Platon
Platon, originally named Petr Egorovich Levshin, was a significant figure in the Russian Orthodox Church born on June 29, 1737. The son of a sexton who became a priest, Platon's family prioritized education, leading him to excel at the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow. His early success as a teacher and lecturer paved the way for his monastic vows and a career dedicated to religious service. Platon gained prominence as the religious tutor to Grand Duke Paul, the future Emperor Paul I, which allowed him to influence the church and education within the Empire.
His tenure included a bishopric in Tver, yet he remained closely tied to the court in St. Petersburg, where he engaged with contemporary thinkers and authored a widely disseminated book on catechism. Platon focused on practical moral issues in his sermons, actively opposing trends he viewed as detrimental to Orthodoxy. In later life, he retreated from the public eye, establishing a private retreat that evolved into a seminary. Despite his past connections, he faced isolation in his final years and passed away on November 11, 1812, after a prolonged period of convalescence. Platon's legacy is marked by his contributions to religious education and moral discourse within the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Platon
- Born: June 29, 1737
- Birthplace: Near Moscow, Russia
- Died: November 11, 1812
- Place of death: Moscow, Russia
Biography
Platon was the monastic name taken by Petr Egorovich Levshin. He was born on June 29, 1737, the second of four sons of the local sexton who ultimately became a priest of the white (married) priesthood and served in various parishes all around Moscow. Although of humble origins, the father recognized the importance of education and did his best to see that his sons could obtain the best education possible. All chose to pursue careers in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Young Petr attended the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy, Moscow’s foremost ecclesiastical college, and quickly distinguished himself for hard work and intellectual ability. Even as he was finishing his last year as a student, he was made a teacher and gave a successful series of lectures on the catechism. With such a spectacular success so young, it was almost a given that he would take monastic vows and devote himself entirely to the Church.
Within a year, he was ordained as a monastic priest and became deputy rector of the seminary. The rise of Catherine the Great to the throne led to his elevation as religious tutor to the heir, Grand Duke Paul (the future emperor Paul I). This promotion involved his move to St. Petersburg, where he began to engage in private study and the preparation of sermons to be delivered at the Imperial chapel. He subsequently compiled his lessons to the czarevich into a book which was widely published throughout the Empire, and was even translated into German, Latin, Greek, and English.
Living in St. Petersburg also gave him ample opportunity to become acquainted with foreign thinkers. In 1770, Platon became bishop of Tver, although he continued to spend most of his time in St. Petersburg with the court. However, his closeness with Grand Duke Paul, who had a far better claim to the throne than his mother (who had originally taken it on the basis that she was holding it in trust for her son until he came of age), led to growing disfavor at court. Platon was sent to Moscow, where he continued to produce volumes of sermons throughout his career.
His work fell into the moral-practical school of homiletics, which concentrated less on abstract theological points than on concrete moral problems, and particularly in combating popular trends which he regarded as hostile to Orthodoxy. As Platon grew older, he entered a period of semiretirement in which he built himself a private retreat outside the main monastery. In later years it would become a seminary and a monastery in its own right. Even the coronation of Paul I in 1796 did not restore Platon’s good graces at court, and he remained in isolation. He survived his former pupil, and finally died of a stroke on November 11, 1812, after a long period of isolation and convalescence.