was entrusted with the obedience and responsibility of serving as the regional dean : new care was added to the pastoral work. He recalled that

 when meetings of the clergy were held in our deanery, we all came to them on foot, covering many kilometres.  
 Often I walked 40 km [25 mi] a day, but for me it was not difficult.  When the deans from the whole diocese gathered, 
 and these were all mature people, men with long experience, at first I felt uncomfortable.  The ruling bishop 
 treated me very well, with respect, and yet I, as a dean, had no experience of administrative activity.  I did 
 only what I thought it was necessary to do for the Church.

A year later, Father Matfei was transferred to another village near the city of Chernivtsi. With God’s help, all obstacles were overcome.

Further education

Then, in 1949, with the blessing of Archbishop Andrew (Sukhenko) of Chernivtsi, the village priest Matfei Stadniuk entered the Moscow Theological Seminary. He was immediately admitted to the third year. It was during this year that the seminary and the academy were permitted to return to their original buildings at the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad (at that time called Zagorsk).

During this period of his life, Father Matfei came into contact with the life of Orthodox Moscow, and he got acquainted with her church customs. Especially memorable was his first visit to the Holy Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius, which was just then beginning to revive.

Amongst the seminary fellow students and teachers of Father Matfei were people whose names can be inscribed into the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, including the future professors :

 K M Komarov ; Archpriest Alexei Ostapov ; K E Skurat.

Father Matfei later recalled that his experience had been wonderful, and that his fellow students continued actively to remember one another and to try to meet. However, in increasing age, such meetings became more rare. Nevertheless, the memory of their professors had been engraved in their hearts. At the time when they were beginning to learn, the Spiritual Schools had only just re-opened. Both the students and the teachers would come to classes poorly dressed, sometimes in quilted jackets. Many of the professors had just been returned from prison in those years. Perhaps it can be understood with what trepidation and reverence these people taught the Word of God.

Their mentors were the famous Moscow pastors :

 the Archpriests Dimitry Bogolyubov ; Tikhon Popov ; Sergius Savinsky ; Vsevolod Shpiller ; Alexander Smirnov ; 
 Alexander Vetelev ; and the professors Nikolai Doktusov ; Alexei Ivanov ; Nikolai Lebedev ; Nikolai Muraviev.

When Father Matfei began his studies, the rector of the Moscow Spiritual Schools was the Archpriest Alexander Smirnov. Archpriest Vladimir Vertogradov replaced him, and then the Archpriest Constantine Ruzhitsky.

After he had completed the seminary course, Father Matfei was sent to the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1955.

Patriarch Alexei I (Simansky) treated the pupils of the Spiritual Schools with special love and respect. During his studies at the academy, Father Matfei Stadniuk was well acquainted with the patriarch.

Moscow Theological Academy

Further pastoral service

In 1955, in accordance with the archpastor’s blessing, the young priest Matfei Stadniuk, having finished his studies, was sent to serve amongst the clergy of the Moscow Temple of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lefortovo (southeastern Moscow). There, he served for very many years. He served as the fourth priest, along with the Archpriests Dimitry Tsvetkov (rector), Vonifaty Sokolov and Pavel Korablev. However, Father Dimitri’s father soon died. Thus, in 1959, Father Matfei was assigned to serve as the rector of the parish in his place, although in addition to him there were old and very deserving priests who also served.

At the same time, Father Matfei was assigned to serve as the secretary of the Educational Council of the Moscow Theological Schools. In addition, he was sent to the patriarchate offices, where he helped the Protopresbyter Nikolai Kolchitsky.

In 1962, he accompanied Archbishop John (Wendland) on a trip to the United States of America, which lasted for 2 months.

Service in Alexandria, Egypt, 1964

On 6 April, 1964, by the blessing and direction of Patriarch Alexei I (Simansky), the priest Matfei Stadniuk was given the obedience to travel to Egypt, where he served for 3½ years under obedience to the rector of the Russian Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Alexandria, Egypt. Wanting to improve his knowledge of and fluency in the English language, which was necessary for full pastoral activity abroad, he graduated from a special language school there, and he also did a lot of study on his own.

From Alexandria, Father Matfei often travelled to Odessa, where there was a “podvoriye” (Representation Church, “Metochion”) of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. There, in Odessa, in the Holy Dormition Monastery was the summer residence of the First Hierarch (patriarch) of the Russian Orthodox Church. Father Matfei visited the primate, and he reported about the state of affairs in the Alexandrian Church, about whose life the patriarch was always very keenly interested. Father Matfei always kept these precious moments of communication with the patriarch in his memory.

At one time, just before the Great Feast-day of Pascha, the soviet authorities issued a decree stating that Paschal breads and cheese could not be blessed on the streets, nor within the parish’s grounds, but only in the Temple itself. He and others had never seen anything like this before, that there would be in the Temple people with Paschal foods. The priest was instructed to sprinkle them, nevertheless. Because of the crowd, it was impossible even to put up a separate table for this. As a result, there was a mess, as many foods began to fall to the floor. This left a very bitter memory. The people were very indignant at these innovations, and the next year the authorities again permitted the blessing of the Paschal foods on the street as before.

Round about the Temple, there are high-rise buildings, and on the roofs of these buildings, cameras had been installed in order to record on tape all those who were coming to have their foods blessed. On the Great and Holy Saturday, an authorised representative of the Council for Religious Affairs arrived in the Temple. On this day, apparently, he went to many Temples and he observed how everything was done. There, all was in order, and there were no violations (of Soviet rules that limited Church activity). Nevertheless, the people did not worry, and they did not pay attention to the cameras. Father Matfei then asked the commissioner to allow him to serve with one of the old priests — the Archpriest Vonifata Sokolov, whom the Orthodox Muscovites revered as an ascetic of a high spiritual life. The commissioner allowed it. At that time it was believed that the commissioner did them all a great favour. Father Matfei understood the necessity to pay attention to the needs of the parishioners. The people understood the position of the Church and the position of the clergy, and they always came to meet them during the services. There, where Divine Services were generally available in the Temples on a daily basis, these occasions were usually the only points of contact between the clergy and the people during the communist era, since the normal pastoral activities of parishes were forbidden by the government.

When Father Matfei was frequently serving abroad (outside the Soviet Union), he was often present in the Temple and serving on the greater holy days (even though people there were not very accustomed to visit the Temple on weekdays). He found that both worship and communication with the flock gave him the strength and courage to carry on his service.

Service in New York, USA, 1968

Six months after his return from Alexandria, on 23 January, 1968, Father Matfei was sent to New York in the USA, in order to serve as the secretary of Archbishop Jonathan (Kopolovich) of New York and the Aleutians, the Patriarchal Exarch of North and South America. He found this period of service interesting. This was so because of the somewhat different way of life of Orthodox Christians in North America, because of the different way of life in a non-Soviet society, and because of the way in which the customs and even the cuisine of pre-revolutionary Russia were retained by many people (both of the former nobility and former peasantry). Because of his time of service (both in Moscow and in New York), he would no doubt have had renewed contacts with Archbishop Panteleimon (Rudyk), who by then lived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and who reposed in Christ later in 1968.

Saint Nicholas Representation Church, New York City

Father Matfei reported that in those days, in the USA, there were many representatives of the first wave of emigration from Russia and Ukraine. They were by then old people with whom the bishop and he could talk about their Motherland, and they understood one another. The priests of the Moscow Patriarchate were perceived outside the USSR in diverse ways (often because of various politics). However, Father Matfei did not meet a single person who treated him in a sharply negative way. Everyone seemed to understand the position of the Church and the clergy in the Soviet state. Their former compatriots, with whom Father Matfei happened to communicate there, had suffered difficult fates, and they had had to see and experience a lot. Most of those people had since then passed on to eternity, but Father Matfei continued always to remember them and to pray for them.

During this period, from 10 April, 1970 to 7 August, 1973, he served as the rector of Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York. This was just after the granting of autocephaly by the Russian Orthodox Church to the Orthodox Church in America (a matter in which he had been involved earlier), and he had many warm contacts with the clergy of this new sister-Church. After his return to Moscow, he continued to be remembered well by people with whom he came in contact, and with whom he worked. This included Metropolitan Theodosius (Lazor), Metropolitan Herman (Swaiko), the Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky, Protodeacon Peter and Matushka Nadezhda Svetlovsky, Constantine and Arlene Kallaur, and many others.

From 1968, when Father Matfei was assigned as the Secretary to Archbishop Jonathan (Kopolovich), Patriarchal Exarch of North and South America and later as Rector of Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York City, Matushka Feodosia Stadniuk went with him. As before and after this sojourn abroad, she worked alongside him, tirelessly singing, teaching and ministering amongst many other activities.

Return to Moscow, 1973 ; service at Epiphany Cathedral

On 15 July, 1973, Father Matfei Stadniuk was appointed to serve as the secretary of Patriarch Pimen (Izvekov), and as Deputy Chairman of the Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. Thus, he returned to Moscow.

Because he appreciated the pastoral and administrative experience of Father Matfei, on 9 June, 1978, the patriarch assigned him to serve as the rector of the Epiphany (Elohovo) Cathedral in Moscow, and he simultaneously elevated him to the dignity of protopresbyter. (At that time, this Temple was the actual cathedral of the diocese/patriarchate. It was not until after “perestroika” that the historic Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin could be called again the cathedral, and be used for some official functions).

Epiphany (Elokhov) Cathedral

For about 8 years, Father Matfei was at the head of the Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he also took an active part in the creation and construction of the artistic and industrial enterprise Sofrino, the first Church-goods factory in the history of post-revolutionary Russia. During the many years of his service and leadership at the cathedral, Father Matfei worked together with the likewise long-time "starosta" (parish elder, president) Nikolai Simeonovich Kapchuk (7 years younger than Father Matfei). Mr. Kapchuk's leadership kept the cathedral structures well-maintained, and he welcomed visitors with warm hospitality. In a similar manner to Father Matfei, anyone who met Nikolai Simeonovich would not likely forget him because of having met a true "chelovek" (human being).

Nikolai Simeonovich Kapchuk, Starosta

In 1988, Father Matfei launched the first public project of voluntary service by Church members since the Soviet power had launched its war on religion.

After the repose in Christ of Patriarch Pimen on 3 May, 1990, the Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk continued his obedience as the secretary to Patriarch Aleksey II (Ridiger). Father Matfei would recall with special warmth the last decade of his work next to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to his testimony, during all this time there was not a single case in which the patriarch had at least in some manner expressed any dissatisfaction with his work. Father Matfei did not believe that he was such a good employee that he could not somehow be dissatisfactory, but he could not recall any such case. In reflection, he commented that he had the best memories about those years. He recalled that the patriarch treated all his employees with paternal attention ; that he was interested in their lives ; that he always congratulated them all on the feast-days of the Church, and on personal significant dates. Father Matfei added that not only he, but everyone who worked in the patriarchate with him, invariably felt sincere attention and care from the patriarch. Father Matfei said that being close to the patriarch is, of course, a great responsibility, but it is also a great joy. It seems that everyone who has known Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk, and especially Orthodox Muscovites, would unanimously agree with these words about the patriarch.

Until 11 October, 1996, Father Matfei served as chairman of the Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Archbishop Arseniy (Epiphanov) with Protopresbyter Matfei

For 45 years, Father Matfei Stadniuk worked in the patriarchate, where he gave of all his knowledge, his strength and his experience to the work entrusted to him by the hierarchs. He was repeatedly given awards by the Russian Orthodox Church, as well by the fraternal Local Orthodox Churches : Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechia and Slovakia, as well as by the autonomous Churches of Finland and of Sinai.

In his life, because of when he was born, Father Matfei became a direct eyewitness of many memorable and significant events for the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the whole Orthodox Church. One of these particular moments was his presence and participation in the negotiations that culminated in the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly by the Church of Russia to The Orthodox Church in America in 1970.

Semi-retirement, 2000

Father Matfei remained in his obedience as secretary to Patriarch Aleksey II until 2000. Then, in May, 2000, after an illness, Father Matfei submitted a petition to be released from his duties as secretary to the patriarch. Satisfied with the reasons for this petition, Patriarch Aleksey II expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk for his many years of work. He added :

 I accept this decision regretfully, but I know that your health requires reduced responsibilities.  I 
 sincerely want you, dear Father Matfei, to cherish your health and to preserve yourself as a pastor and 
 rector of the cathedral for many years.

By the decree of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) of 24 March, 2013, the Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk was assigned to be the Honourary Rector (equivalent of Rector Emeritus) of the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. Patriarch Kirill expressed his deep gratitude to Father Matfei for his long years of service.

Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk and Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev)

During the many years of his pastoral ministry, Father Matfei many times received church awards for his tireless zeal for the service of the Church of Christ, for his sincere devotion to the Lord and His people.

On 22 September, 2015, Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk, who celebrated the 90th anniversary of his birth, was honoured at the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov, Moscow. The service was led by Metropolitan Arseniy (Epiphanov) of Istra, the first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia in the city of Moscow.

Protopresbyter Matfei and Matushka Feodosia Stadniuk

Bereavement, 2017

On Monday, 11 December, 2017, at the age of 90, Matushka Feodosia Stadniuk, wife of Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk, pastor emeritus of the Cathedral of the Theophany of Christ in Moscow reposed in the Lord.

The Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person were held on Thursday, 14 December, 2017, in the Cathedral of the Theophany of Christ in Moscow where the Stadniuks had served the Lord together for 39 years.

Funeral of Matushka Feodosia

Bereavement, 2018

On 18 February, 2018, Nikolai Simeonovich Kapchuk fell asleep in the Lord.

After the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person, his body was interred in the Vagankovsky cemetery.

Repose, 2020

Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk fell asleep in the Lord on 26 January, 2020.

The Funeral Services for the Burial of a Presbyter took place on 27-28 January, 2020, at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. The services were led by Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev), who was assisted by many other bishops, priests and deacons.

After the funeral services, Protopresbyter Matfei Stadniuk was interred behind the Altar of the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow.

Funeral service, serving clergy in attendance

Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) censes the bier

Patriarch Kirill leads the funeral service

Reflections

At the funeral, Patriarch Kirill included the following in his remarks :

Father Matfei himself is an era in the life of our Church. I first met Father Matfei and his
Matushka back in 1971 in New York, where he fulfilled his obedience as the rector of our cathedral.
It was a very difficult time, which required of the clergy, who are truly faithful to their Church,
great wisdom, prudence and at the same time firmness and integrity in defending Church's interests.
That was the sort of man that Father Matfei was. He never allowed his soul to become crooked, and
if he found himself in a situation of extreme difficulty, then with a complacent squint his eyes
reacted to the temptations addressed to him, when he was required to give some answer, which he could
not, by his beliefs, give, but could not avoid by his beliefs. Such were the circumstances of that life.
Father Matfei's wisdom was also an example for us, those younger than him, who were in the same difficult
situation, as an example of how to preserve a certain space for dialogue with the world around us, to remain
faithful to the Church, without compromising our principles, and to use this dialogue is to strengthen the Faith
in the people and strengthen the position of the Church in the then almost completely atheistic society.

Father Matfei was a man who, I once again want to emphasise, was faithful to the Church, devoted to the cause
of God and, moreover, possessed remarkable pastoral qualities. Despite the fact that he held a high enough
position in the Church hierarchy, being the rector of the cathedral in Moscow, he always remained primarily
a pastor and servant of the Church of God. And the people knew about it, felt it, trusted Father Matfei,
and loved him.

 Church Awards :
 
 • Order of the Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, 1st degree.
 • Order of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, 1st degree. 
 • Order of the Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, 1st degree. 
 • 2010 - the Order of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, 1st degree.
 • 2015 - the Order of Saint Alexy of Moscow, 1st degree.